If you aren’t already utilizing online reviews to boost your site traffic, then buckle up because there’s a lot you’ve been missing out on.
Recent data reveals that almost 100% of consumers consult reviews when shopping online (Power Reviews), and 63.6% check Google reviews (either through Google Maps or Search) before visiting a business.
The takeaway is clear: online reviews are major drivers for purchasing decisions, and any business looking to rank must leverage them.
In this guide, we’ll explore the many ways you can use customer reviews for SEO, or search engine optimization, to improve website traffic and rank higher on search engines. Topics covered include:
• Why Are Online Reviews Important for Website Traffic?
• Top Ways To Use Online Reviews for Website Traffic
• How To Get More Google Reviews and Customer Testimonials
• How To Respond to Negative Reviews
Online Reviews and SEO: The Perfect Match
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Fortune 500 company or a small local business; customer reviews for SEO can make or break your online presence. Here’s why:
• Social Proof: Online reviews serve as social proof for the quality of your products or services, and people are more likely to trust the opinions of fellow customers over marketing messages.
• Improved search engine performance (SEO): Search engines consider Google customer reviews a major ranking factor. More positive reviews can increase your visibility and lead to higher website traffic.
• Increased Trust and Credibility: Having many positive Google customer reviews can improve your brand’s reputation and credibility, making potential customers more likely to visit your website.
• Valuable Insights: Online reviews provide valuable insights into the wants and needs of your target audience. This can help you make necessary changes to your products or services to meet their expectations better.
• Influence buying decisions: As mentioned earlier, most consumers rely on online reviews before purchasing. In fact, 27% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (BrightLocal).
Now that we understand the importance of online reviews for website traffic let’s see how we can use them to our advantage.
Top Ways To Use Online Reviews for Website Traffic
Online reviews and SEO go hand in hand when driving website traffic. Here are some effective ways you can use online reviews to boost your search engine ranking and attract more visitors to your website:
Prioritize Off-Site SEO
Off-site SEO refers to your actions to build a digital footprint outside your website. This includes building credible backlinks, staying active on social media platforms and creating profiles on third-party review platforms.
Kyra Sammis, a customer success manager at TrustPilot, confirms that “most businesses have an on-page SEO strategy to help with organic search, but fewer are spending significant energy on off-page opportunities.”
This diagram from Sammis beautifully illustrates how off-site activities, such as online reviews, can improve your website’s overall SEO:
Google and other search engines use off-site signals like online reviews to measure your brand’s relevancy, authority and trustworthiness.
That said, take advantage of off-site SEO tactics like collecting strong reviews on third-party review platforms like Google Business Profile (GBP), Yelp and Tripadvisor.
Boost Your Review Score
The GBP guide states that local search results “are based primarily on relevance, distance and prominence.”
Prominence is determined by a business’s level of recognition, which is influenced by the number of reviews and customer opinions.
This means that besides the number of reviews you receive, your review score also significantly improves your website traffic. The higher your review score, the more likely Google will show your business in search results.
To increase your review score, focus on providing high-quality products or services and encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews. If you receive a negative review, respond promptly and try to resolve the issue with the customer.
But how do you improve your review score for your business locations?
First, ask your customers to leave reviews. Make it easy for them by providing links to third-party review platforms in your email signatures or website.
Second, respond to all positive and negative reviews, showing potential customers that you value feedback and are willing to address any concerns.
Lastly, use an online review management platform or partner with experienced online reputation management companies to monitor your reviews across platforms. This will make it easier for you to respond and improve your review score.
Factor In Review Velocity
Review velocity refers to the rate at which your business receives online reviews. According to Moz, this is a critical component of your online reputation management strategy as review velocity, quantity and diversity account for 15% of Local Pack ranking factors.
The key is maintaining a steady and consistent flow of reviews over time. Rapid spikes of positive reviews followed by periods of inactivity can appear suspicious to search engines, potentially leading to penalties.
