Online Customer Reviews
Reviews Convert More Customers
Build the best
online reputation
82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and review ratings are the biggest driver of clicks in local SERPs*. The question is, do you have the right tools to make reviews your competitive advantage?
Introducing Reputation Manager, the all-in-one customer review management solution.
4 Reasons Why Reviews Matter for Your Business
- Online reviews matter to your business because they help captivate the attention and interest of customers and act as an inexpensive way to attract potential customers
- Online reviews can effectively establish trust and confidence when consumers either search for your business specifically or search for a general product or service your business offers.
- Studies show that if a customer trusts your business’s online reviews, they’re likely to spend 31% more than companies with lower reviews.
- Favorable online reviews can significantly and positively affect your customers’ purchasing behavior.
The SEO Impact of Local Business Reviews
Whether it’s on mobile or desktop, businesses with online reviews can find themselves near (or at) the top of local search results relating to their products and/or services. In fact, there have been strong correlations found between online business reviews and local search engine results.
Of the over 200+ ranking factors in Google’s search engine algorithm, almost 10% of the total weight is estimated to be review signals such as review quantity, review velocity, and review diversity. It’s presumed that Google’s local algorithm, which is different than generalized SEO algorithms, weighs reviews more heavily and provides brick-and-mortar business and retail chains with a great opportunity to influence their online search presence through positive online reviews.
Where Reviews Are Important
Why Google Reviews
Google is arguably the most prominent online review site. For starters, Google reviews have the potential to put you near the top of the search results page. Many businesses see this as the sole reason for focusing on generating Google reviews. While Google’s online reviews are a great starting place, it should not be the only factor to your online review strategy. Not everyone has a Google Account, something that is currently required to leave a google review, meaning you must supplement those efforts with other online review sites. Besides, Google isn’t the only online review platform that can rank in the search results.
Why Facebook Reviews
With nearly 2.7 billion monthly active users, Facebook is an online review site to be reckoned with. One main advantage to Facebook reviews is that most of your customers use Facebook and will already be logged in (via mobile or desktop) allowing you to easily direct them straight to your review page. While Facebook reviews arguably aren’t quite on par Google and Yelp reviews, the platform is fast-approaching.
Why Yelp Reviews
While we aren’t big fans of Yelp and some of their marketing tactics, Yelp’s online review platform is also a great general option for most businesses. Yelp touts an astounding 135 million unique users and isn’t just for restaurants anymore. Yelp provides categories for almost every vertical. The online site’s reviews CAN also show up in Google search results, show your hours of operations, and show pictures from user contributions.
Why Niche Review Sites
Lastly, vertical-specific online review sites are a great way to supplement your online review strategy. Do a quick search for “Contractor review” and you’ll likely find TrustedPros. A quick search for “doctor reviews” will serve up Healthgrades.com. And, a search for “home builder review” will bring you Houzz. These examples of supplemental online review sites are crucial for any complete online review strategy. Use them to your advantage, but don’t rely on them as your sole engine for online reviews.
We Provide Everything
You Need to build a 5-star reputation
- Generate online reviews
- Monitor the biggest review sites
- Monitor industry sites
- Get review alerts
- Respond to reviews
- Manage negative feedback
Get more reviews on the sites
that really matter to your business
An excellent online reputation puts you head and shoulders above the competition. Identify your happiest customers and make it easy for them to share their experiences on the most important review sites.
Choose from over 200 review sites, covering 40 different industries.
Showcase customer reviews, beautifully and easily
- Display reviews in style with responsive, customizable widgets
- Combine reviews from a selection of 80+ sources
- Easily keep your site up to date with your latest and greatest reviews
Gather valuable customer feedback to improve your business
- Make it easy for customers to provide feedback
- See which customers had a positive or negative experience
- Manage negative feedback by offering promo codes
- Turn negative experiences into positive ones
- Get positive testimonials to use on your site and social media
Frequently Asked Question About Online Reviews
84% of people trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation. That’s HUGE! Not only do online reviews impart consumer trust in a business, they can also increase landing page conversions and click-through-rates.
Today, a lot folks classify themselves as distrustful of traditional marketing. That leaves peers as the most trusted form of recommendation when it comes to everything from finding a restaurant and booking a hotel to finding a contractor or choosing a financial professional.
It is our experience over the last decade, the vast majority (over 8 in 10 people last year) read online reviews for a local business, while 89% of 35-54-year-olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Almost ALL of the credible review sites are important.
Yelp, Google My Business/Google and Facebook are probably the top three, but don’t stop there! If there are niche review directories (like Angie’s List or Cars.com), ask customers to leave reviews there, too. Mix it up. You want a good balance of reviews on a variety of the top review sites.
Our monthly Reviews Management investment start at $295 per month.
You know your customers love your business, but on popular review sites it’s all crickets. What’s the deal?
The first step is to ask. Specifically, ask nicely and personally. If a favorite cashier tells a regular customer that a review would mean a lot to him, that will be much more motivating than a “review us!” sign on the door. For this reason, it’s a good idea to build asking for a review into your customer service process. Making it easy for people to review you is also a good idea.
A small gift in exchange for five stars seems innocent enough, right? Wrong.
Giving away free items, exclusive offers, or other kickbacks exchange for a positive review is seen as a truth in advertising violation. You can offer a thank-you to a customer who has reviewed your business, but offering freebies in exchange for reviews – especially if you specify that preferred content of the reviews – can turn people off and lead to possible legal trouble down the road.
You betcha! Search engines are in the business of giving people the best results for their search queries. If you search for “pizza delivery near me,” a search engine will respond with listings for pizza places that they think are relevant to your interests. That means they’ll find places close by, places that are open, and – you guessed it – places that other customers recommend.
In fact, since Google knows how important reviews are to potential customers, they even show the star rating right on the results page. How silly would their search engine look if it recommended a restaurant with 3 stars over one with 5 stars? Unless one is significantly closer to the searcher, it’s not gonna happen. SEO is one of the major reasons why reviews are so important to businesses today.
