How do Google reviews influence SEO?
This is something almost all businessmen and marketers want to know! The correlation between Google My Business Reviews and SEO has been the topic of interest for many! Even the clients who buy Google business reviews have mostly asked this question to us. Let’s find the answer here:
There’s no doubt that Google Reviews are useful for improving search results and SEO efforts. Search engine ranking is influenced by a number of factors, but online customer reviews can be a powerful signal that communicates trustworthiness and authority to search engines. Today, small businesses have to compete on the web more than ever, and managing online reviews helps you stand out in search engine results.
How to Know if reviews Matter?
Even the best digital marketing company would back the notion that it’s rare to think of SEO without thinking about customer reviews. Since there are so many other elements of SEO to consider, such as content creation and link building, reviews simply don’t get as much attention as they should. In any case, they should – especially if you have a local business.
The Local SEO Ranking Factors Study conducted by Local SEO Guide found that Google My Business reviews adding the searched-for keyword were the second-most influential factor in determining a local business’ ranking in the “Local Pack”, a box of local results from relevant searches at the top of Google.
In the screenshot above, you can see how this works for the query. Reviews were one of the factors Google used to determine what businesses to display when I searched for “cat shelter.”. Note in particular that the reviews at the bottom of each business’ space are bolded, indicating Google’s belief that it is relevant to my search terms (and related terms such as “adoption”).
A site’s SEO-friendliness and existing organic rankings for a number of terms make it more likely that it will appear in the Local Pack, which is based on additional organic rankings.
What if your business isn’t local? Is it still important to have reviews? Research shows that reviews are important for SEO even if your business operates strictly online or has no physical location.
What Is the Impact of Google business reviews on SEO Rankings?
Word-of-mouth marketing is trusted by Google. Reviews are taken into account when determining where to rank. Likewise, search engines such as Google use online reviews to validate their results.
User and search engine goals are similar, so this shouldn’t be surprising. It aligns with our goals as users to weed through the vast web to find the right information, service, or product as quickly as possible. Reviews work in a similar way to crowd-sourced recommendations.
Three main factors affect the ranking of local search results in Google:
- Importance
- Location
- Affluence
Let’s understand this with an example:
As for the first two ranking factors, they are pretty obvious; Google will try to present you with options for French restaurants in your local area. Prominence is determined by reviews. Despite having hundreds of high-rated reviews, a French restaurant with fewer, less positive reviews and ratings will rank higher than a competitor located in the same neighbourhood.
Most smart businessmen are aware of this and thus invest in reviews and buy Google verified reviews.
Google reviews help rankings for a few relatively straightforward reasons.
Customer trust is more important to Google
Okay, so I exaggerated a bit, but the fact remains that Google relies on signals to determine whether a website deserves good rankings. The importance of links has been evident since the beginning of Google. Whenever you receive a link from another relevant site, Google sees that as a vote of confidence and will reward you with better rankings. In a similar fashion, when a customer reviews your business (whether it is good or bad) it informs Google that you are a real, legitimate business, along with feedback from other customers that can help future prospects find your business. To put it simply, Google loves reviews. (and for this reason, businesses love to buy Google business reviews)
The search engine loves to read
In the same way that you read your book to understand the world (or in this case the Internet), Google reads your site to understand the world. By reading as much content as possible, it will be able to gain a deeper understanding of your business. In order to understand your business better, Google reads lots of fresh content and adds lots of keywords from your customer reviews on your website, or from your Google My Business page.
Having great reviews will result in more clicks and more stars
People trust reviews, whether they like them or not. Think about it this way – if you saw a Local Pack and two of the businesses had 2-star ratings, but the other had 5-star ratings, which one would you click on more often?
The click-through rate has long been known to affect SEO rankings. Google assumes that you’re doing something right if a high percentage of searches choose your site from the search results. You will be rewarded accordingly. Click-through rates can be greatly influenced by reviews, especially if you receive glowing reviews. A rating boost will likely boost your rankings as well.
Managing online reviews can help businesses rank higher
It shouldn’t be too time-consuming to manage online reviews if your business does good work. It is important to incorporate reviews throughout your website in order to make the most out of your reviews. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways based on your type of website and your business. But the best way is to buy Google Business reviews from us!
