In addition to the other recommendations, I would advise you to have the business owner leave a response to the bad review.

1. It shows that the business is active.

2. If the customers that left the review happens to be real, it could potentially mend that relationship.

3. It could lessen the concerns of any potential customers who see the bad review and are put off by it.

-Andrew

This is an old question but I'll share my experiences.

I majored in marketing myself and landed in an SEO position right after graduation. I think the marketing background has improved my writing and sales tactics, and I've seen advertising/PR majors who get into SEO/PPC and are very successful.

I do wish I had some more experience with programming and coding when I started which is something I've had to teach myself on the fly. If you have a thorough understanding of HTML, CSS, PHP and are able to master the technical side of it then you're already a step ahead. It'll make your life so much easier, especially if you're dealing with a large ecommerce site that is going to need changes somewhat regularly. You'll be spending 15 minutes making a change instead of an hour and have more time for content and UX.

In addition to the other recommendations, I would advise you to have the business owner leave a response to the bad review.

1. It shows that the business is active.

2. If the customers that left the review happens to be real, it could potentially mend that relationship.

3. It could lessen the concerns of any potential customers who see the bad review and are put off by it.

-Andrew