Tags – How Reviews Can Benefit Your SEO
Remember when companies would stuff keywords and optimised alt-tags and be ranked at the top?
Well those days are long gone!
As with all technology, Google is forever-changing, and customer reviews are becoming an integral part of SEO for all businesses – big and small.
To put simply, online customer reviews sends a strong signal to Google, or other search engines, that communicates expertise, authority and most of all, trust.
To get a better understanding, here are 5 great ways how reviews can benefit your SEO.
1. Customer Feedback = More Keywords
Have you ever thought of customers being your content creators?
The common answer is – probably not.
But, instead of seeing reviews and simply feedback, you should see these as extra content – that’s how Google sees it after all.
Whether they’re good or bad, it’s more than likely that those reviews will contain keywords that are relevant to your business, product, service or even location – which helps Google to grasp a clearer picture of what your business does, therefore enabling it to put your business in a better position.
Moreover, the density of keywords in reviews can lead to higher results in rankings.
2. Have an Edge Over Competitors
Whilst the majority of your competitors are most likely concentrating their efforts on search terms or website navigation – if you tap into reviews, there’s a big opportunity for you to get ahead of the game.
As such, collecting reviews and merging rich snippets onto your website can transform your listings in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).
Doing so will make your business appear as Rich Results listings, which means those reviews you’ve collected will show as gold stars under your listing – and who doesn’t love gold!?
Moreover, these golden stars will capture the attention of searchers, making you stand out over your competitors.
In addition, reviews will result in better trust, leading to a better click through rate over your competitors too – regardless of your ranking position.
In regards to SEO, the more people who visit your site, the more likely you are seen as “popular” and so, Google wants to provide users with the best experience possible, and so, reviews will positively impact your rankings off the back of this increased traffic.
3. Build Trust with Google
You’ve probably heard trust a lot – but it’s worth repeating.
Ultimately, Google trusts what other people say about you more than what you say about yourself.
For instance, you could claim on your website “Best Estate Agents in London”, but if your reviews don’t match – then this doesn’t count for much.
It’s no surprise – Google’s pretty clever, and positive reviews signify that your business service or product is of high quality and therefore valuable.
With this in mind, it’s not a coincidence that Google shows businesses with a high number of quality reviews first; reinforcing the idea that Google wants its users to have the best possible experience.
As such, you should focus on providing an outstanding service, at the same time collect high quality reviews, and in reward for this social endorsement, Google’s algorithm will reward your website with better visibility.
4. Respond to Reviews to Increase Interaction
According to Google’s My Business Support page, they say to interact with customers by responding to reviews they leave about your business.
Simply, responding to reviews demonstrates that you value your customers and the feedback they have to offer.
And, if Google is telling us to do this, we probably should!
Actually, responding to reviews is beneficial for SEO as interacting with customers signals you’re active on your website (frequently updating the site), which can help your overall positioning.
5. Influence Purchase Decisions
Research reveals, 57% of consumers will only invest in a product or service if the business has a rating of 4 stars or more.
Therefore, it’s clear to see why reviews are so important.
To put simply, if your business has a good star rating with a good number of quality reviews, those who search for businesses like yours will more likely trust you and click on your website and buy from you.
And, this addition in website traffic signals Google that you have authority and thus worthy of a greater search ranking.
The Moral of the Story?
Of course, SEO is always changing and your business can’t afford to have a set-in-stone strategy.
However, gathering high quality reviews is a great way to stay ahead.
Regardless of if you’re service or product based, reviews will no doubt influence the way potential consumers interact with your website – impacting your SEO efforts overall.
Please get in touch to find out more.
In the meantime, check our SEO agency Leicester page.
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