You already knew that customer reviews can have a big impact on your revenues, but did you know that they can also affect your visibility on the web? Google can determine via its algorithm if your business’s reviews on Yelp, Angie’s List and Google are relevant enough to reward you with better search rankings.
It’s a logical conclusion that the more positive reviews you have, the more those reviews are going to help your business rank better against your local competitors. However, it isn’t only positive reviews that Google likes. Experts believe there are actually three primary factors the Google algorithm is looking for when it scans customer reviews on the aforementioned review portals.
Regularity of Reviews
How often are reviews are posted for this business? As long as they are posted with some regularity in the portals listed above, that’s good for the business’s local SEO. If, however, there are months and months between each review – well, then the reviews aren’t likely to help the business’s search rankings out.
Google can determine via its algorithm if your business’s reviews on Yelp, Angie’s List and Google My Business are relevant enough to reward you with better search rankings.
Recency of Reviews
How recently were the last reviews for this business posted? If it has been years, then Google isn’t likely to consider those reviews relevant enough to boost the business’s search rankings. But they were in the last several weeks, or even in the last a month or two, that may be enough to earn Google’s good graces.
Sentiment of Reviews: 5 Stars vs. 2-3 Stars
What was the user’s intention: a good review, a bad review or a mixed review? Google has ways to distinguish the sentiments of reviewers, and it will honor businesses that have good reviews with better local search rankings if they are regular and recent enough. Star ratings are one of those ways, so one of your goals should be to get as many 4 and 5-star ratings as you can.
The algorithm is hoping to check off all three customer review boxes – regularity, recency and positive sentiment – before it rewards a business’s website with better local search rankings. If you can get a consistent wave of positive reviews now, there’s a good chance of your rankings improving over time. It’s just another reason to consider our Reputation Marketing service, which collects, manages and publishes your customer reviews online.
Got Reviews? We Can Help
We create websites and media for the electronic security industry that communicate your story, resonate with your audience, and generate revenue. Since 2009, brands that you know and trust have leveraged our digital marketing expertise to grow their businesses, including SDM 100, SDI Fast 50, monitoring centers, technology providers, professional corporations, and security SMB’s across the USA.
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