On the other hand, a slow but steady stream of mixed reviews (both positive and negative) is seen as authentic and, therefore, more credible.
Online reputation management companies can help regularly monitor and respond to reviews while implementing tactics to encourage a steady flow of reviews.
Take Into Account the Substance of Your Reviews
While you can’t control what people say in their reviews, you can ask consumers to mention the location or specific service they used.
This helps potential customers understand what your business offers and provides valuable keywords for search engines to rank your website.
However, positive language and sentiment in reviews signal to search engines that your business is highly regarded and relevant to users’ search queries.
Consider Review Volume
Visualize this: you’re shopping for a new dentist and find two offices with the same review score, but one has 100 reviews, while the other has only 10. Which one are you more likely to choose?
More often than not, consumers are likely to choose the business with a higher volume of reviews as it shows that more customers have had experiences with them.
A solid online reputation management strategy can help you increase your review volume by encouraging customer feedback, responding to reviews and utilizing online review management platforms.
In the next section, we’ll discuss how to generate reviews and customer testimonials to build a strong online reputation.
How To Get More Google Reviews and Customer Testimonials
The struggle to get more Google reviews is real, but implementing the following strategies can help you generate reviews faster:
• Sending automated emails to customers post-purchase or service
• Making the review process easy and convenient by providing direct links to third-party review platform
• Utilizing social media to ask customers for their feedback and reviews
• Printing a QR code on receipts for easy review access
• Incentivizing customers to leave reviews through loyalty programs or discounts on their next purchase
• Sending a follow-up text message after a customer interaction
• Simply asking for a review during a customer interaction
Eliminating the friction of leaving a review greatly increases the likelihood of customers taking the time to leave one. If, after trying these strategies, you still struggle to generate reviews and customer testimonials, consider implementing reputation management software or partnering with reputation management consultants.
How To Respond to Negative Reviews
Responding to Google reviews is crucial when it comes to reputation marketing. In a perfect world, all reviews would be positive, but the reality is that negative reviews are bound to happen. The key is to handle them efficiently and professionally.
Here are some tips for effectively responding to Google reviews, both negative and positive:
• Respond promptly: Show customers that you value their feedback by responding to Google reviews in a timely manner, ideally within 24 hours.
• Personalize your response: Avoid using generic templates for responses and instead personalize them based on the specific review.
• Address concerns and apologize: For negative reviews, acknowledge the issue and apologize for any inconvenience caused. This shows that you take customer feedback seriously.
• Offer a solution: In addition to apologizing, try to offer a solution or resolution to the issue raised in the review. This can help turn a negative experience into a positive one.
• Express gratitude: For positive reviews, thank the customer for their kind words and for choosing your business.
• Take it offline: If the issue raised in a negative review requires further discussion or resolution, provide contact information for the customer to contact you privately.
• Monitor and track reviews: Regularly check and respond to all reviews across various platforms, including social media. Utilizing online review monitoring tools helps streamline this process.
Remember: Always take a level-headed and professional approach when responding to reviews, as your reactions can influence potential customers.
For guidance, hire a reputation management agency to effectively use both positive and negative reviews as an opportunity to showcase your commitment to customer satisfaction and improve your online reputation.
Solidify Your Online Reputation and Search Ranking With Thrive Local
By now, you should know that online reviews and SEO are not standalone entities but intricately connected aspects of a broader online reputation management strategy.
Thrive Local, an all-in-one reputation management agency, can help improve both your online reputation and search ranking through various offerings, including:
• Review monitoring: Stay on top of all Google customer reviews across multiple platforms with review monitoring.
• Online review management: Manage and respond to reviews directly from one platform.
• Reputation marketing: Use positive customer reviews in marketing materials and your website.
• Responding to online reviews: Let our reputation management consultants handle responding to negative reviews on your behalf.
With Thrive Local, you can have peace of mind knowing that your online reputation is in good hands. Speak with our reputation management consultants to learn how to leverage customer reviews for SEO.
