Reviews placed online are a direct reflection of your business, and they also open doors for additional review generation and the ability to manage those opinions that can either make or break your business. Read on to learn more about why online business reviews are vital and how to make the most of them.

Boost Search Engine Visibility

Online reviews register in search engines and can boost your ratings in SEO. Just be sure this boost in visibility is for the right reasons, as your overall star rating and number of reviews in considered by Google and most importantly potential customers.

Influence Purchasing Decisions Nearby and from Afar

Your reviews will often be ranked according to the distance of physical distance from the query, by relevance to the search terms, or most likely a combination of both.

Online reviews matter either way, as consumers will be influenced by your reviews concerning whether they purchase from you online or via the Internet. This is your chance to build trust with customers, so how you respond to reviews—both positive and negative—truly matters.

Find Out Whether Customers are Truly Satisfied with Reviews

One of the greatest aspects of promoting and fostering review generation is to find out more about how clients really feel about their engagement with your business and/or products and services.

Because these reviews essentially occur in ‘real time,’ you can be armed with knowledge that can help your adequately reply to any customer issues. If the underlying problem appears to be staffing or product quality, you can take appropriate actions to resolve them before negative reviews spiral out of control.

Make the most of your online reputation through reviews, use them for lead generation, and as tools to help transform your business into a brand that your customers proudly promote on your behalf.

Catherine Gomez