Understanding The Importance Of Google Reviews

How To Start Receiving Google Reviews

Google Reviews is available via the Google My Business platform. Any business owner can quickly set up a business profile so they can appear in the world’s most used search engine. Alongside the reviews section contains other important information such as an address, opening hours, phone number and more that can be valuable for any customer.

You can set up a Google My Business listing by using the following steps:

1. Go to your Google Business Profile and click ‘Manage now’ to create a new business account or create a new Google account
2. Enter your business name
3. Enter business address and specify service areas if applicable
4. Specify the business category
5. Add other details such as website, hours and phone number
6. Verify listing via phone or email

Google My Business has many parts to it and can sometimes take a while to set up properly. We have created a GMB guide with tips and information about the platform and how to best make use of Google Reviews.

Why are Google Reviews Important?

Obtaining Google Reviews can help drive more sales and traffic as your business can appear higher in Google’s search results. 82% of consumers search online reviews (including Google Reviews) before engaging with a new business when making a purchase decision. If there are so many potential customers searching for reviews, then it is imperative to ensure that they are good.

In the graphic below it can be seen that 92.24% of all search engine queries worldwide use Google. For a country like Australia (94.21%), this number is even greater. As so many customers use Google search, this is a great starting point to obtain your online reviews.

When searching Google for the word ‘reviews’, there are 25,270,000,000 results (25.27 billion). This is a huge amount of online content with reviews for businesses, services and products. Reviews are too hard to ignore as more customers go online with their searching. Google Reviews is the first platform that most customers will start looking at before making any decisions.

The importance of gathering reviews and especially Google Reviews should not be understated. As Google has the most traffic of any site in the world, it makes sense to get listed and collate reviews through Google.

The Major Advantages Of Google Reviews

Without a Google My Business listing, your business is missing out on potentially huge traffic gains. Google has 92.24% of the worldwide search engine share and with so many people searching for the best local businesses, your business must be visible. As only 6% of people say they don’t trust online reviews at all, gathering more Google reviews can be super advantageous for any business. This increase in review generation can result in gains to business credibility which can create huge exponential growth with little effort. However, the biggest benefit that more Google reviews bring to your business is better local search rankings.

1. Improved Brand Awareness

   An improved brand awareness can result from having more Google reviews and appearing higher in search results. As more consumers will potentially see your business in local search, they will become aware that your business exists. If more potential customers are aware of your business then this increases the chances that they will use your products or services.

2. Better Local SEO

   Local SEO can be a huge factor in determining if your business will appear higher in Google search results. If your business takes advantage of SEO methods over a competitor then you can reap huge rewards and gain significantly more traffic. Reviews can have a direct result on search results so receiving more reviews can help your business rank higher for a number of great keywords.

3. More Traffic = More Sales

   As 87% of consumers check online reviews before making a purchase decision, having more Google reviews is crucial for more success. Positive reviews can help with SEO and help your business appear higher in search results, this can therefore lead to more traffic and sales. This growth in sales can help take your business to the next level and become a powerhouse in your industry.

4. Social Proof Of A Great Business

   Reviews can certainly help reinforce the great services your business can provide for its customers. Obtaining more Google reviews is a great cost-effective way to improve your business due to the immense reach it may have. What customers say online about your business is more effective than what you say about your business yourself. Because 91% of people place as much trust in an online review than a similar recommendation from close friends or family, this real social proof can make a real difference.

5. Increased Reputation

   Reputation and trust is extremely important for any business and crucial for great local businesses who provide products and services. Google reviews can directly contribute to your ability to obtain new customers which can positively affect your reputation. An improved reputation can reap huge rewards for any business and is something businesses need to capitalise on to become more successful and help drive more sales.

How Do Google Reviews Help Increase Sales?

Google Reviews can have a direct effect on your Google rankings. Receiving and replying to reviews can help our business rocket towards position 1 for a number of keywords. There is a correlation between higher Google rankings and increased traffic. This can have a direct result on business sales as more customers to your site can equate to more conversions.

