The power of testimonials from customers cannot be underestimated when influencing potential sales for any business. There is no doubt that consumers use reviews of products and services to determine the purchases they make and which services they’re willing to get. With over 90% of people being influenced by online reviews, Google is the first gateway of potential customers in making their buying decisions.
Why Google Reviews Are Important For Any Business
Commonly, when people search using keywords on Google, the first things that will appear in the search results would be maps and listings of businesses, websites with reviews, or star ratings in each. Google Reviews is a free and easy way to get ahead of the competition! Candid and genuine reviews from customers can help build confidence and reputation for a business without spending a single dollar. In addition, Google Reviews are an essential ranking aspect for local SEO, can strengthen online visibility and help convert leads into buying customers, increasing sales for a business.
If you’re a business owner, and you think that you may have all the other elements of your local search strategy covered, think again. Don’t underestimating the power of adding Google Reviews to your marketing strategy, and here’s why:
1. Positive Reviews Build Brand Trust
Google Reviews allow any good business to prove themselves to their potential customers. Obtaining positive reviews from customers has an unprecedented power to influence brand trust, give local SEO advantages, and magnify online reputation.
Having quality products and excellent service is essential, but a solid reputation can give your business the extra push that it needs. Based on most recent marketing studies, 91% of consumers read online customer reviews when deciding which company or brand they will do business with. 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 74% of consumers claim that positive reviews make them trust a business or a brand more.
Google Reviews are the third-person perspective of your business, from the quality of products and services available to how people feel after doing business with you. Positive reviews help new shoppers feel at ease, knowing they will most likely get the same service or quality of products as those who wrote the reviews. Good reviews are like a brightly lit billboard for your business, saying, “Trust us! Like them, you’ll also love doing business with us!”
Negative reviews are sometimes inevitable, even if you do your best. As the saying goes: “You can’t please everybody.” But don’t get hung up on poor or inaccurate reviews. Instead, if you get a poor review, do your best to ‘bury it’ by obtaining new cheerful customer feedback and then move on. The simplest way to get more positive reviews would be sticking to the tried and true ethical methods, like simply asking customers to review your business, advertising your Google Review page to customers, or sending email blasts.
2. Great Reviews Can Achieve Higher Organic Rankings
Search engines favor well-reviewed businesses. According to Moz, there are over 200+ ranking factors in Google’s search engine algorithm. Still, almost 10% of the total weight is estimated to be on reviews signals that generally focus on review quantity, velocity, and diversity. These review factors can substantially have an impact on local SEO results. They can significantly benefit both the online traffic of a business website and the foot traffic to the actual business location.
Even though Google does not reveal its algorithm, it’s widely agreed that Google Reviews play a significant role in determining your website’s ranking, especially in local searches. Google considers online feedback when deciding where to put its organic rankings. A good rating can push your business to the “Google Local Pack”, which lists the first three businesses near the top of the search page based on location.
Many studies have been conducted, and the results show that companies with positive online feedback receive higher rankings than those with negative or insufficient reviews. Many people searching for a local product or service tend to see a list of companies with at least 40 or more reviews in the search results. Thus, Google reviews and the number of reviews matter too if you want a high ranking on Google’s search results pages. If your company is flourishing and you have a good amount of positive reviews, you’re bound to find yourself in the top tier of search engine results.
3. Google Reviews Can Help Gain Customers Intelligence
Customer feedback is like a mirror to see what people think about your business. Positive and negative reviews from customers can provide you with valuable information and a unique perspective to optimize your business. These reviews can help you determine if your business is delivering a positive customer experience. You can also learn how your employees perform or which products or services customers enjoy the most.
A smart business owner should pay attention to what people say and keep an open mind even when you get unpleasant reviews. Often, it takes somebody from the outside to point out a problem that you may not be able to see from the inside. Awful customer feedback could indeed have a detrimental effect on your business, but it can also be an opportunity to improve it!
Above all else, don’t forget to respond to these reviews! Let your customers know that you are listening. Responding to unhappy customers can help you mend relationships. Being timely with your responses shows that you care about your customers’ opinions. Google also recognizes your activities when you respond to your reviews. Active and timely responses to customer feedback can also help propel your business up the search engine results rankings.
When your customers write a review, they are implementing natural long-tail keywords. Feedback from customers allows for more organic search traffic since your customers are using their language. Once Google or other search engines start associating specific long-tail phrases and terms with your business, it can improve the search traffic to your site. There are probably dozens of enhancing keywords you’re using right now to improve your SEO, but knowing what your customers type in their reviews can be used to your advantage. It can help you in analyzing the keywords you can add to your SEO strategy.
Through Google Reviews, business owners can optimize various business areas to provide a better customer experience and be found more easily on Google and other search engines.
4. Google Reviews Can Help Improve Website Traffic
After reading your Google Reviews, potential buyers might feel inclined to visit your website. Getting someone to click on your link from a search engine will increase your website traffic. Google will recognize that your business is a relevant, credible resource. This will further improve your SEO ranking, which will lead to more visits, and the cycle repeats.
Google Reviews is an excellent way to increase the click-through rate when your business appears in a search engine. Your Google Reviews rating will show up next to your business name in Google, so a good collection of positive ratings will increase your site click-throughs.
If your business is consistently garnering reviews, it can help you improve your website’s click-through rate. As a result, people will explore your site and discover more about your business.
A high click-through rate, accompanied by positive reviews, will act as trust signals to the algorithm of Google to have your website featured towards the top of the search results page. This will increase traffic to your website and, depending on your content and calls to action, lead to a higher conversion rate.
5. High Star Reviews Can Increase Conversions and ROI
Customers choose to buy from the brands they trust. If your business has a high Google Reviews rating, more people will feel confident in the products or services you offer. Customers who click on your site are enticed and are more likely to make a purchase or book an appointment.
One of the lesser-known advantages of Google Reviews is it can help you increase conversions. While smartly designed and user-friendly website features are significant, Google Reviews can be powerful enough to create conversions alone. If your business has a strong rating on Google, share this across your website to increase customer trust. The more people that trust your business, the more reviews you will garner. Ultimately, high star reviews result in improved brand recognition and an overall increase in your business.
The best part? Google Reviews are FREE! And since you are not paying for expensive advertising, this marketing channel can also provide incredible ROI for your business.
Conclusion
Google Reviews are vital to your digital marketing strategy. They can improve your rank on search engines, boost your page views, build trust, understand your customers, and increase sales and convert prospects too!
If you’re not taking advantage of the power of Google Reviews, you’re missing out on potential leads, and driving them towards your competition! If you set aside a little bit of time to set up your Google Reviews, you can see incredible results relatively quickly.
Remember that your customers don’t expect you to be perfect, but they expect you to do your best for them. If your customer service goes beyond the expectations for your customer, it will be reflected in your reviews.
Are you ready to start or take your Google Local Listings and your Google Reviews to the next level? Drop us a line, and we will be happy to help!