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by Zach Hoffman
Do Google reviews help SEO?
On top of website copy, blog posts, and everything in between, small business owners trying to maintain an online presence face an uphill battle with such a crowded marketplace. Technology changes so quickly that keeping your name at the top of the search engine queue feels like a full-time job. And, it can be (we would know).
One factor that many entrepreneurs miss is the power of online reviews to benefit search engine optimization (SEO). You may not be surprised to know that 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business. And, of those consumers, 88% treat online reviews like personal recommendations.
If you’re having trouble understanding the role Google reviews play in your business, follow along for how they can help (or hurt) businesses like yours.
Ready to team up with an experienced digital marketing agency? Contact Exults to get a quote.
10 Ways Real Google Reviews Help Add Value To Your Business
Google reviews affect your presence on Google’s search engine, which makes sense. But not everyone understands why.
For search engines like Google, customer reviews have less to do with what your customers are saying, focusing instead on how they’re saying it. Entrepreneurs typically care tremendously about Google reviews because they want to know what their target audience thinks in real time. This means addressing anything from inconvenient parking to poor customer service.
Ironing out the details of your business using reviews is important. But depending on what your customers experience, their ideas can also translate into data you can use to improve your SEO in the following 10 ways…
1. Less Time Spent Marketing
Time is huge for entrepreneurs. Whether you feel as though you don’t have enough of it or have ideas about maximizing it, time is a fickle friend for business owners. Regarding your bottom line, saving as much time as possible is a priority.
However, simply saving time is easier said than done. This is where many business owners feel stuck when it comes to their SEO strategies. In fact, according to Forbes, SEO teams say their biggest challenges are a lack of resources and strategy issues.
One way to push past strategy challenges is by making your Google reviews a part of your digital marketing strategy to support your SEO team’s efforts. This gives your SEO team access to a ton of content they can track and filter through to boost your online presence.
2. Money-Saving Hack
Before you decide to invest your entire marketing budget into paid advertisements, think about using Google reviews to attract your audience.
In case you haven’t seen this suggestion so far, you don’t (and shouldn’t) use your time as a business owner to write your own Google reviews. But when a legitimate customer takes their time to write a positive review of your business, you should use it for your…
- Website’s testimonials
- Social media content
- Blogs
- Landing page copy
- Advertising
Their honest insight translates into free creative content you can use to market your business. Using Google reviews throughout your digital marketing saves you the typical time and costs needed to otherwise create unique content for your business. This brings us to the next big benefit of using Google reviews to help SEO…
3. Creates Fresh User-Generated Content (UGC)
In addition to time and money-saving perks, Google reviews serve a particular purpose for a user’s entire experience online.
Google’s algorithm weighs connected and linked content, focusing on content’s…
- Uniqueness
- Device friendliness
- Social sharing capabilities
When a customer or client writes a genuine review of your business, that’s a piece of fresh, new content for your site. The author’s voice is likely more genuine than anything you could draft yourself. Especially when changes are constantly being made to Google’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP), you can never have too much original and unique information.
For example, ever since Google enabled its continuous scroll results, zero-click searches have increased. This sounds like a disappointment but offers an opportunity to explore digital marketing strategies you haven’t tried before. Who knows? You may be surprised by how effective a refreshed digital marketing strategy can be.
4. Effective Local SEO Tools
Unsure about the power of organic engagement? In 2022, organic clicks accounted for 45.1% of all search result clicks. This is huge news for businesses as they can use their Google reviews to increase their visibility in local search results.
The best way to use reviews is by using those with trending search terms and keywords. These are the reviews that will attract consumers to your business by optimizing terms like “near me” to bring in local, organic traffic. But that’s not all you can do to improve your search rankings…
5. Increases Online Search Engine Ranking
Did you know that over 90% of searches online happen on Google? The #1 search engine in the world knows this as well. Google uses customer reviews shared on social media platforms, takes notes, and accounts for the information given in its search ranking algorithms.
The more links and websites associated with your website and brand, the more valuable Google deems your website. If Google sees that you are rated favorably and have relevant content to what people are searching for, your website ranks higher. Having a high rank in search results improves your brand’s overall visibility.
Organic results that initially appear on a search results page have an average click-through rate of 27.6%. But to achieve this, you must add Google review monitoring to your digital marketing strategy. Most people won’t scroll for too long before either adjusting their search or starting a new one when they can’t find what they’re looking for quickly.
6. Builds Business Credibility
Consumers prefer to buy a product or service from a business they feel as though they can trust. Keep this in mind when thinking about the words your consumers might use when Googling your business. When they search for your products or services, what do they see?
The reviews your customers leave should describe a business that presents itself as a professional and informed authority figure. The more (especially positive) reviews, the more credible and trustworthy your business appears online.
7. Boosts Long-Tail Keyword Traffic
According to Hubspot, Google has about 8.5 billion searches per day worldwide. This increases your chance to be seen as your audience most likely uses the same or similar words to describe your business. You can take advantage of this by refining your long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords usually have 3 or more words and are much more detailed than general search terms.
