The Benefits of Google Reviews for Local Businesses

Consumers see reviews almost every time they search. From finding businesses nearby to planning itineraries for upcoming trips to looking up a forgotten phone number, we plug keywords into Google to help us with anything we want to know. And if we want to find out how one business compares to another, we Google to find out about other people’s experiences.

Getting Google reviews is a simple, effective and cost-efficient method to build brand trust and rank high in the Google search results.

Google Reviews Establish Customer Trust

Rounded Digital - The Benefits of Google Reviews for Local Businesses - BrightLocalGoogle reviews help your business build trust and credibility, which are vital factors in the customer decision-making process. Nowadays, consumers regularly consult online reviews before making a purchase or using a service. According to a BrightLocal survey in 2016:

  • 91% of consumers regularly or occasionally read online reviews
  • 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation
  • 74% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more

Google is where a lot of your potential customers see your business first, so having reviews improves your chances of getting users to pick you.

The SEO Benefits of Google Reviews

Another advantage of Google reviews is that they help you rank higher in search results pages. Even though Google doesn’t share their algorithm, it is generally accepted that reviews play an important role in determining your website’s position, especially in local search.

Positive reviews will trigger clicks through to your site. A high click-through rate, coupled with good reviews, will act as trust signals to the algorithm, so your website will be featured towards the top of the results page. This will in turn increase traffic to your website and, depending on your content and calls to action, can lead to a higher conversion rate. Your Google reviews will also influence your presence in the Local Pack (a list of businesses near the location of the search).

Go Beyond Google

It’s good practice to expand to other review platforms such as Facebook, Yelp, and Angieslist. There are a few reasons why you should do so:

  • Not everybody has a Google account, so a third-party website would make them more likely to leave a review
  • The Google algorithm considers reviews left on other platforms
  • Third-party reviews show up in the Google search results page when someone searches your brand name – one more chance for users to see how good you are at what you do
  • Research has found that buyers consult 2-3 review sources and read 6-10 reviews before making a decision