There are almost 30 million small businesses in the United States of America.
Each and every one of them are fighting to optimize their positioning in today’s economy to get the lion’s share of the nearly $60,000 per year consumers are spending on goods and services.
With that kind of competition and reward potential, how can you hope stand out?
For many, the answer to that question is to improve their business’ search engine optimization (SEO). Among the best ways to do that is to learn about SEO reviews.
SEO and reviews aren’t terms that are frequently associated with one another. Heck, we even had to coin the term “SEO reviews” ourselves just to create a cohesive article.
But, as we’re about to show you, reviews can have a tremendous impact on your SEO success.
Here’s how.
1. Reviews Straight Up Affect Your Search Engine Ranking
The most straightforward way that reviews have an impact on SEO is that they directly impact where Google ranks you on results pages.
There are 8 factors most SEO experts estimate Google weighs when determining search position. “Review signals” (quality, volume, and velocity) is one of them.
It’s estimated that reviews account for about 10% of your search engine ranking’s weight.
That makes it a disproportionately light factor, but still one to keep an eye on.
2. Click Through Rates
You may notice on some Google results that the average reviews for a business pop up next to their website’s link.
If the review score being showcased is low, people aren’t going to click onto that business’ website.
That means that less traffic is going to go to the website, which Google notes as a sign that people aren’t interested in what they’re offering. That notation will lead to Google pushing the site further down results pages and into obscurity.
Pretty vicious cycle, right?
The higher your average reviews look on results pages, the better chance people will engage with your company. When they do that, your rank goes up.
3. 4-Pack Placement
If you own a brick-and-mortar business, there’s no better place to be when it comes to search engines and SEO reviews than in Google’s 4-pack.
Google’s 4-pack is a widget that shows the 4 most relevant businesses to local searchers when they’re looking for a particular kind of service. Companies that are featured in the 4-pack dominate search traffic.
In order to be included in the 4-pack, you must A) Be in a searcher’s area and offer the products and services they’re looking for and B) Have good reviews.
If your SEO reviews leave a lot to be desired, you’ll only be able to make your way into the 4-pack if very few businesses do what you do in your service area.
4. Perception
We live in a sound-bite world. What does that mean?
It means that people do very little digging before forming their perceptions of things.
How does this extend to SEO reviews?
Imagine a user looking at local businesses on Google and seeing a 2-star review sitting next to your business’ name on their results page. Without doing anything else, immediately, that person has it in their head that your business is of subpar quality.
The effects of that association are immense.
It can lead to them verbally advising others against your business despite them knowing very little about it. It can lead to them promoting your competitor’s businesses over yours on social media, which can improve competition’s search rank and push your rank down.
Bottom line: perception matters when it comes to SEO and people won’t take much time to form their perception about your business. Making sure your reviews are good will ensure that any conclusions that get jumped to will be positive ones.
5. Shares
Shares on social media are a soft indicator that Google looks at when determining search rank. If your business has excellent reviews, the odds of people sharing what you do over your competitors on social media goes up immensely.
After all, who is going to suggest going to a place that has a 1 or 2-star average online to friends and family members?
Here’s an example of a digital magazine that was so moved by a business’ reputation that they decided to craft their own Healthy You Vending reviews on their website.
6. Review Site Rankings
SEO reviews aren’t all about getting great search engine placement on Google. They’re also about getting great search engine placement on platforms like Yelp.
Hundred of millions of people use Yelp’s app to figure out what restaurant to go to in their area, what body shop to visit, etc. How you rank in Yelp’s search results can have a tremendous impact on how many leads you’re able to generate on the platform.
Your review average and location are the two most important factors when it comes to Yelp SEO. So if you want to rank high, you’d better be trying to boost your reputation on the platform.
Wrapping Up the Traffic-Boosting Importance of SEO Reviews
From affecting your Google rank to affecting public perception, SEO reviews are integral to your business having an excellent online presence.
Our advice is to be active on as many review platforms as possible. Respond to negative reviews. Ask satisfied customers to leave you reviews.
If you’re proactive when it comes to your online reputation, you’ll find that it will begin to improve immensely!
Want to see how your site is ranking online? Curious to know how you can capitalize on low hanging SEO opportunities?
If so, check out our tools on Ranking Check and read more of our marketing tips today!
