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Online reviews are increasingly important to all business sectors, from hospitality to auto repair. In the following article, we offer 15 reasons online reviews are essential to growing your business.
Any business owner worth his or her salt knows that generating good word of mouth is an important element of attracting new customers. But while the internet may be taking over the world of advertising the way it seems to be taking over everything else, there are some methods of advertising that are still underutilized by business owners.
One of the main forms of advertising that business owners tend to overlook, but that customers absolutely do not, is online reviews. But how exactly do reviews help a business? Let us count the ways.1 - Online Reviews Help Gauge Your Online Reputation
There is always a need to keep track of how your business is perceived by the people who are, or may become, your customers. It is critical for business to check their visibility on major review sites such as Yellow Pages, Yelp, and Google+ in order to make sure it can be found. Having a solid online reputation from good reviews can dramatically improve the search engine optimization (SEO) position for any business.
2 - Good Reviews Can Increase Bookings
For businesses in the hospitality industry, customer reviews are arguably the lifeblood of their new customer bookings. When people read that someone else had a good experience at a restaurant or hotel, it encourages them to do business with that establishment as well.
There is something to be said in the customer’s mind for someone who has gone before them and braved the hotel that you are considering patronizing and using that person’s experience to decide whether or not to spend their money there.
3 - Increase Traffic to Your Website
When your business is listed on review sites, it inherently increases your online exposure. That exposure can lead to more visitors to your website. This is where the theory that even bad reviews can end up being a good thing comes into play.
Some business owners would disagree and you obviously want more good reviews than bad ones, but even bad reviews have led to customers visiting the owner’s site and even to making a purchase.
4 - Backlinks Can Help Your Online Presence
If you have associations with other successful businesses and their websites, you can take advantage of that by adding backlinks to your own business’s site. Backlinks are essentially links to other relevant sites, such as other businesses or review sites.
Having certain backlinks can increase your credibility and search engine crawlers will use them to tally your website’s level of relevance which can get you a higher search engine position.
5 - Reviews Lead To Higher Search Engine Rankings
In the business of online advertising, it’s all about the keywords. If you have good reviews then you are going to rank much higher when people do Google searches for the terms that are relevant to your business. So if you have a restaurant in Chicago with great reviews on the major review sites, then people who search on Google for “Chicago restaurants” are going to see your restaurant’s name on the first page of their search. That is virtual gold.
6 - People Who Use Yelp Filter Their Results by Reviews
There is a filter available on Yelp that allows people to search by companies that are “highest rated” or “most reviewed”. Having more reviews can mean the difference between bringing in scores of new customers from Yelp and not bringing in any at all.
7 - Reviews Help Customers Make Buying Decisions
There is a peace of mind factor that comes with reviews. People just want to see a review of something before they spend their money on it. Whether it’s a movie they want to see, a store they want to shop at, or a restaurant they want to dine at, people just want to know what others are saying about it.
8 - Multiple Review Sites Means More Customers
It isn’t just a matter of being listed on one review site. If you’re shooting for mediocrity, that might be fine. But if you want to see real success, then you would be advised to list your business on as many of those review sites as possible. There is, indeed, strength in numbers.
9 - The Internet is Simply “Where It’s At”
Over the last 12 months, statistics have shown that as many as 70% of consumers in the United States used an online review site to find a good local business. That number alone should make any business owner want to be on all the review sites possible.
10 - Most Consumers Rely On Online Reviews to Make Buying Decisions
Over the same 12 month period, 67% of consumers said that they made a buying decision based at least in part on reviews that they had read online about a product or service.
11 - Online Reviews Have an Impact
There is no doubt that online reviews influence buying decisions. 49% of consumers said that they were highly likely to patronize a business that had positive reviews. Conversely, 57% said they would avoid buying from a business that had negative reviews.
12 - Most Consumers Want “Reliability” in the Businesses They Buy From
More than 50% of consumers cited ‘reliability’ as the most important characteristic that they look for when choosing a company to do business with. Businesses earn a reputation for reliability from the reviews that people give them online confirming their reliability.
13 - Your Competition May Not Be Listed on Review Sites
Your competition may be lagging behind in developing an online presence, but in all likelihood they’re not. Regardless, your business should be run under the assumption that they are. Having solid reviews on the leading review sites sharpens your competitive edge and puts you in contention with other businesses like yours. Having good reviews helps you stand out.
14 - Online Reviews Offer a Strong ROI
The return on investment for listing your business on a review site is immeasurable. Most of these sites charge a nominal monthly fee which pales in comparison to the business that can be generated if you have good reviews on them.
15 - Your Business Can Generate Global Exposure
Although reviews are primarily geared toward local businesses, you never know who might be checking out your industry from the other side of the world for their upcoming visit to your town. Keep the world informed about the quality of your business with a solid listing on the major review sites.