Customer reviews are one of those SEO secrets that no one talks about. The number of reviews, both positive and negative, can have an impact on your SEO.
As long as you respond appropriately, reviews can have a positive effect on your customer service and google search rankings.
The benefits of customer reviews on SEO
- Google ranks businesses with more positive reviews higher in local SEO. Positive reviews, like backlinks, show that your business is trustworthy and worth visiting.
- Customer reviews add relevant keywords for Google to crawl through. This means more relevant keywords for your business to rank for. Reviews are essentially user-generated content for your business.
- Good reviews also mean better CTR (click-through rate). Users are more likely to visit your website if you rate higher than your competitors. Google also uses CTR to determine a page’s quality which can influence your ranking.
- Reviews can also reduce your bounce rate. With your reviews being shown, consumers have a better insight into what your services are and are less likely to leave your website if it’s not what they are looking for. And a lower bounce rate means better rankings in Google.
While positive reviews have a lot of benefits, negative reviews are not as harmful as you might think. Provided they are not too numerous.
Google looks at more than just positive customer reviews, it counts the amount and diversity of these reviews.
- Negative reviews add a level of credibility to your business.
- It allows you to engage with your customers.
- The way you respond to reviews can impact customer experience. If done well, it can be a positive one.
- It can give you insight into what you need to improve.
Customer reviews are just one of the many factors that can affect your SEO. But it’s not often mentioned. Proper managing of your customer reviews can give you an edge over your competitors.
Want to know more about how online reviews can help your business? Get in touch with us at +971 4 580 3378.
