Are on-line reviews good for business?

Online reviews are something that every business needs to come to terms with.

With the popularity of things like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, businesses need to be aware of what their online reputation looks like. For all the positive experiences you provide, one bad experience can lead to a negative review that can impact your business. But, you’re probably wondering a few things:

• How important are online reviews?
• Do they impact your SEO rankings
• Should you focus your marketing budgets on them?

Here at Globalgraphics Web Design we provide digital marketing in Toronto, and we know all too well how important online reviews can be for your business.

Map Placement is the Best Form of SEO

Let’s say you are looking for the best Thai restaurant in Toronto. The first thing you likely do is search for it on Google. And what do you see? Several highly rated Thai restaurants with PAI leading the pack with a 4.5 rating and over 5,000 reviews.

All of the traditional search results appear below the map. For SEO, appearing in the map results is more valuable than appearing below it. The average user interacts with the top results more than 35% of the time, while the second position gets roughly 12.5% of the clicks.

If you can obtain enough positive reviews for your business, you can leapfrog the traditional search results, providing you with high visibility in the SERPs. Boosting your SEO in Toronto isn’t easy. Businesses with a solid reputation should leverage that reputation through positive reviews to increase their chances of obtaining map placement.

Appear on Popular Review Websites

Let’s return to our Thai restaurant example. We already told you how important map placement is, especially when it comes to Toronto digital marketing.

But there’s something else you need to know. Ranking for “best Thai restaurant Toronto” isn’t going to happen overnight. There are too many restaurants to compete against. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t rank. You just have to get creative with your SEO strategy.

If you provide high-quality service and your customers love you, appearing on these kinds of lists is incredibly valuable. Remember, SEO is a numbers game and getting more useful clicks than your competition helps legitimize your business.

Most major search terms will feature these popular review websites. Many of them won’t consider you for these lists unless you have a positive reputation. After all, why would they promote a business with hundreds of negative reviews?

Building a positive reputation not only help you get map placement, but it’ll help you get a valuable link in the top SERPs through unconventional methods. If we already know the top result gets the most clicks, appearing as a top restaurant in that list will help your SEO.

Your Customers Care About Reviews

You can’t escape the importance of online reviews. According to Moz, online reviews impact 67.7% of purchasing decisions, while 95% of them will at least read a review before making a purchase.

Online reviews are a simple form of validation. If enough people say something positive about a business, a customer will assume that business is good at what they do. Likewise, a business with poor online reviews is less likely to convince impulse buyers to choose them.

Whether you are starting out, or already established, you should encourage your customers to leave positive reviews for your business. There are virtually no downsides and nearly infinite upside.

Globalgraphics – Your SEO Company in Toronto

Reputation management is something that many businesses should be paying attention to more. Every business should be obtaining positive reviews, but they also need to learn to manage negative ones as well.

As a highly experienced SEO agency in Toronto, we understand the importance of reputation management and developing and implementing SEO strategies that increase the visibility of your business. Organic growth is something that every business should be focused on.

If you are interested in learning more about our web, graphics, and SEO services, please contact us today. We have been helping businesses with their design and digital marketing needs for many years, and we look forward to helping your business grow organically.