Local Reviews, Both Positive and Negative, Now Matter to Google

Google reviews help businesses stand out and provide helpful information about the company to potential customers. They allow potential customers to see how proficient you are at delivering high-quality services/products.

They also show potential customers what your customer relations are like. Local Google reviews typically appear next to your business profile in Maps and Search. Google has recently updated its help page on reviews, saying both positive and negative reviews matter and should be published. Find out what this means for your business and digital growth.

How Important are Google Reviews?

Outside of Google reviews, reviews are generally an essential part of building a business’s credibility. They tell a story about the quality of your business’s services and products. They also give insight into how customers are treated when they do business with your brand.

Being one of the most renowned and trusted sources on the internet, reviews on Google leave a mark on prospective clients. Simply put, Google rules the search engine world. While the search engine helps your customers find you, say via Maps and Search, Google reviews give them better insight into your brand’s credibility, service and product quality, and customer relations.

So if you’re still wondering, “How important are Google reviews?” Here are five answers:

1. Reviews solidify your online reputation. If customers are willing to go online to leave a review (positive or negative), it’s a good sign for you.
2. Establishing trust and great first impressions. Reviews are a critical tool for helping customers trust you. Positive reviews leave better impressions than you simply telling customers about your business.
3. Google reviews boost search engine optimization, organic rankings, and visibility. The more reviews you get, the better your online visibility. When Google sees your organic reviews, the algorithm is more inclined to show your business on search queries, as it deems it already tested or tried by a number of people.
4. Reviews help you reflect. While reviews can help with customers, they also help you improve your business. When customers note the good and the bad in their experience with your business, you can pick up pointers. This allows you to register features to improve, take away, or keep steady.
5. More people are now searching for “brand/business name + reviews. This shows that reviews are now an essential part of online searches for local businesses.

What is New?

Since the new revision to the reviews help page, quite a lot has changed impact-wise. There is now a part of the Google Business Profile support that emphasizes the importance of both positive and negative reviews. This is solely aimed at gathering as many honest and objective points of view as possible.

Additionally, you can respond to reviews left behind about your business. If you find any going against Google’s review posting guidelines, you can file a request to have it removed.

What Do You Need to Know About Ranking impact?

This revision to Google reviews policy does not significantly affect rankings. However, there are cases where the new policy flags exceedingly high positive reviews (99%).

If this occurs, Google painstakingly audits the reviews left behind, as it is not very likely that all customers leave positive reviews only.

How Will This Affect Your Business?

Seeing this policy revision might scare some business owners. Having negative reviews on business listings might seem a little counterproductive. Here are five ways in which it will affect your business:

1. Build brand credibility
2. Help you connect better with customers
3. It teaches you how to serve customers better
4. It shows you points in which you are falling behind
5. Increased click-through rates to your business website

Conclusion

Google has put this policy in place to help both businesses and customers. Google reviews now allow customers to leave either positive or negative thoughts. This helps customers decide if your brand is trustworthy and helps you monitor your performance with feedback.

There is no need to fret about the well-being of your business. This can become an excellent opportunity for you!

Tim Absalikov is the Acting CEO of New York Digital Marketing Agency, a technical SEO company.