In today’s customer-driven market where the customer reviews potentially read by 1000’s, your future success largely depends on just one bad or good review. Of course, good reviews are important and smart businesses and marketers focus on client satisfaction to help ensure good customer reviews. But good customer reviews also offer another added benefit: they can improve your SEO without any added cost.
Boost search ranking
Fortunately, the folks at Google are a smart bunch. Their search algorithms are consistently getting better at discerning whether reviews are fiction or fact & they treat websites accordingly. So, if your client reviews are positive & relevant, Google's algorithms will undoubtedly reward your practice with a higher search ranking.
Increase click-through rates
You can’t become successful in e-commerce without utilizing SEO & user-generated content such as customer reviews. Customer reviews won’t only attract human shoppers, but they’ll also attract search engine robots & spiders to your site.
Furthermore, many people frequently insert "product name/company or service,” & word “reviews” - which on their own are great search engine bait. If you utilize the correct format for your customer reviews such as inserting star ratings or headings so that they'll be pulled into search results - these snippets can improve click-through rates in 10-20%.
Improve online visibility
Customer reviews that refer to your company name & brand and the products & services you offer may contain vital keywords that major search engines like Google value. The more customer reviews that include these keywords, the more your site has the potential to improve in relevancy. This enhances your online visibility & positions you to be seen ahead of your competitors.
Reviews are the “New” Backlinks
Customer reviews result in backlinks. Can you imagine that Google can even evaluate the strength of a customer review based on the actions & history of the client that left the review? It is true. Google is able to do that!
A customer review that has a proven account with Google & that’s active on social media can have a substantial impact on rankings. Near future customer reviews will be the greatest driving force behind keyword rankings.
Several important things in regards to SEO & customer reviews include:
Quantity – The number of client reviews that you’ve on your site is important. Google loves to see a good amount of customer reviews, somewhere between at least 10 & 20; just be sure you do not get too crazy & create a messy website.
Ratings – Though it may sound obvious, it is important to keep in mind that the actual ratings you are given in your client reviews are good. It is certainly alright to put some less-than-perfect customer reviews on your site because you do not prefer to appear untruthful. Keep in mind that Google looks at the quality along with the quantity.
Keywords – If you’ve your product name and keywords in the reviews, Google robots will surely find your website relevant & start positioning it at the top. Keywords are crucial for SEO in all aspects of your site, so client reviews are just another area to make it happen.
Competition – Your competitors should have customer reviews on their websites, so they’ll have an edge when it relates to a local SERP. However, it is crucial to remember that simply because they began 1st does not mean they are going to finish 1st. You still have time to get an approach together & outrank your competitors.
The bottom line is more customer reviews not only aids build trust & loyalty, but they can also improve your SEO strategy without additional expense. Keep in mind that your customers should love giving you reviews. It is never good to force someone for a review or try to fake it. If customers do not want to provide your reviews or you aren’t getting the results you desire, go back & change some things about your service or business.
