Online reviews are the new word of mouth. In the past, consumers had to rely on friends or families for recommendations on everything from where to eat, which doctors or dentists were the best, where to buy a car—pretty much the whole gamut. Needless to say, those recommendations were limited to how large your network was and not online reviews. If you’re family or friends didn’t have any experience with a particular business, the only information about the experience you would have was provided by the company (not online business reviews).

That all changed when online reviews hit a critical mass. Consumers now turn to online business reviews for advice on practically everything. Because of the influence online reviews now wield, businesses need to place collecting reviews at the forefront of their marketing strategies. Below are some of the main reasons why online business reviews are important for your business.

What are Online Reviews?

Online reviews are digital evaluations shared by customers based on their experiences with a product, service, or overall customer experience. These reviews, often published on platforms such as Yelp, Google, and Amazon, serve as modern-day word-of-mouth recommendations or warnings. They provide firsthand, user-generated, and often unbiased insights about the quality, functionality, and performance of products or services. By sharing their testimonials, reviewers not only help prospective customers make informed decisions but also offer businesses vital feedback that can drive improvements.

Why Online Reviews Are Important for Businesses

Increase business visibility and brand awareness

Probably the biggest benefit that comes from increasing your business’ profile on online review sites is the boost in local SEO ranking. According to Google, there are three main factors that contribute to where a business will rank in local search:

Relevance: Similar to organic searches, the biggest factor that contributes to how high your location ranks is how well your business matches the searcher’s query. The primary goal of any search engine is to provide the optimal results based on the criteria provided by the searcher.
Distance: The next factor that search engines take into account is the proximity of the searcher to your business. Distance is something you don’t have control over, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps you can take to make sure your website and business listings are optimized for local search. Take the time to make sure you have a consistent name, address, and phone number on all of your listings as well as on every page of your website. Doing so will help solidify your standing in local search.
Prominence: The final factor that helps determine a business’s local search ranking is prominence. This is where online business reviews come into play. When it comes to local SEO, prominence refers to things like how well-known your business is in the offline world and the amount of information there is about your business across the web in the form of links back to your site and online business reviews. When it comes to online reviews, Google is looking for how many reviews you have, how often they are coming in, and what your overall star rating. Additionally, it also helps if you are interacting and responding to online reviews—both positive and negative.

Improve E-A-T

Online customer reviews have become an integral part of consumers’ decision-making process. With the increasing competition, businesses need to demonstrate their expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Fortunately, online reviews can help businesses achieve this goal by improving their E-A-T.

Online reviews are considered user-generated content that reflects customers’ experiences with a particular product, service, or brand. Potential customers tend to trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Business owners can leverage this trust to demonstrate their expertise by responding to reviews promptly, addressing concerns, and providing valuable insights into their products or services. When businesses respond to reviews, it signals their authority in the industry, and this can influence search engines to rank them higher in SERPs.

Moreover, high-quality online reviews can enhance businesses’ trustworthiness by showing that customers are satisfied with their products or services. This is important because trust is a fundamental aspect of E-A-T, and search engines consider it when ranking web pages. Additionally, online reviews can help businesses identify areas of improvement and provide them with valuable insights into their customer’s preferences and expectations.

Expand your audience

Having strong online visibility is essential for businesses to reach a broader audience. With the ever-increasing competition, businesses should utilize every platform available to reach potential customers. Online reviews are one of these platforms that businesses can use to expand their audience.

In this digital age, customers tend to search online for products or services before making a purchase decision. Online reviews provide businesses with an opportunity to showcase their products or services and provide customers with social proof of their quality. Positive reviews can generate word-of-mouth marketing, which can impact a business’s reputation positively and attract new customers.

Moreover, businesses that have multiple positive reviews are likely to rank higher in SERPs, making it easier for potential customers to find them. This can lead to increased traffic to a business’s website, resulting in more sales and revenue.

Be there in micro-moments

Google recently coined the term ‘micro-moments’ to refer to the time in a person’s life when they have a need to know or a need to buy. The rise in micro-moments has mirrored the rise in mobile device usage. In the past, when we had a question that needed answering, we would have to get up, log in to our computers, open a browser and ask. Nowadays, we have the answers right at our fingertips. If we have a question we need to be answered, we just reach into our pocket, pull out our smartphone, and we have the answer in seconds.

This is true for both general questions like how many inches are in a mile for instance as well as specific questions about products or businesses. Because of this, you need to make sure you are popping up when customers have these need-to-know or need-to-buy moments. The best way to accomplish this is to make sure you’ve done everything you can to optimize and figured out how to improve local SEO.

