Are you a small business struggling to attract new clients or boost your online presence?
Many new business owners used to experience the same.
Piotr Matysiak, a salon owner, used to worry about his competitors. Now, patrons don’t mind a 30-minute travel for his hairdressing services.
What’s his secret to success? Google Reviews.
Many business owners, however, do not instantly see the link between local SEO and online feedback. Some even doubt its efficacy.
But statistics do not lie.
A 2024 survey found that 89% of consumers believe local business reviews influence purchasing decisions. Moreover, Google is their top source for reading customers’ experiences.
It is clear that reviews are crucial, and excluding them in your local SEO efforts is a missed business opportunity.
So, in this article, let’s understand further what Google Reviews are, why you should prioritise them, and how to leverage them effectively.
Part 1: The Science Behind Google Reviews and Local SEO
If you search “electrician near me” or “best chiropractor Melbourne” on Google, the top results would likely be businesses with raving reviews and the highest ratings.
This outcome shows how local ranking and reviews are correlated. More importantly, it emphasises that if you want your small business to be on top, you should pay attention to online reviews.
However, this relationship is not straightforward as several factors come into play. Specifically, Google Reviews help your local SEO if:
- Your business continuously generates fresh content through reviews. Search engines favour new and relevant content. As customers review your product or service, crawlers get more user-generated keywords and phrases to index. All these help boost your online presence and traffic.
- Your business gains frequent reviews. Search engine crawlers interpret the frequency and recency of reviews as evidence of activity and relevance. In turn, your business gets a higher local ranking.
- Your business gets plenty of positive reviews. Good feedback from customers creates an attractive review snippet for users to see. The more positive reviews you have, the more customers will trust and engage with your business. These also help you stand out, boost your click-through rates, and improve your rankings.
Google Reviews are vital to your local SEO performance. A happy customer leaving a positive review creates a domino effect that leads to better rankings, more traffic, and higher conversion.
Then again, gaining positive reviews won’t happen without hard work.
Part 2: How to Encourage Google Reviews
Gaining one or two positive reviews is not enough to boost your local search ranking. Your small business should strive to get more online reviews to keep search engines and customers happy.
Here’s how to do it.
1. Provide Exceptional Service
It is not hard for customers to leave glowing reviews when your business consistently provides top-notch services or products.
So, go the extra mile, listen to their suggestions, and exceed their expectations. Then, recruit all the help you need to enhance your customers’ experience.
For instance, talk to your staff and train them to be helpful and responsive to customers’ needs. Teach them how to address concerns promptly and politely.
2. Make it Easy for Customers to Review
A little encouragement for a satisfied customer to leave a review would not hurt. There are several creative ways how to do this without looking too pushy. For example:
- Send it through email. Keep your review request short and simple. Adding prompts in your emails should increase your chances of getting a high-quality review.
- Invest in text messaging. Clicking a text link to leave a review is not only easy for customers. It’s also a cost-efficient strategy to gain plenty of new reviews for your business.
- Display a QR code. If your local business has a physical store, put a QR code that directs customers to your review page. It should be in a visible spot, like your front door, store window, or check-out counter.
3. Respond to Positive and Negative Reviews
In online review management, it’s best practice to monitor every feedback your business receives, good or bad.
Responding to positive reviews is one way to appreciate the efforts of your satisfied customers. It creates a friendly business atmosphere and encourages continuous engagement.
On the other hand, addressing negative reviews displays your dedication to better customer service. It gives you the chance to offer solutions or clarifications and display accountability.
When you address bad reviews in public, potential customers will see how you resolve issues and value all types of feedback.
Check out our guide on dealing with negative Google reviews to learn more.
Part 3: Prioritising Google Reviews in Your Local SEO Strategy
While it is crucial to integrate Google Reviews into your local SEO efforts, you should also know its level of importance to your business and customers.
Do you need to invest a lot of resources to gain reviews? What about the other SEO factors? Also, how will I know if investing in customer review management is worth it?
To answer these questions, keep these things in mind.
1. Consider Your Industry and Target Audience
The role of Google reviews varies from business to business. Customers also prioritise reviews depending on what products or services they are looking for.
For example, service businesses rely on reviews for online discovery and search visibility. On the other hand, financial services and healthcare providers use reviews to showcase trustworthiness and information accuracy.
Retail brands also benefit from reviews as customers read them before buying. Good reviews amplify a retailer’s online reputation, increasing the chances of conversion.
Managing your Google Reviews is worth it if your business belongs to one of these industries.
2. Balance Reviews with Other SEO Factors
Remember that reviews represent customer experience. That means you should also give equal priority to other user-centric SEO factors.
For example, balance positive reviews and excellent customer service with a user-friendly and engaging website. Keep publishing content with relevant topics and images.
Make sure your website is secure and mobile-responsive. Also, continue building citations to boost authority and credibility.
A combination of various factors that support good customer experience ensures better local SEO outcomes.
3. Monitor and Measure Your Google Reviews
Being objective is crucial when using Google Reviews to improve your local SEO. You can do this through tools that track review volume and ratings or analyse sentiments.
The Infinite Ace’s Google Review Calculator is another example. This tool allows you to check how many more 5-star reviews to collect to hit the average review goal.
By monitoring and measuring reviews, you can identify areas of improvement, optimise strategies, and boost conversions. Review metrics should give you clues of what’s working and what’s not.
Conclusion
Google Reviews play a pivotal role in your local SEO performance and success. They are like virtual endorsements or recommendations that make your website popular online and attractive to customers.
So, as business owners, try to gain more reviews by providing exceptional service, responding promptly to feedback, and making it easy for customers to rate your business.
Then, reinforce your review management efforts by maintaining a relevant, engaging, and user-friendly website. Focus on implementing a holistic local SEO strategy to help your business thrive in a highly competitive digital environment.
