How important are reviews and what is the impact on your web marketing?
There are many marketing benefits to be gained from lots of positive reviews. (These are defined by Google as reviews with 3 ½ stars out of 5.)
Positive reviews make it easy for buy real google reviews shoppers to select you over your competition
They add keyword-rich content when you post them on your site
They can generate referrals from one customer to another
They add credibility to your website
They allow you the opportunity to address poor reviews before they begin to tarnish your reputation
Your paid search ads (Google AdWords) will display the bright orange stars to viewers on the search result pages. This has a huge influence on the click-through-rates because the ads practically jump off the pages.
Your natural (organic) listing may also display the stars, making even lower position results stand out
Provide improved rankings on the search engines
Populate the Internet with positive reviews
Become one of the most influential and trusted service providers in your community.
In order for your business to begin to see these some of these benefits you’ll need a minimum of 30 reviews in the previous 12 month period. And you’ll need to ensure at least 30 reviews in any given 12 month period moving forward.
Make it easy for your customers to post reviews
Simply send them an email with links to your review sites. This way, your customer is already at their computer, ready to write a review right when they receive your request. The link prevents them from having to search for your business’ review page.
Most business owners struggle to get customers to leave reviews. The good news is that is has become easier than ever for you to leap ahead of your competition.
But it begins and ends with you… website operators who get it and fully understand the value find a way to get them. And, if you get it, getting reviews is really quite easy.
Don’t be tempted to incentivize your customers to leave reviews
Google says this can be construed as a “bribe”. Here’s what Matt McGee from Google has to say:
“Reviews are only valuable when they are honest and unbiased. Even if well-intentioned, a conflict of interest can undermine the trust in a review. For instance, do not offer or accept money or product to write positive reviews about a business, or to write negative reviews about a competitor.
Please also do not post reviews on behalf of others or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with the place you are reviewing.”
The benefits to an aggressive Google Reviews process for website operators are enormous. Failure in this arena will become progressively more costly in the coming months and years.
Your competition is just beginning to catch on so you still have the opportunity to gain a substantial edge in winning the trust of more new customers than ever.
90% of customers say buying decisions are influenced by online reviews. “According to a new survey conducted by Dimensional Research, an overwhelming 90 percent of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions, while 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews.”