Introduction

It’s a question that most seo agencies get asked frequently, and that is, will gaining a bunch of business reviews really help their business’s SEO?

Well, as with most things seo related, there’s never just one straightforward answer. The reason being is this depends on many factors, but do not worry, as by the end of this article your going to be all clued up!

Focus on Google

You may have a longlist of customers that are more than willing to leave glowing testimonials about your business, yet your currently unsure as to where your customers should be leaving the reviews.

That’s to say are they best left on just one website, like a website that offers information about your businesses contact details?

 

Are they best left on a social media platforms?

Well, if you were to ask us, we would say they are best left on your Google My Business account.

Reason being is this, say you run a local bakery, well when someone searches your businesses name then your Google My Business page should spring up. That’s of course if your seo agency has set one up for you?

So, all the important business information will be there, like your businesses address, its phone number, a link to the website, and yes, you guessed it the businesses reviews as well.

So, no scrolling down tons of organic links, instead there right in front of you the reviews will be leaping out at you.

This means when your customers says where shall I leave a review? Before they’ve even finished that sentence, you should say Google My Business.

 

Should I even bother, do people even bother to read these reviews?

Well yes they do, and we have the proof, take the Bright Local consumer review survey, it states that consumers read on average a total of 10 online reviews before they feel they are then able to trust a local business.

And as you can imagine, most of the time the customer is spoilt for choice in terms of which company they wish to choose.

So, a whole bunch of really positive and genuine reviews, well you guessed it, you can gain that edge over some of your competitors.

 

Yeah, but will this actually help my businesses seo?

Well yes it will, but it has to be done right. So many business owners, especially businesses that have just started, may be tempted to write a load of fake business reviews.

This is a really bad idea, and the reason is sometimes customers will know that they are fake, plus Google has ways of knowing if the review is fake as well. So, you guessed it, you could incur a penalty.

A penalty could mean that your business will not show up in the local business listings, sometimes referred to as the map listings.

Now this is a big deal, as the Google My Business local business listings can be a great way to gain more customers to your website.

If your website was to get removed, then you could be reliant on just your organic business listings.

 

Okay, but my Google My Business account has loads of reviews already, where else should my customers be leaving reviews?

This is a really important question, as some businesses seem to go through a spurt of getting a few reviews, then just give up and don’t ask for anymore.

The truth is this, the more genuine positive reviews the better, and once your Google My Business listing has loads of good reviews, why not ask your customers to use other websites to leave reviews?

This great article, which was written by Hub Spot states 22 different websites for customers to write business and product reviews.

And this is a great idea, as sometimes a customer will really want to check out as many reviews as possible.

This normally happens when you offer a service or product that the customer needs to think about for some time before choosing one business.

For example, if you are a divorce solicitor, well a customer is likely to check every review that they can find, that’s prior to choosing the family lawyer that they wish to use.

So, they may check social media accounts relating to your company, and Google My Business and also business directory websites as well.

 

Don’t be shy, ask your customers to leave a review

It’s all well and good being excellent at what you do, but what’s the point if only a few people know this?

A happy customer that is willing to write a detailed review, well sometimes this is all that is needed to get the phone ringing with more business.

Not only will you be helping your business, you will also be assisting your seo company to carry out their job and improve where your business is ranked.

Use a white hat agency

If your thinking about hiring an agency, make sure they are white hat. If your business requires local seo, then why not give us a ring?