Online SEO reviews have become more and more important for your company and for Google. They have become indispensable because they offer so many advantages:

• 92% of online shoppers read reviews
• they have an impact on your SEO
• increased sales
• companies can learn from feedback
• better insight into your target group
• positive reviews create more trust etc.

In this article, I will explain what impact reviews have on your SEO. SEO means optimizing an internet page to be placed as high as possible, in the search results of a search engine. I will explain this by answering the following questions.

Is link building still important?

First of all, I want to say something about link building. This means that you will get relevant links on other sites, which refer to the own site. The aim of link building is to get more visitors to the website.

In addition to that, link building is essential for the findability in Google. Google sees the links from other websites to your website as votes. If you get a lot of votes, you get more appreciation from Google. This appreciation ensures that your website scores better in search engines.

This system has been in place since the beginning of SEO times. Initially conceived as a very noble algorithm, it has fallen victim to frequent abuse over the years. However, it has made it increasingly difficult for Google to determine in a ‘fair’ way, who the absolute authority within the discipline really is.

Link building is still important since research has shown that it determines more than 20 percent of your ranking. But nevertheless, Google has started looking for alternatives; alternatives that approach the real truth as much as possible. And what comes closer to the real truth than real people?

Why are reviews so important for Google?

Google wants to show its visitors the most relevant search results. This is why it includes the number of Google reviews and their score in the ranking of local search results. They give Google a good idea of the quality of your products or services. It offers Google an extra piece of context to determine who you are, what you do and how well you do it. It is logical that Google attaches value to this since visitors really do this.

So make sure you get as many good reviews as possible, so you can shoot for a better position. Since we have gotten an idea why these reviews are so important for Google, it’s now time to turn this fact into a practical approach!

Which platforms can customers leave reviews on?

• Yelp

There are various platforms on which your customers can assess you. Perhaps the best-known website in this segment is Yelp, the American platform that is mainly used in the assessment of restaurants. They only collect reviews about the business but not about the products separately.

• Facebook

The “free review site” is of course Facebook. If you have a lot of followers and likes, it can definitely encourage people to leave a review. But if you are not very popular on Facebook, these reviews won’t reach a large audience and you will have to involve other platforms.

• Google My Business

Google does not trust any medium as much as its own. If you want to be locally found, using GMB (Google My Business) is an important indicator. This free service offers you the opportunity to show your company on Google Maps as an entrepreneur.

• Revi

Revi is an online platform that helps businesses to collect reviews about the store, but also about the products separately. Reviewing the products separately increases visibility and conversion. It leads the client’s attention on previous buyer’s reviews, which then encourages the buying decision. Revi helps you to collect reviews on Google My Business too.

Revi is definitely a good decision if you prefer to let your happy clients help you sell more through an online opinion system for e-commerce.

How can I make leaving a review more attractive?

So, you know that reviews are important for your SEO, but how can you get more reviews in order to help your SEO and online reputation?

• Ask your customers to leave a review after they have purchased a product.
• let your customers know how grateful you would be and how useful reviews are for your business.
• make writing a review as simple as possible.
• offer discounts if they leave a review.

What impact do negative reviews have on your SEO?

Many people think negative reviews will hurt their SEO. In reality, this is not always the case. Because Google knows that nobody is perfect and that even the best sites have received at least a few negative reviews. A mistake can happen or an employee or a customer may be having a bad day. Know that a negative review is not the end of the world, but that it is, in fact, the last chance the business will likely be given, to make amends and win back the customer. Remember, that it is 25 times more expensive to earn a new customer than to retain an existing one.

If you only have positive reviews on your website, consumers might think they are fake. Negative reviews help you show, that your business is responsive, trustworthy and real.

Conclusion

However, it appears that Google will find reviews increasingly important. Reviews are not only good for increasing the conversion or raising the trust of customers, but they also help you to get a better position in the ranking of Google. So make sure you are at least present and receive reviews in important places like Google itself, but also on Facebook and other review websites.