How Online Reviews Affect Your SEO and Online Success

How Online Reviews Affect Your SEO and Online Success Online reviews have massive power, if you don’t know, find out how online reviews affect your SEO and overall online success of your business.

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All businesses, no matter the industry they’re in, have the same goal in mind – reaching business success.

Of course, with so many businesses being online, it can become quite difficult to have your voice heard among so many others that are shouting almost the same things as you are. However, while there are a lot of businesses operating within the same industry as you are, that doesn’t mean you should simply give up and let the fortune take the wheel.

Instead, you should focus on building exposure and getting your name out there for the people to see. This can be easily achieved with some carefully designed marketing tactics that definitely include online reviews and, in turn, SEO.

But how exactly are they correlated and how can your business benefit from them?

The facts

For quite some time now, Google has been improving their perimeters and criterion based on which it allows different websites to progress on the SERP. And since it is no secret that Google favors original content, and it comes as no surprise that Google actually likes businesses with a lot of online reviews. Not only can online reviews improve your SEO in this sense, but the fact is that a staggering number of 90% of online customers are more likely to first check online reviews regarding a certain business before they actually decide to check the business itself.

With that in mind, it becomes quite obvious why you should not only embrace the online reviews regarding your business, but you should also encourage anyone who has ever done business with your brand to share their own thoughts and opinions – both positive and negative. The fact is that if a business has only positive reviews regarding their brand, they risk to instantly look shady and like they’re hiding something because the fact is that no matter how good you are with your business efforts, there will always be individuals that are not happy about one thing or the other.

The content – offer something in return

Believe it or not, reviews, in general, account for about 9.8% of total ranking factors.

That being said, it comes as no surprise that Google favors businesses that are being reviewed online, as the more you’re being talked about, the more popular you become. Therefore, embracing online reviews is just another way you can boost your online rankings and ensure more exposure for your business.

Another surefire way you can do so is by paying special attention to the content you present to the online audience. Generally speaking, online consumers don’t really favor brands that are simply trying to push their products or services onto them. Instead, they prefer businesses that offer something of value in return, such as high-quality, unique content. And one of the most original forms of content, aside from the one your content team makes, are definitely online reviews.

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Third-party star rating – be transparent

Aside from the reviews, you have on your own business’s website, Google and other search engines will also be looking at the reviews of your brand on third-party websites.

That’s why you should try to make sure that:

1. a) you have more positive than negative reviews on your website;
2. b) your business maintains a high star rating on the most relevant third-party websites within your industry (in a 1 to 5 system, 3.5 will be considered the higher side);
3. c) you should aim at getting at least 3 reviews a month, during the period of one year to remain relevant

What this means is that, for instance, if you are running an online casino, the majority of people will be more inclined to trust the reviews you have presented on your own website’s pages, using trusted 3rd party review platforms such as Google, Yotpo, Facebook and Amazon. If they see positive online casino reviews regarding your casino on other relevant websites make sure you keep track of them and see what people are talking about your businesses outside of its immediate lines, i.e. your own website.

The exposure – attracting a new audience

Online reviews also present an excellent opportunity for you to attract a new audience.

And, of course, the more people who know or hear about your business, i.e. the greater the exposure and the more likely you are to build your audience. Simply put, let’s say that you sell motorbike gear. If your company is featured on a website selling motorbikes, chances are that people interested in buying them will want to visit your website next, if the things they’ve heard about your brand are generally positive.

That being said, attracting new customers is not as difficult as managing to turn them into repeat customers. That’s why you should try to implement some clever strategies in your offer that will make people more inclined to come back for more. And no, sales, coupons and discounts are not the only means you can use in your favor. Encouraging your customers to review your business, replying to their reviews and actually implementing the changes they’ve suggested – but only when it actually makes sense to do so – will show your audience that you don’t only want to be talked about but that you actually are willing to listen. This can prove to be more lucrative than any other strategy as this way, you will be showing your customers that you value their opinion, and there’s not a single person that minds being valued.

The keyword play – happy coincidence

While trying to promote your product and boost your ranking with the help of SEO, you will be required to come up with not just keywords, but long-tail keywords that will be unique for your brand and your business. These keywords are, of course, not being chosen by a random pick. But there are actually numerous ways you can decide on the ones you want to use – some of which include word structures that feel most natural for your brand.

The happy coincidence that we’ve mentioned comes – once again – in the form of online reviews. Here, a lot of the people reviewing your business will, usually unconsciously, use some of the keywords you’ve chosen for your business. This will create organic content that will boost your SEO attempts even further in the most natural and organic way possible.

Therefore, if you have an online business and want to make sure you do everything in your power to reach success, try encouraging your audience to review your products or services. This way, not only will they be helping your business with its online ranking – thus boosting your SEO – but they will also encourage more people to come to your door and do business with your brand.

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by Chris London of Pixel Productions Inc. The Everything Design Company