Do Online Reviews Help SEO?

Apr 20, 2020 | Enhanced Visibility

Many factors help SEO, but do online reviews help SEO?. With the many different SEO avenues out there, people often overlook online reviews. Yet, they’re still important, particularly if you’re running a local Colorado business. Even businesses with no physical locations may reap the benefits of online reviews. So, how do online reviews help SEO?

Why Online Reviews Help SEO

Google needs content to understand your business. The more content, the better. When Google’s algorithms understand your website, your rankings will be higher. Higher rankings prove to be a vital element of SEO. Rankings lie at the heart of the way Google functions. If your content includes especially rich keywords, Google’s crawlers can better interpret and understand the content. Content can then connect consumers needing your products and services with your site.

Where do Colorado customers’ views fit into this? If customers leave reviews stating their opinions of your business, they’re helping Google understand your business.  Think of reviews as a free form of keyword-rich content. Even better, reviews can have a major positive effect on your site’s SEO. To learn more about how online reviews help SEO, it’s beneficial to hire a local Colorado SEO expert.

Trusting the Customer’s Online Reviews to Help SEO

Google puts more trust in the opinions of your customers than in what you have to say about yourself. Google can learn about your business’ reputation and trustworthiness by reading what your customers have to say. Whenever a customer discusses your business, favorably, or unfavorably, Google finds out some key information.

For a start, Google learns whether your business operates legitimately or not.  Google also sees that your business has genuine Colorado customers interacting with it. Customer reviews are also useful in helping other users to make wise purchasing decisions.

Click-Through Rates and Reviews

Reviews are important for everyone. For buyers or potential buyers, reviews take a lot of the worry out of making purchasing decisions. When customers need to choose between businesses that offer identical products, they’ll choose the one that has the best reviews.

Simply put, better reviews lead to a better click-through rate (CTR). Click-through rates also have a positive effect on SEO. If lots of searchers click through to your site, Google knows that what you’re offering proves valuable. Therefore, Google will feature your site in a higher position in the search rankings. As a result, more people can find your site and buy your products or services.

Encouraging Reviews

Business owners need to remember that online reviews help SEO. Online reviews help SEOs even if those reviews are negative. All businesses will receive negative feedback from time to time. If you deal with those negative reviews effectively, you can improve your company’s reputation. Potential customers want to know that if they experience a problem, you’ll be on hand to help.

If you can show your commitment to great customer service through your response to reviews, it’ll boost your reputation. With this in mind, it’s time to start encouraging your clients and customers to begin leaving reviews. The more reviews received, the more successful your SEO campaign will be, and the more profitable your business will become.

Katherine Anderson loves creating and designing. Her passion is helping local businesses apply digital marketing to attract and convert new customers. More articles by Katherine A.