Google My Business: Why Are Reviews Important?

Did you know that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations?

Let that sink in for a second.

88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

When you think about that, that’s an awful lot of people.

When it comes to reviews, there’s not much more that can top a personal recommendation. As typically, personal recommendations come from people you already trust.

Once you receive a personal recommendation from one of your friends or family, you’re basically sold already right? As why would you go elsewhere when someone you personally know has recommended this business to you?

This is exactly why personal recommendations are so powerful! And the fact that online reviews can just be as impactful is clear evidence of just how important reviews are.

Why Are Reviews Important?

1 – They help provide social proof which helps drive purchases.

If you think about it, no one buys products or services that don’t have some social proof behind them.

2 – They help make you more visible online.

Reviews increase the amount of time your brand is referenced online, which by logic, increases your visibility.

3 – Reviews help you GMB rank higher.

Especially if the review has your keywords in them.

Reviews by them self aren’t a ranking factor but the more reviews you have, the higher your click through rate will be (people clicking your listing), thus the higher you will rank.

All good trusted companies have reviews.

You want to make sure you follow suit and look trustworthy too.

4 – Reviews help expand the conversation about you.

When people see reviews, they typically start to ask around in their local network about your brand. For example, “Anyone heard of company ABC?” They’ll start a whole conversation about your company, which if you provide good work, is a good thing.

5 – They’re also increasingly essential in decision making.

If all else is equal between you and your competition, then 9 times out of 10, reviews will be the deciding factor.

If you look at the reviews from Google’s perspective, it’s pretty much the same.

Having reviews proves to Google that you are a real business and should be trusted, which will help your rankings.

Google does not put any sites on page one that it doesn’t trust.