One key trick that businesses can sometimes miss in the world of Search Engine Optimisation is the power that reviews yield. For example, if you googled ‘mechanic in Sandwell’, then the top businesses listed would all have their google review rating included, and obviously, Google favours businesses who use their services. Moz even states that reviews count for 8.4% of Google’s ranking factors, which may sound small but it’s such an easy chunk to gain.
The first step to this is registering with Google My Business, this then allows you to verify your business on Google. Google has a bias towards verified businesses, so make sure you do this if nothing else.
Once you’ve done this it’s important to ask your customers to leave you feedback. Data says that customers are more likely to leave a review of a negative experience than a positive one, with 95% of customers surveyed saying they’ve left bad reviews, and only 87% leaving good ones, so provide some encouragement to get that five-star review and boost your reputation.
As well as just boosting your search engine rank, you’re also receiving valuable feedback from your customers, which can only be a good thing. When you do get reviews, it’s important to respond to reviews. In doing this you build relationships with the customers, and potential new customers can see that you care when they look at reviews.
It has been shown that 88% of customers consult reviews before making a purchase, and 63% of consumers are more likely to buy from a business with customer reviews. It should be obvious that an unbiased third party saying that your business is great is much more trustworthy to a consumer than you saying it yourself.
This is a simple way to tip the google algorithm bias in your favour, so get out there and push for reviews.