Boost ‘near me’ Google searches

Today’s consumer values convenience more than business relationships. That is why you need to optimize your local SEO strategy and make it as easy as possible for customers to find you. Recent changes to the Google search algorithm have given more weight to ‘near me’ searches. In fact, according to an informal study conducted by Search Engine Land, non-branded keyword searches for generic terms like ‘accountant’ or ‘bank’ autocompleted to ‘near me’ nearly 90 percent of the time on desktops and 78 percent of the time on mobile.

Mobile devices are significantly accelerating the purchase process. Individuals can quickly go from the awareness/investigation phase to the decision phase in a matter of minutes because access to information is more readily available, and buyers know what they want so searches are more targeted.

online reviews help increase visibility

Once you’ve gotten a consumer’s attention, you need to figure out how to convert them into a customer. Online reviews can help you push the customer from consideration to purchase. When customers search online reviews, they are looking for confirmation they are making the right decision. If a business’ online reviews aren’t up to par, customers will keep looking. Research by BrightLocal has found that 74% of buyers say positive reviews make them trust a business more.

Today’s consumer has lots of choices. Online business reviews act as a key differentiator between you and the competition. For the most part price and product are going to be fairly similar across many industries, so what can your business do to set itself apart from the competition? What we suggest you focus on is delivering positive customer experiences. When everything else is equal, it’s the experience that really matters. And how can consumers learn about your experience? If you guessed online reviews you are right.

Provide insight into customer satisfaction

Finally, online business reviews help your business identify in real-time whether or not your customers are happy. This knowledge will help you zero in on problems your customers might be facing with your experience and fix them before those problems become systemic. Additionally, online reviews can help you know who your top employees are and which employees might need some extra coaching.

Traditionally, businesses have been limited to customer satisfaction surveys or focus groups to collect feedback on the customer experience. Both of these methods can be costly and time-consuming. Many businesses don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to them. However, online reviews have proven to be a cost-effective way to monitor the performance of your business.

Sometimes businesses might be leery of asking their customers for feedback because they’re afraid of what they might hear, but you don’t need to be afraid. Negative feedback might hurt in the moment, but if you take it to heart and use it to improve the business, it could ultimately prove more valuable than positive feedback. The key is in how you respond. When responding to negative reviews you should:

Apologize: Saying you’re sorry regardless of the situation will go a long way toward smoothing things over with unhappy customers.
Stay calm: The worst thing you can do is let your emotions get in the way. In this situation, you should make sure the person responding has some distance from the problem. This will prevent you from sounding defensive and further inflaming the situation.
Offer a solution: Almost as important as apologizing is offering a proactive solution to the problem. This will show that you have put some thought into the complaint and aren’t just trying to placate an unhappy customer.
Offer to speak privately: The final step is to take the conversation offline and refer the customer to someone at your business who can help them.

Why Online Reviews are Important for Customers

So, now you understand why reviews are important for your business. But what about customers? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of online reviews for customers.

Provide social proof

Online reviews serve as social proof for potential customers. When a large number of customers vouch for a product or service, it increases its credibility and builds confidence in the customer’s mind. According to a survey, 92% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase decision.

Validate expertise

People want to buy from the best in the business. Positive reviews validate your expertise and help customers feel comfortable making a purchase. Negative reviews provide the opportunity for businesses to improve and better serve future customers.

Influence buying decisions

Customers place a high degree of trust in online reviews—they consider them to be more authentic than self-promoting marketing messages. Positive reviews can be a major factor in convincing a customer to purchase a product or service from a particular brand.

Increase brand trust

Online reviews create transparency and build trust. Customers are more likely to buy from a brand with good reviews and strong customer ratings. In fact, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Guide customer decisions

Most people prefer not to make blind purchases. Online reviews enable customers to make informed decisions while researching products and services. They provide insights into a brand’s strengths and weaknesses and give customers an idea of what to expect.

Increase customer loyalty

Brands that listen and respond to consumer reviews build strong relationships with their customers. Responding to negative reviews shows customers that the brand is dedicated to providing top-notch service and is willing to address any issues that arise.

5 Tips to Get More Positive Reviews

If you want to get serious about your review game, you need to take proactive steps to encourage your customers to leave reviews. Here are five tips to help you do just that.

1. Learn to ask for them.

One of the simplest ways to get more reviews is to ask for them. Train your employees to ask customers to leave a review when they are checking out or following a purchase. You might also consider sending a follow-up text to your customers shortly after they make a purchase, asking them to leave a review of their experience.

