Business owners usually have to juggle a lot of activities and tasks during the day. The smaller the business and tighter the budget, the more business owners must do on their own. Finding the time for everything isn’t easy, so the last thing anyone would want to do in that situation is to spend time answering strangers’ reviews on Google. But answering Google reviews isn’t optional. Attracting good reviews and managing the bad ones has become an integral part of having a business in 2019. And while it’s possible to find help for streamlining the process, it might not be so obvious why it’s so important to be good at handling Google reviews. So here are five reasons to demonstrate it.
- It’s All About Trust
The online business world is an interesting place. In the digital world, in general, it’s easy to manipulate appearances and make things look very different from what they really are. For that reason, people can be a bit on the fence when it comes to engaging businesses they find online.
It’s not that different in the analog world, either. However, it’s easier for customers to see the product, store, or the person standing in front of them and gauge trustworthiness based on what they see. In the digital world, trust signals are a bit different.
Reviews play a crucial role in building trust with customers. When people see that your business has been used by other people, your business will automatically appear more trustworthy. If your business has a good review, that’s even better. But a business with no reviews on Google isn’t a business people will trust.
- Google Reviews Benefit Local SEO
Online business is not the only ones that benefit from a strong online presence. If your business only works in the analog world, it can and should still have some digital assets. Having online reviews is a great benefit for any brick-and-mortar business. But Google reviews are even better and more important to have.
Brick-and-mortar businesses need online exposure because people will use smartphones to search for the products they need on the go. When they search for the types of products or services you are offering, you want your business to have a good ranking in those search results. Google reviews affect your rankings in local search results, and you can’t expect to rank well without good reviews.
- Get to Hear from Your Customers
Let’s not forget what’s the main purpose of a review. People use the review option to speak about the experience they had using certain products or services. Sometimes they do it to vent, sometimes to warn other consumers, and occasionally they do it to give public praise to the businesses they like.
How does your business benefit from this? It’s simple — you get to learn from your customers’ opinions. You will also have the opportunity to demonstrate how you handle criticism in the way you respond to bad reviews. That’s business intelligence and reputation management rolled into one.
- Good Reviews Improve Clickthrough Rates
CTRs are usually among the most important metrics in various online activities. When your business appears in search engine results, the clickthrough rate is the number that tells you how often your business is the result people are looking for. Ideally, you always want your clickthrough rates to go up.
One of the ways to do is to ensure that your business has a good review on Google. These reviews will appear alongside your business in search results, and you’ll be able to see a trust signal in action. People will be more likely to click on a link if they see that other people rated the business well.
- It All Comes Down to Conversions
The bottom line of all of this is simple — having good reviews on Google will improve conversion rates. It will benefit your business’ bottom line. The exact mechanisms of how this works are many, including the four we illustrated here. But rest assured that these reviews are an important asset and that you should do your best to get them and manage them properly. And if you’re short on time, don’t worry — you can always find someone to help you.
