Why Is It Important To Have Google Reviews For Businesses?

Win more customers with Google reviews!

Statistics show that over 81% of consumers check Google reviews before visiting a business in person. So, not having reviews on Google, GMB profile, or a strong online presence can make you lose a potential customer as they will not get any insight about your business and services.

Therefore, Google reviews can really make or break your business as they act as social proof of your credibility. Let’s understand all the benefits and policies of having Google reviews. 

Let’s get started!

What are Google Reviews?

Google Reviews are the online comments and ratings that your customers leave on your Google Business profile after availing of your services. The customers can give the ratings they desire according to their own personal experience with your business.

Why is it Important to have Google Reviews for Business?

Google reviews can really impact the purchasing decisions of your potential customers. Since these reviews are displayed next to your Google Business Profile, all your customers can read them while searching for your business on Google. 

One positive review can attract a new customer, while a negative unaddressed one might impact their decision to visit your profile or business place. Therefore, getting more positive reviews on Google is crucial for all businesses.

Top 10 Advantages of Google Reviews

Are you still confused about the importance of Google reviews for your business? Here we will explain how earning more Google reviews on your business profile will have multifold benefits, along with maintaining the online reputation of your business:

1. Boost your Google business profile ranking

Google ranks all the business profiles based on the quantity and quality of reviews a business has gained over a period of time. So, if your business has more reviews, your Google profile will rank higher in the search results.

2. Improve your brand’s visibility

With a better profile ranking and search appearance, the overall visibility of your business also improves. Each positive review signals search engines about the authenticity and relevance of your business, improving your brand’s visibility. 

3. Increase footwalls on your physical shops

Many consumers rely on Google reviews to decide about where to buy. So, if you have more positive Google reviews on your business profile, people are more likely to visit your local shops in person. 

4. Get real-time customer feedback

With Google reviews, you can capture immediate feedback from your customers. Since customers post reviews shortly after their interaction with your business, you get some real-time feedback that you can later use to improve your service. 

5. Increase brand trust

When your customers will see positive Google reviews on your profile, they will trust your business more. Also, such positive reviews influence others to purchase from you and help your brand gain trust.

6. Boost local business awareness

Google reviews impact how your business appears on the local search results. So, if local consumers are searching for your business related category, your profile will be more visible in the local search results if you have gained more reviews than other businesses. 

7. Stand out from your competitors

Google reviews will also help you stand out from your competitors. If you have more favorable Google reviews than your competitors, potential customers will choose you over them.

8. Influence purchasing decisions with positive Google reviews

Almost 88% of online buyers consider reviews in their purchasing decisions. So, you can influence your consumers buying decisions if you have more positive reviews on your business profile.

9. Manage the online reputation of your business

If you have more reviews on your business profile, your business can maintain a better brand image as it shows that your business is being considered by many customers. Also addressing these reviews helps in building a good reputation as it shows how serious you are about customer satisfaction. 

10. Gain popularity with word-of-mouth marketing 

Lastly, the Google reviews on your business profile are a form of user-generated content. These reviews help in gaining some word-of-mouth marketing as satisfied customers might mention your business to their friends and family. 

Thus, Getting Google reviews is crucial, especially in this competitive era. Also, as a business owner, you can not ignore the benefits of Google reviews and their impact on your overall marketing efforts.

List Of Reasons Why Google Reviews Should Be A Top Concern

Google Reviews can help you gain much more than customers, and if you are still wondering are Google reviews are important for your business, then here’s a list of reasons to consider why earning more Google reviews should be your top concern in 2024: 

1. Get useful insights 

The reviews are the comments and the experience of your customers with your business. Since your own customers share them, you can tap on this feedback to gain useful insights about the tastes and preferences of your customers. 

2. Increase customer engagement

Google reviews are a two-way communication channel. Your customers can share their thoughts and experiences, and you, as a business, can respond to them to increase overall customer engagement with your business.

3. Maintain transparency 

Your Google reviews are visible to the entire public, as anyone can access them while searching for your business. Now, if you respond to all reviews including the negative ones, you can maintain transparency and gain the trust of your customers. 

4. Create a positive first impression 

If you have more five-star ratings and reviews when customers are searching, your business will have a positive first impression on them. Since Google reviews have real-time feedback, customers trust them more, and you build a better brand image with them. 

5. Improve the overall customer experience

When a business has reviews next to its profile, it becomes easier for a customer to judge the reliability of a  business. Also, since the customers themselves add these reviews, they are unbiased and help other customers make an informed decision.

Google Reviews now impact your business more than ever. Understanding this importance, some businesses have made efforts to increase their reviews.

