How Google Reviews Affects Search Engine Optimization
Reviews seem completely unrelated to SEO since they fall more under online reputation management. But many SEO services in Denver recognize the impact that reviews can have on their local rankings. Reviews are among the many signals that Google uses to determine your business’ relevance to the user. So it might be worth it working on getting more five-stars on Google My Business.
Google Trusts Customer Reviews
Google trusts what your consumers have to say, more than what you have to say about yourself. Customer reviews help the search engine understand how trustworthy your business is.
Having lots of positive reviews tells Google that your business exists, has interacted with many customers, and satisfied their needs. This can help your organic ranking.
It’s kinda similar to backlinks. Having many high-quality backlinks indicates to Google that your website has some important information, which boosts your ranking.
Appear On Google’s Local Pack
The Google Local Pack refers to a map and three companies below that appear on search engines results.
It usually appears when someone searches for a service or type of business within a location. For example, if you search web design services in Denver, you might see a map with three website designing companies below based in the city.
It usually appears above organic search results, making it an important element in local search optimization. Having your company appear on it can be a great boon.
To appear on local search packs, it’s important to work on your Google My Business profile, link signals, and reviews. When it comes to reviews, the higher number of positive reviews you have, the better your chances are.
Helps Google Understand Business
Customers unknowingly leave keywords on your GMB profile through their reviews. This helps Google understand your business better and rank it on relevant keywords. Which in turn helps you reach more consumers looking for quality products and services.
Boosts CTR
A good Google rating can help a lot with your click-through rate, i.e. the number of people going to your website. Because many people look at the reviews when deciding whether to contact you or not. More than half the users favor a business with a 4+ rating over a business with a rating below 4.
The increase in your site’s click-through rate could affect your SEO positively. Which in turn leads to more people clicking your link, creating a strong feedback loop.
On the flip side, too many negative reviews discourage consumers from doing business with you.
Though don’t worry if you get a few seldom complaints now and then. Having a few 1-stars is natural and shows that you aren’t trying to hide complaints. To some, companies with loads of 5-stars and no 1-stars may seem unnatural.
Attract Users With Review Rich Snippets
Rich snippets refer to structured data markup that site operators can add to their HTML. This helps search engines understand what the site is about, with Google often displaying certain snippets on search results along with the metadata.
You can use this feature to display your ratings and attract users to click on your link.
Increase Engagement
Google My Business provides many tips for improving your Google ranking on one of its support pages. One of its pointers includes responding to reviews. Responding to customer reviews shows that you value the opinion of your customers. It also helps you change how a negative reviewer might feel about your business.
A Few Tips
- Create/claim and fill your Google My Business account.
- Request as many customers as you can to leave a review there. Don’t just focus on customers likely to post a positive review. Negative reviews can help you learn and improve.
- Respond to all reviews, even negative ones as soon as possible.
- Do not buy or post fake positive reviews.
- Respond to negative reviews politely and try to resolve the complainant’s issue offline. Do not get angry and rant against them.
- You can flag and report fake reviews but respond to them anyway in case they don’t get removed.
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