Is your online reputation fully optimized? Online reviews are a fundamental part of local search. That’s because 97 percent of consumers read online reviews for businesses, and 85 percent report that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, BrightLocal’s 2017 Local Consumer Review Survey found.
It’s not a matter of if your business will get reviews, but when. Poor reviews can sink even the strongest businesses. Here’s a guide to understanding the interplay between reviews, local search and earning (or keeping) a five-star reputation.
How reviews influence local search
Online reviews are not only influencing consumers, they’re also influencing search engine results. According to this year’s Moz Local Ranking Factors Survey, local search experts believe that review signals (in terms of the quantity, velocity, diversity and so on) are estimated to determine about 13 percent of the local pack rankings and 7 percent of the local organic rankings in Google.
The three pillars to local search are relevance, proximity and authority. How can reviews influence these pillars? By adding content and context.
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