Examples of real businesses that benefit from Google Reviews

Not only long-established but some new businesses are also benefiting from Google reviews and improving their business profile ranking. Here are three businesses that recently gained massive responses with their Google reviews: 

• Blue Mountain Crysler, a car dealer in Canada, experienced a 28% rise in website traffic when around 200 reviews were added to its business profile. 
• Paul’s Pest Control, a business from Florida, now has a Google rating of 4.8 stars, with almost 670 reviews from its satisfied customers. 
• Thomas Jewellers from Totowa gathered around 177 Google reviews and a five-star rating on its business profile and improved their online presence. 

This is how massively having reviews on Google can help a business. But as a business owner, you must also understand how to respond to your customer reviews while maintaining your brand image.

Best Practices for Responding to Reviews as a Business Owner

If you want to manage your customer's reviews, you should always respond to all reviews, including the negative ones. Use these practices to respond to your customer reviews on Google: 

1. Personalize Your Responses

Instead of relying on automated responses, personalize your replies and address your customers in the most human way possible. This helps in building a stronger connection with your customers, especially during times when people are tired of automated responses generated with AI.

2. Address concerns in negative reviews

If you see some negative reviews from a customer, politely address his problems and offer him a solution. Show empathy, let them know you are committed to resolving problems, and address their concerns sincerely. 

3. Stay Professional and Positive

Lastly, keep your responses professional and maintain a positive tone throughout your conversation. Avoid being defensive, and focus on finding solutions to help your customers while maintaining your brand image on the internet. 

Google has also set some guidelines for the reviews that are added. These guidelines are important both for a business owner and the customer who is adding the review.

Get To Know Policies About Google Reviews

As a business owner, you must pay attention to the reviews on your business profile while considering the policies of Google itself:  

1. Conflict of Interest

Google wants all reviews to be authentic and unbiased. Therefore, never review your own business or ask your employees to add reviews to your business profile. This will create a conflict of interest and will count as a violation of Google policies.

2. Relevancy 

According to the policies of Google, a review should be relevant and should never contain personal opinions, promotional content or comments that are unrelated to a business or brand. If Google finds such irrelevant reviews, it can suspend and remove them. 

3. Accuracy

Google also has specific standards to evaluate the accuracy of reviews. Simply put, the reviews should be truthful and have information related to the first-hand experience of the reviewer. Also, these reviews should not be biased or made on someone else’s behalf. 

4. Prohibited content

The reviews that contain hate speech, harassment, explicit content, or any personal information are prohibited by Google. If, as a business owner, you see any such reviews, you can report them to Google. 

5. Removal of reviews

Google can and does remove all those reviews that are against its policies. However, it only removes reviews containing inaccurate and misleading information that can hamper the viewer experience.

Can buying Google reviews help businesses?

Yes, buying Google reviews can help a business significantly. If you buy and add genuine Google reviews to your profile, you can influence customer decisions, make more sales, and maintain a better online reputation for your business. 

So always make sure to purchase reviews from authentic sites that provide real and genuine reviews from active accounts.

Final Thoughts: Leverage Google Reviews To Grow 

Now that you are well aware of the advantages of having more reviews, generate new reviews every now and then on your business profile  if you want to grow your business. 

Therefore, as a business owner, you must invest some time in understanding how to gain Google reviews for your business. Once you include these reviews in your marketing banners, you will witness the power they hold on influencing customers.

FAQs

Q1. How do Google reviews affect SEO?

Google reviews improve your GMB profile search rankings which means more reviews help you gain more visibility. The importance of Google reviews for SEO is so significant that it can help you build a better online presence by helping you rank higher even in your local search results. 

Q2. How much difference do Google Reviews make?

The impact of Google reviews on your business goes beyond just numerical ratings. The customers who leave a review hold the power to influence customer perceptions, brand trust, and the overall success of your business.

Q3. Can Google reviews be changed?

Yes, Google reviews can be changed. But only the person who originally left the review can do so after signing into his Google account. He can then update or edit the review as per his choice. 

If you want to change a review on your business profile, you can contact the user who left it and then address his concerns politely to get a favorable review. 

Q4. How many Google reviews are good?

Having 10-15 monthly reviews is a good start. To rank higher in search results, assess the number of reviews your competitors have and then start making more efforts to get more Google reviews from your customers. 

Q5. How to start getting more Google reviews?

To get a lot of positive reviews on Google, first, optimize your Google My Business profile and then display Google review badges on your business place, marketing material, or website. This will make leaving a review easier for your customers. Meanwhile, provide the best service to your customers to gain positive feedback.