Every business owner must learn how to manage and respond to reviews in an appropriate and professional manner. Reviews can be the best way for the public to gain unbiased information on your business. To help with review management you could opt for an online reputation management platform such as AddMe Reviews.

Acquiring reviews via Google can be as simple as requesting them from all your customers as 81% of customers are willing to write a review if requested. Once your business has acquired these reviews it is important to respond to them efficiently. Responding to reviews can help Google search determine its ranking algorithm as seen via the quote below from Google support.

“Respond to reviews that users leave about your business. When you reply to reviews, it shows that you value your customers and their feedback. High-quality, positive reviews from your customers can improve your business visibility and increase the likelihood that a shopper will visit your location.”

Do Google Reviews Help SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is when you optimise the content of your website to rank higher on search engines like Google. Google has an algorithm and has ‘robots’ crawling the web to get a better understanding of what content is on certain sites and how users search for results. Google learns how to better match what people search for and the keywords that appear across your website. It is important to optimize your website using these words, phrases and business keywords that best describe your business and the products or services available.

Google reviews can be a contributing factor to search results as it can lead to higher rankings in search results. The following quote is sourced directly from the Google support page. “Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’ local ranking. Your position in web results is also a factor, so search engine optimization (SEO) best practices apply.”

This shows that there is a correlation between gathering more reviews and achieving higher ranking results in Google. Generating reviews can benefit your organic search rankings and will assist with the customer decision making process to assist them in the process of choosing the best business for them. If they see your business has more reviews and higher ratings, then their choice should be obvious. Other boosts that higher ranking results can give to your business include:

• Increased brand awareness
• More localised online traffic
• Increased brand trust
• More traffic = more sales
• Improved social proof
• Increased reputation

Supporting our AddMe Reviews platform is our SEO service through BeOnTop SEO that can help increase your exposure on Google. If your business needs help with it’s SEO, Google reviews or any other questions regarding reviews, please contact us today.

How To Delete A Google Review

Learning how to remove Google reviews is important for any business owner who may receive fake reviews. We created a comprehensive guide about how to delete Google Reviews when false, negative reviews are present. Only fake reviews can be removed because a legitimate negative review from a real customer cannot be removed. This rule is enacted so that all online reviews are from real customers who can give valuable feedback to a business. To report fake Google reviews a business owner can flag and fix inappropriate content on their Google My Business account via Google Maps by following the steps below.

1. Go to Google Maps and search for your business
2. In the left sidebar, go to “Review Summary”
3. Click the number of reviews below the average rating
4. Find the review you wish to flag and click the flag icon
5. Complete the review form and click “Submit”
6. Wait a few days for a response or removal by Google

How AddMe Uses Google Reviews

The AddMe Reviews platform has full Google Reviews integration, ensuring all reviews can easily be captured within a Google My Business account. Through SMS and email messaging, businesses can easily gather reviews from customers if they have their contact details. The AddMe reporting can help give a quick snapshot of the reviews captured for your business online, including Google reviews.

How To Link A Google My Business Account To AddMe Reviews

Follow these steps to link your Google My Business account to AddMe Reviews:

1. Navigate to Google My Business
2. Click the ‘Sign In’ button
3. In the Google My Business dashboard, click ‘Users‘ on the left navigation bar
4. Click the ‘Add People‘ icon in the top right and click ‘Invite new users‘ (only a business ‘owner’ has permissions to do this)
5. Fill email address field with: reviewmanager@AddMe.com
6. Choose a role as ‘Manager‘ (Before October 24 2021 this was titled ‘Site Manager‘)
7. Click the ‘Invite’ button

The Power Of Reviews

Online reviews are becoming more vital for every business to help ensure that they can increase their online reputation. Obtaining more Google reviews should be an important part of every businesses strategy for digital marketing. Helping to appear higher in search results and increase trust with potential customers can assist with huge sales gains for every business. 91% of people say they place as much trust in an online review than that of a similar recommendation from close friends or family. This is therefore crucial to receive as many positive reviews as possible to help stay ahead of competitors and grow your business to new heights.

Use all the Google reviews implementation and begin the seamless review generation process with AddMe Reviews. To fully explore all the benefits of the platform, you can try it for your business today with a free trial.