Search engine optimization practitioners theorize each day what search engines use as ranking leverage. There are about 200 factors that search engines take in to consideration and none of these factors are on public display. It’s the SEO practitioner’s job to assess each site and do their best to follow best practices to help their account score the top placement on search engines. Best practices include making sure factors such as click through rates, page speed, link signals, etc. are worthy of a ranking ‘point’.
One factor that does in fact result in ranking placement are reviews. ReviewJump founder, Tyler, analyzed over 22,000 local business listings to see if the theory of having reviews has an impact on rankings. The result of his research? The theory is true. Reviews = rankings. The listings that populate higher on search results have significantly more reviews than those not making the ‘cut’ for the 3 location listing pack.
It’s not just the reviews but the frequency of the reviews. It’s helpful if the listing gets new reviews daily or weekly. New positive reviews = more credibility for the business. Another ranking factor for Google is credibility. Google isn’t the only one that likes reviews and the credibility they present. A survey conducted by BrightLocal revealed that 92% of customers will read online reviews to determine if the business is a good one or not, and 80% of customers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.
If you’re in the business of making money {which we are very confident to say that you are} then don’t miss out on ranking success because of your lack of reviews. Reviews mean a lot to search engines and to potential customers. Do your part in gaining reviews and asking for reviews. Reviews are basically gold in the search engine world.