Examples include phrases like…
Men’s extra large flamingo shirt with short sleeves
Best gluten-free sugar cookie recipe for kids
Antique gold silverware set for wedding gift
Honing in on your long-tail keywords won’t assist too much with improving organic traffic. But it will attract more of the traffic you’d like to target moving forward. Read Learn the Difference Between Long Tail and Short Tail Keywords.
8. Answers Questions Without Lifting A Finger
Googling is an everyday activity for many. Just like taking a shower and brushing your teeth, an increasing number of people now use Google as an “answer” engine rather than simply browsing.
The average internet user inputs about 3 to 4 searches per day on search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. As part of its process, Google crawls through billions of sites daily to retrieve the answers to your questions in a matter of moments. Doing so allows it to bring answers directly to users with rich snippets at the top of SERPs.
Remember, Google does this type of work all the time, so it’s up to you and your marketing team to ensure your business FAQs are answered and easy to find on your website. You should also have a section for FAQs anywhere else that might be appropriate like on separate landing pages, blogs, social media accounts, etc. You can avoid repeating yourself multiple times a day AND still offer the answers your customer base is searching for. It’s a win-win!
9. Increased Social Hype
Impressive reviews can trend, ignite a viral conversation, or simply boost the sales conversation you’re having by offering real customer feedback. Share that awesome feedback on your social media channels and watch what happens. Showcasing client testimonials proves they love your offer and subsequently trust in your brand, which Google tracks and values in SERPs. Adding unique content in the form of genuine reviews increases your social reach and has the potential to boost lead conversion rates.
Advertising via customer reviews is nothing new. While it was once in-person, word-of-mouth interaction, now your clients can share their views with the whole world rather than just the neighbor next door. Most likely, online reviews of your business are going to happen.
Why not take advantage of them to raise your online profile within the Google search engine? Contact Exults today, and we’ll show you how.
10. Enhanced Relevance Online
Google rewards businesses with more reviews (especially good ones). This is largely because they favor bringing “relevant” content to their users. It might sound complicated, but it’s a way for Google to help filter through results that use questionable SEO methods.
Keyword stuffing and publishing duplicate content are 2 outdated digital marketing strategies that produce questionable results. Keyword stuffing is plugging in as many keywords as possible into any online content to boost its ranking. Publishing duplicate content is also done to achieve the same results.
However, a major problem linked to these strategies includes promoted search results that have nothing to do with the search term or topic at all. This type of content is not only irrelevant but also negatively impacts Google’s user experience. This is why Google makes frequent updates to its operations to discourage the use of these SEO strategies. Engaging in these poor digital marketing practices allows Google to remove your website from its search engine results entirely, leaving you buried under your competitors.
How do I use Google reviews to improve my business’s SEO? Explore digital marketing solutions with Exults today.
General Best SEO Practices For Businesses
Tap into the following digital marketing tips for your business:
Use popular keywords. About 95% of keywords have a volume of 10 or less searches per month. Even with the help of an online keyword planner, they aren’t always accurate and can offer skewed results. It’s best to team up with an experienced digital marketing expert like Exults to find the right formula for your business.
Regularly dedicate time to SEO. Many online searches are brand new and equate to ample opportunity for your digital marketing strategies. You can target new searches by researching and updating SEO yourself or by hiring a digital marketing agency like Exults to dedicate time to your SEO strategies.
Know what to track. Pay attention to your organic traffic, search volume, keyword rankings, click-through rates, bounce rates, engagement time, and conversion rates when reviewing SEO data.
Ask questions. Start by asking questions to find relevant keywords or phrases your potential and current customers are searching for. Simply asking a question can spark plenty of ideas for other questions, hot content topics, and beyond.
Use backlinks. Also known as an inbound link, you should add links to other relevant companies and resources in the content you create and publish to your website. These links act as a tool to build your business’s credibility and improve your search engine ranking.
Don’t leave meta descriptions blank. Meta descriptions exist for a reason so avoid leaving them blank. It only takes a few extra minutes to fill out and provides a summary of what users can expect before they click.
Google Review FAQs
Continue scrolling for answers to the most commonly asked SEO questions.
Should I Respond To Negative Reviews On Google?
Yes. You should respond to every review you get on Google, whether positive reviews or negative. Not only will this help with your SEO ranking, but it will also help your brand’s image to potential customers.
How Many Google Reviews Do I Need To Increase My Rating?
Generally, having at least 20 reviews on your Google Business Profile (previously Google My Business) is enough to get you a good and reliable rating and help your SEO strategy.
Does Google Remove Reviews?
Though it is not common, Google will sometimes remove reviews under the appropriate circumstances.
How Often Should I Update My Website For SEO Purposes?
Not spending enough time thinking about your business’s Google reviews? Think again and get to transforming your SEO strategy. Unfortunately, high search engine rankings don’t happen overnight. With patience and hard work, you can slowly but surely watch your pages jump up in rankings.
Have questions? We thought you might. Support your digital marketing strategies with a team of digital marketing experts. Contact Exults today to get started.