ONLINE REVIEWS FOR BUSINESS GROWTH

For online reviews, it is important to claim your company's listings across the web. A good place to start is with the websites that generate the most traffic. Two of the most popular sites are Google and Facebook. According to Alexa, Google is the number 1 visited site, and Facebook is the fourth most visited website. According to ReviewTrackers, 63.6% of consumers check online reviews on Google before visiting a business. Sites that focus primarily on reviews (like Tripadvisor) are seeing less growth than Facebook and Google.

Online reviews provide consumers with an avenue to express their opinions about a business. A few of the many benefits of online reviews for businesses are enhancing your brand, influencing sales, improving online visibility, and boosting search performance.

In the absence of recommendations from friends and family, consumers trust online reviews. These customer reviews are like word of mouth on steroids. When the customer provides authentic feedback, consumers trust this information more than traditional ads or promotional messaging.  

Consumers pay close attention to star ratings. These star ratings are a guide or a filter of sorts to weed out unwanted businesses. A study by Womply found that companies earn 28 percent more in annual revenue when they have between a 4.0 and a 4.5-star rating. 

It's pretty simple. Positive online reviews will improve the overall brand of your business. Likewise, negative online reviews will drive consumers away and degrade your overall brand. 

One of the most commanding forms of social proof is online reviews. Patients rarely set an appointment with a doctor without reading reviews on Google or Healthgrades. Diners only reserve tables after reading restaurant reviews on Google or Yelp. And, travelers rarely book a hotel without checking the online ratings on Tripadvisor and Google. 

Using an online review widget on your website to display reviews on your website creates more trust with your website visitors. This trust eventually leads to more engagement and sales. 

As mentioned in a Google Help Article, "Google review count and review score factor into local search rankings. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business' local ranking." So, there is a direct correlation between the quantity and quality of online reviews and local search rankings. 

There are so many important factors in managing online reviews. However, the most important part of managing reviews is the first step - being aware of the reviews. You cannot manage anything without first being aware of it. 

Responses should be timely, authentic, and helpful. For positive reviews, please remember to thank the users for posting a review. For negative reviews, an empathetic and cooperative approach is the best approach. It's important to know that people put more weight on how you answer the review than on the actual review itself. 

It's best to have a steady flow of online reviews coming in for your business. The best way to accomplish this is to ask your patients and customers for reviews. You can do this via email or text, but the most productive way is by verbally asking them.