The Importance of Business Reviews

Are you taking business reviews for granted? Despite how important they are, many businesses don’t utilize them. In just 2014, Search Engine Land reported that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. How can reviews help your business?

You can find out almost anything you want on the internet these days. That means that when people are wondering if they can trust your business—whether you’re a restaurant, clothing company, or mechanic—they’re going to look to online reviews to judge your credibility. If you want to sustain long-term growth, positive reviews will prove your reliability. The more positive reviews for your brand, the more credible you will appear. A bad review here and there won’t have near the impact it would if you have countless positive reviews. However, do make sure you address the problems in the bad review immediately. Your customer service skills will look top-notch, and there’s a chance the customer may take the negative review down.

Positive reviews equal an increase in sales. Chances are, your potential customers and clients already know what their options are for the product or service they are looking to buy. Reviews are what tend to be the deciding factor when choosing one brand over another. Positive, detailed feedback about your products and service will sway potential customers. Think of them as a positive marketing tool.

Business reviews will both improve your SEO and drive traffic to your site. Positive reviews can help your business rank, especially with organic search results and search engine results. Reviews are considered unique content which is more crawlable. As people read reviews of your product, they’ll naturally want to find out where they can buy your product.

So go ahead, take some time to sit down and write a review for your favorite local business, whether it’s on Facebook, Google, or another platform. And don’t be shy to encourage your customers to give you a review as well.