Online reviews are an important part of the decision-making process for many consumers, but they can also become an important part of your digital strategy to promote your company, increase your reach and expand your core customer base.
Influencing customer decisions
Many studies, including this one from Nielsen, report that online reviews and ratings are one of the most important things to consumers when they are choosing which company they decide to purchase from. Online reviews are the key to approximately half of your overall sales, and this percentage is only going to increase.
Improving your company’s SEO
In addition to understanding their value for your potential customers, you should also be looking at online reviews within the wider context of your SEO strategy. SEO increases your company’s search engine visibility, which is the online equivalent of seeing customers piling their way into a physical store.
How to ensure online reviews work for your business
Yelp is one of the most important review websites, with over 100 million unique visitors each month browsing more than 70 million written reviews. If you haven’t already claimed your business page on Yelp, that should be firmly at the top of your to-do list. Your next priority should be to start encouraging your loyal customers to leave reviews by incorporating a Yelp button into your website or having a bespoke sign designed by a creative Devon web design agency such as http://vuonline.co.uk/web-design/ to point your customers in the right direction.
Google+ may be overlooked when it comes to interacting with your customers, but it is a key platform that can help you convert online reviews and ratings into business growth. Again, at the top of your to do-list here should be claiming your page, filling in important details including your business address and category, and making use of optimised keywords. These details must be accurate, without any typos or careless mistakes. Otherwise, you will be hampering the overall visibility of your company when users conduct searches within their local area.
Once again, ensuring customers know about your Google+ page and where to find it is key. Glowing Google+ reviews have the power to positively impact your company’s search engine placement, so this is a platform that deserves close attention.
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