The Role of Online Reviews in Local SEO Rankings

Did you know that 98% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase? In today’s digital age, online reviews aren’t just about reputation – they play a critical role in your local SEO rankings. Google and other search engines consider reviews as a ranking factor, making them a powerful tool for boosting local search visibility.

In this guide, we’ll explore why online reviews matter, how they affect your local SEO strategy, and what you can do to maximise their impact. Whether you’re a small business owner or an SEO professional, mastering the power of reviews can help you outrank competitors and attract more customers!

Why Online Reviews Matter for Local SEO

Due to websites focussing heavily on AI generated content, Google has been clamping down heavily on AI content and rewarding user-generated content instead. Google is refining its algorithms to improve user-generated content in search results. 

But what does this have to do with reviews?

Well, E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is what Google uses to define and rank user-generated content, and having genuine reviews can improve the trust Google holds to your website. This means the better your reviews are, the more likely Google is to trust your website and rank your web pages. 

Did you know that having positive reviews can also significantly enhance the click through rates (CTA) of your website? Meaning the better your reviews the more likely people are to click on your website! Imagine how many local uses you could be missing out on if you don’t have any reviews!

How Google Evaluates Online Reviews for Local Rankings

As described in your local SEO plan, Google My Business reviews are probably one of the most important aspects of your local SEO campaign. Which is why it’s important to optimise your Google Business profile. Reviews will act as little votes of confidence to your users which say “My business is the best”, which makes them more likely to choose you over your competitors. 

But we’re not just talking about the competition or your customers here, we also want to please Google. It is well known that positive reviews generally lead to higher rankings and negative reviews cause high drops in rankings. 

Getting Google reviews is good, but if you can get reviews across a diversity of platforms such as Yelp, Facebook, and Trustpilot, that would be excellent! These extra review platforms will act as referring domains to your website, increasing your domain rating and allowing you to rank higher in search engines. 

Best Practices for Encouraging Customer Reviews

One of the best ways to ask for a customer review is to just ask. Yes, I know, customers can be lazy and they will say yes but then forget to leave a review. 

There is another way. You can get a Google Business Rating card, allowing your customers to scan it with their phone which will take them straight to your review link. Cool right?

You can also get software’s such as TrueReview which automatically sends review requests to your customers. So there’s many ways to request reviews, it just depends on your budget and preference.  

Just remember, when you ask for reviews, to do it ethically. You can give away small incentives such as a discount for your customers to leave an honest opinion, but don’t give away big incentives for positive reviews as this can be punished by Google. 

Managing Negative Reviews: SEO Best Practices

So, you’ve got a bad review. Try not to stress too much about it – you can’t please everyone! The trick is in responding to the review in a positive manner so it doesn’t reflect badly on your business. If you do this, your future customers will see that your business values trust and transparency, and they will be more likely to buy your product, despite the negative review. 

The best way to respond to negative reviews is to apologise to your customer for their negative experience, and offer solutions to their problem. You can also turn negative reviews into content opportunities by learning what questions your customers have and then creating FAQs centered around them. 

Got a negative review but don’t think it’s from a customer? This is probably one of your competitors, or someone who is just confused. Either way, you can remove the review by letting Google know you do not recognise it. Just go to your Google My Business Profile, click on “manage reviews” and “flag”, then state your reason for the removal. 

The Power of Third-Party Review Sites in Local SEO

As we mentioned previously, having reviews on other platforms such as Yelp, Trustpilot and Facebook can give your SEO rankings a little boost because Google will hold more trust in your website. 

You can go deeper into third party reviews and go for industry specific platforms. For example, TripAdvisor is primarily used for travel businesses, and YellowPages is solely for local businesses. 

As your business continues to grow, along with your reviews, you will eventually need either a software or customer relationship department which handles all customers reviews and complaints. But that’s another topic for another day! 

Leveraging Reviews for Higher Conversions & Engagement

So, got loads of great reviews? Amazing! You now have to showcase them across your website so your customers know you’re trustworthy enough to buy from. 

Adding Reviews to your website

To add reviews to your website for free, you simply need to embed a widget on the page of your choice (I would recommend the homepage and service pages), from a platform like Google Reviews. Or, you can pay for a plugin or developer to do this for you. 

Adding Review Schema Mark-up

You can add review schema to your web page so your amazing reviews show up underneath your website’s search result – 

Google shows you how to do this here. 

Leveraging Social Proof

If you think you have done a really good job, and your customer is very happy, try asking them for a testimonial. This is a video review of your customer explaining why their experience with your service was so good. You can then post this on your website and across all your social media platforms, further enhancing the trust your customers, and Google, hold in your service!

Conclusion

Online reviews are more than just social proof – they’re a local SEO powerhouse. Businesses that actively collect, manage, and respond to reviews are more likely to rank higher, attract more customers, and build a trustworthy online presence.

If you’re looking to improve your local SEO rankings, start prioritising your review strategy today! Need help optimising your online reviews? Contact us for our expert guidance!