2. Use review generator links

Many review sites offer business owners the ability to create a direct link to their review page. These review generator links make it easy for your customers to find your page and leave a review. You can also use QR codes on your marketing materials to make it even easier for customers to leave a review. Remember: The modern consumer loves convenience and ease.

3. Offer incentives

Everyone loves a good incentive—so offering a small reward is a great way to encourage customers to leave a review of your business. This incentive could be a discount on future purchases, entry into a competition, or a small gift.

4. Respond to reviews

Responding to reviews shows that you value your customers’ feedback and are committed to providing excellent customer service. Whether the review is positive, negative, or neutral, responding helps build a personal connection with your customers.

5. Consider software solutions

A software solution like Podium (hi—that’s us!) can help you manage and respond to reviews by consolidating reviews from multiple review sites into one dashboard. This software can give you real-time insights into your online presence and help you respond to reviews quickly and effectively.

influence purchase decisions

The 6 Most Important Review Sites

There are so many review sites out there—we get it. It can be overwhelming. If you’re not sure where to focus your efforts, consider the following platforms.

1. Google Reviews

Google is the most popular search engine, which means Google Reviews is undoubtedly one of the most critical review sites for any business. Google Reviews is a platform that allows users to leave reviews about a business or product. These reviews are then displayed on Google Maps and search results.

2. Yelp

Yelp is an online review platform that allows users to leave reviews about businesses. It has an enormous user base and is perhaps the most prominent review site outside of Google. Yelp reviews can be seen on Google Maps, which makes it an essential review site for both small and large businesses that want to make a good impression on customers.

3. Facebook

You probably hop on Facebook every once in a while to see what your loved ones are up to and connect with people you haven’t seen in a while. But the fact of the matter is that Facebook is also an essential review site. Facebook features a review section for businesses, allowing customers to rate and leave reviews directly on the business page. Positive reviews on Facebook can greatly enhance your brand reputation, customer trust, and social media engagement.

4. Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is a popular review site for travel-related businesses such as hotels, restaurants, and attractions. It has millions of users worldwide, and it’s an important review site for businesses that cater to tourists. Reviews on Tripadvisor can significantly impact a business’s reputation and are often the deciding factor for potential customers.

5. Angi

Angi (formerly known as Angie’s List) is a review platform that specializes in home services such as plumbing, roofing, and remodeling. It’s an exclusive platform where only paid members can access reviews, making it a more trustworthy review site. Angi reviews are detailed and focus on the quality of service, making it an essential review site for businesses in the home services industry.

6. Bing

Bing is Microsoft’s search engine, and it also has a review platform similar to Google Reviews. Bing Local allows users to leave reviews about businesses, which can impact a business’s reputation on both Bing and other search engines.

Improve Your Online Reputation & Boost Revenue Through Online Reviews

Podium is a game-changer for local businesses looking to improve their online reputation and boost revenue through online reviews.

What sets Podium apart is its convenient and powerful one-stop-shop for managing all interactions with customers, from review invites to website chats, marketing campaigns, and payments, all in one easy-to-use inbox. This means that local businesses save time and money by having everything they need to connect with customers and drive growth and revenue in one place.

And it doesn’t stop there.

As customer expectations rapidly evolve, providing a modern and convenient experience is essential for businesses to succeed and dominate their local markets. Podium helps small businesses like yours modernize the way they interact with customers along their buying journey by providing a suite of messaging tools that help drive scalable growth.

With Podium, you can improve your online reputation, strengthen your marketing efforts, connect with customers, generate more leads, and boost your bottom line more quickly than ever before.

Ready to give it a try? Start a free trial here.

FAQs

1. What is the best online review platform?

There are many online review platforms available, and each has unique pros and cons. Some of the top platforms include Google Reviews, Yelp, Facebook Reviews, and TripAdvisor. We’d recommend starting with Google Reviews and then choosing a few niche review sites that are relevant to your business and target audience.

2. Should I respond to reviews?

Yes! Responding to reviews shows your customers that you value their feedback, and it also demonstrates that you are committed to providing excellent customer service. A quick and personalized response to both positive and negative reviews can go a long way in building brand credibility and customer loyalty. Furthermore, by engaging with your customers, you may be able to address any issues they had, which can ultimately lead to a positive outcome.

3. How to respond to negative reviews?

When it comes to negative reviews, it’s important to respond in a way that is empathetic, professional, and solutions-driven. Begin by thanking the customer for their review and acknowledging their concerns. Then, provide an explanation or clarification of the situation, along with an apology if necessary. Finally, offer a solution or compensation to show that you are committed to making things right. Remember to keep your tone positive and constructive, as your response will be visible to the public.