4 Ways To Generate Business Reviews and Improve Your Local SEO Performance

When you’re a business that services a specific area or you’re a brick-and-mortar business, then you need to focus on local search engine optimization. This is different from national SEO and one of the biggest factors is business reviews.

There are many sites online such as Yelp that allow people to post reviews about your business. People trust these reviews because they come from real customers. As a business, you want to include these reviews in your local SEO strategy. We’ll examine the power of these reviews and how you can get customers to provide them.

You’ll see improved traffic to your business in no time.

Business Reviews Are Vital To Local Business SEO

Competition is fierce no matter your business niche. When customers have several businesses to choose from, they look at reviews to decide who has the best reputation. Review sites such as Google My Business and Yelp provide customers the ability to sound off about their issues or praise the business for going above and beyond.

In addition to being a valuable information source, these sites rank well on Google. People may see your Google business reviews before seeing your website. It’s important to not only cultivate these reviews, but also answer them properly.

Getting Reviews For Your Business

Business reviews come in naturally, especially the negative ones, but you don’t want to wait for nature to take its course. You need to be proactive in getting reviews for your business.

If you have a job that goes well or if a customer raves about your product, then don’t be afraid to ask them to review your business online.

You can include review information on your business card. You can ask for reviews on social media or place the information on your invoice. While extreme situations such as very bad or very good service, tend to generate reviews, you can cultivate more good reviews by seeking them out from customers.

Answering Good and Bad Reviews Is Important

People don’t want to feel like a number. They want personal service. If they take the time to create a review for you, then thank them.

Answer good reviews by telling them you’re glad they had a great experience.

If the review is middle of the road, address their concerns and encourage them to visit again. Bad reviews should address the issue and apologize for the negative service. Tell them to direct message you, and you’ll talk with them about it further.

You don’t want to be insulting or start an online fight with the customer. No matter how rude or bad the review, you must be professional and polite.

Local SEO Depends on Reviews

Business reviews are worth the effort. A customer may choose your business over another because of reviews. Don’t be afraid to go after them.

If you cultivate reviews and answer them appropriately, then you’ll see an increase in food traffic and phone calls.

If you want to learn more about local SEO and online reviews, then please contact our experts today.