If you have a business that has a physical location, then you need to start taking local reviews seriously. The quality of your local reviews will help to build your reputation and help people decide whether or not they actually want to work with you.
Local reviews are a huge trust builder. So, if you don’t have any reviews, then you’re doing your business a disservice. Today’s consumers will turn to the internet before hopping in their cars and driving to your business.
Below we look at the reasons local reviews are so valuable and offer a few tips for building up your base of local reviews.
The Important of Local Reviews
A lot of business owners have started to realize the benefits of online reviews. Whether it’s from sites like Yelp, or even business reviews featured on your local Google Business page. One thing is certain, having a lot of high-quality reviews will help to drive people to your business.
Your reviews, or total lack of reviews, shows up anytime someone searches for your business, or your business niche, in Google. This immediately creates an impression in the searcher’s mind about your business.
When people are in the buying mindset they’re looking to compare different competitors in the most efficient manner possible. One way to weed out low-quality businesses is to look at what previous customers have said.
In fact, recent research has shown that 56 percent of searchers will select a business if it has positive reviews in Google’s local pack. But, the strength of your reviews extends well beyond Google. When you do a search for a local business you’ll also notice they’ve incorporated reviews from other online sources as well.
If your business doesn’t currently have any reviews, then you’re going to see less traffic than your competitors. Especially if they have a solid supply of high-quality reviews. If you notice your competitors are currently lacking in customer reviews, then this is a surefire way to outcompete them.
Benefits of Local Reviews
As you can see local reviews can truly help to bring your business more customers. Below we take a look at some of the main benefits you’ll see for your business once your local reviews start to stack up.
1. Positive Reviews Grow Sales
It’s important to note that not any kind of reviews will do. If you have a ton of negative reviews this will only dissuade people from clicking through to your website. This doesn’t mean you need to have a five-star rating, but the higher your rating the better it’ll be for your business overall.
Positive reviews build trust. The more positive reviews you have the more likely searchers are to click over to your website or give you a call.
2. Reviews Increase Visibility
Having reviews will help you rank higher in the local search results, as well as the Google local pack. The higher you rank in the search results the more eyeballs you’ll have on your business page. Which means more traffic to your website, and more customers coming through your doors.
3. Can Help Improve Your Business
Maybe you received poor customer reviews that you’re not fond of. But, not all negative reviews are bad. Sometimes a bad review can point towards a problem with your business that you need to fix.
You can even dispute negative reviews if it’s a disgruntled customer who’s simply trashing your company. In most cases, you can at least respond to the review, or find a way to get in touch with the customer and see if they can remove the review.
If you’re looking to increase traffic to your local business’s website and turn that traffic into new leads and customers, then get in touch with our team today.
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