On the QuistBuilder blog, we have always highlighted and insisted on the importance of local reviews. They have the utmost importance in your business’s local search presence and it shows your potential customers the quality that your business has to offer.
Online reviews are very important to local businesses as they strengthen and enhance their online reputation. In this context, many businesses invest time and money in monitoring the online reviews they get in citation listings. One other very important detail to keep in mind when approaching local reviews is that they increase visibility in local search as well as Google My Business listings. To help you manage local reviews and make the most off of them, here are 2 very important trends to keep an eye on:
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Users are Increasingly Choosing Extreme Ratings
Statistics and surveys on Yelp have shown that more than half the reviews left in 2020 were 1 or 5-star reviews. Compared to the same statistics from five years ago, the percentage of 2 to 4-star ratings is decreasing rapidly.
This has been noticed by many businesses who keep an eye on their local reviews on Yelp, Google My Business, and Facebook. Clients used both ends of the star-based review system to show their content or disappointment with the products or services they received. The most important message these statistics send to businesses is that they should solicit positive reviews from satisfied clients who haven’t rated the business. You’re probably thinking that this is not possible because the mentioned platforms prohibit soliciting positive reviews. However, these same platforms won’t stand against you asking your happy clients to leave reviews.
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Fewer Clients are Expressing their Trust for Online Reviews as much as their Trust for Personal Recommendations
BrightLocal’s 2020 annual survey of more than a thousand American users showed 79% of customers stating that their trust goes to online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and relatives. While the percentage may appear high to you, you should note that it’s 10% less when it comes to responders claiming they trusted online reviews in 2014.
This trend can be examined from two very different perspectives. Today, clients are more internet-savvy than ever before and that makes them cautious vis-à-vis online listings that have suspicious review patterns like excessive 5-start reviews and reviews from fake users. On the other hand, this also means that the same users can detect negative reviews that are fake or not serious enough.
What you should keep in mind from this trend is that while the number of users who trust online reviews is decreasing, there is still a huge number of potential clients who can choose you thanks to your business’s positive local reviews.
