Well, it is worth knowing that reviews made on Google My Business are extremely important, as they have a direct influence both on the users themselves and in terms of SEO. This is because, when ranking a particular website, Google will take these evaluations into account.
The greater the number of reviews, the greater the chances of reaching the first Google results, that is, the more positive comments, the better positioning the website will have. In addition, comments help with the users’ decision-making process.
The platform with the most weight in terms of reviews, from an SEO perspective, is undoubtedly Google My Business, as the reviews made on this platform directly contribute to an optimization of results in Google searches.
Also, according to some studies on ranking factors for local searches, online reviews are believed to account for 10% of how Google and other search engines rank search results. In the chart below we present the variables linked to Local SEO.
Overall Ranking Factors
Source: https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
When customers provide reviews, they are helping Google to better understand the website. And, as not all people leave reviews, it is necessary to create a strategy to help increase the number of reviews.
Reviews are, in a way, a free creation of content by customers, with keywords linked to the business, having all the potential to positively affect the site’s SEO.
Google works, in part, by reading content – that is, the more content related to the brand’s keywords there is on the web, the better Google’s “crawlers” will be able to understand the site, interpret and help connect consumers with the company’s services. As a result, the rankings and positions in the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) will be better.
Online reviews help to eliminate much of the indecision at the time of purchase. In case of indecision between a company and one of its competitors that offers the same service, we will probably click on the site that has the best reviews.
If the vast majority of users click on our site, Google will assume that the site is relevant and will be better positioned on the results page.
In short, the more reviews there are and the better they are, the better the click through rate – CTR. This is also an important SEO positioning factor.
Response to reviews
It is important to respond to the reviews made on Google My Business, because in addition to the credibility factor and fostering trust with the customer, from Google’s point of view, the responses are another positioning factor for the website.
E-mail marketing
Through the Email Marketing database, a campaign can be developed to request reviews from list contacts. The campaign can be sent to all segments.
Social media
Social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Youtube, etc.) thanks to their proximity and direct communication with users, are a great dissemination tool for requesting reviews. Therefore, these can help to increase the number of reviews.
We suggest creating organic publications on a regular basis that promote and encourage the review “Your opinion is important to us” with a direct link to Google My Business.
Email Inbox
Add a space with the Google My Business link in the email signature where users are encouraged to write a comment. Mainly for the part of the team that responds directly to clients or future clients.
Staff
Encourage employees, suppliers or collaborators to comment on the company.
We suggest sending an internal email to the staff contact base asking for this collaboration for positive reviews.
Ask directly
The success of a business depends on its customers; therefore, the best marketing strategy is the recommendation of your company and all the experience in the acquisition, search or sale of a product or service. We suggest you cultivate this habit of asking customers to comment on their experience.
Youtube
We suggest including a short call to comment at the end of the videos: “If you have had contact with us as a buyer or seller, your opinion is important to us. Give us a review”. The link to Google My Business may be included in the video description.
Highlight reviews on the website
You can include some comments on the website, preferably positive ones. In this way, it gives more confidence and security to future customers when purchasing products/services.
A video strategy can also be made in which you interview some of the customers and, from there, create a review-raising campaign.
Other suggestions
Depending on the type of local business you have, you can adopt a few strategies. For example, if you are a hotel, you may have posted something alluding to reviews in the reception area, asking guests to leave a rating/comment. You can also ask receptionists to ask guests to leave a review at check-out. You can also, after a day or two, send an email reminding the customer to leave a review, with the link to the Google My Business account.
If you have regular customers, you can also ask those customers to leave a review on Google My Business.
Reviews on Google My Business can positively impact not only the positioning of your website in terms of searches, but also the way users perceive your business. To this end, a good strategy that aims to increase comments is, without a doubt, something you should adopt.
The strategies we present here can apply to most local businesses, however, you can always adapt them to your business model.
We emphasise that it is essential that it is not too intrusive – in other words, it is important that you ask your customers to leave a review, but don’t do it too often, as it can have the opposite effect. Reviews must be given arbitrarily.
Finally, and extremely important, don’t forget to respond to all comments, whether positive or negative, or even if the user has only left a number of stars as a comment.
Photos by: Google Business Profile