For small business owners, the word "reviews" is a mixed bag.

On the one hand, all of your happiest customers can talk about why they like working with you. On the other hand, your unhappy customers (everyone has a few) can talk about why they don't like you. But reviews are an important part of growing your local SEO strategy.

And as every business owner knows, a happy customer will tell 10 people about their experience - and an unhappy customer will tell 100. So how can the average small business use reviews to improve their reputation online? Surprisingly, it has more to do with the review sites you use than any other factor.