Are Google reviews critical when improving a business’s local search engine optimisation?

Date: 17/11/2024
Written by: Ryan Walsh

Table of contents:

• How can we get our business to appear on Google Business / Google Map results?
• How can we, as a business, improve our SEO?
• Are Google Business reviews essential parts of improving a business’s local SEO?

 

Introduction
It goes without saying that business reviews are important from a customers perspective. For example, before you hire a tradesperson to work in your house, you are likely to read through many Google Business reviews to get a sense of what that business is like.

So, from a business perspective, positive business reviews are definitely needed to encourage shoppers to call your business.
But how about from an SEO perspective? Are obtaining Google business reviews a good way of obtaining more customers?

Well, in short, the answer is yes. Many marketing agencies believe that a Google Business listing that has accumulated many positive business reviews over a sustained period of time will be displayed more often in Google’s Business results.

So, for example, let’s say there’s a cluster of solicitors’ practices in the centre of a city. The businesses that have accumulated the most positive reviews over a long-time frame are often the Google Business results that are displayed more often in Google Maps results.

How can positive Google Business help to improve a business’s local SEO?

When you consider that in a capital city like Cardiff, you will have many, sometimes hundreds, companies that want to also appear in Google’s organic and Google Maps results in your business sector.

Therefore, it’s hugely competitive for most businesses because Google typically only shows three companies in the Google Maps results at any time.

Thus, a business has to have strong SEO to be displayed in these results. However, one way that you can get your business displayed more often in the Google Business results is if you have accumulated many positive reviews from many customers.

Google Maps is also a top-rated app. For example, in 2022, 13.35 million people requested to use the app. Therefore, a business must improve its local SEO to increase amount of shoppers it receives to its Google Business listing.

 

How can a business improve its local SEO?

When improving a business’s local SEO, you have to improve the following:

– Build more business citations
– Make sure the NAP information is consistent
– Ensure the content marketing is high-quality
– Make sure the company website has its local SEO, on-page SEO, off-page SEO improved for that city or village or town in which the business is located
– Obtain positive Google reviews
– Use a local phone number
– Have the NAP information listed on your company website

Now, this can improve not just your local SEO but also your business’s organic SEO as well.

 

Voice Search

It’s important to have a Google Business listing because more and more shoppers are using voice search on the move when trying to find a local company. For example, the customer might have their smartphone paired to the car and, when on the move, say, “Find me nearest fish and chip shop” or “Find me a local bathroom showroom.”

Now, with your business having a Google Business listing, your business could benefit from the following:
Direct shoppers to your business

So, let’s say a shopper is in the middle of Cardiff’s city centre and wants to find a bathroom showroom.

Your showroom is on Penarth Road or Hadfield Road, let’s say. Because your business is so close to the shopper, your company may appear in the Google Business results.

Then, with just a click of a button, the customer can ask for directions from Google to direct them to your business.

This is why a company must have a well-optimised Google Business listing. Because it makes it simple for local shoppers to find your business, it makes it simple for them to be directed to your business via being given directions from Google, with their smartphone guiding them to your shop.

 

Engagement

So, as the director of a business, you will want get as many shoppers on your website as possible. You will, therefore, most likely want as many visitors as possible from Google’s organic listings, Google Business listing, Google PPC or Google AdWords.

However, good SEO businesses will tell you that you must improve the following to improve your organic rankings and get your business displayed in the Google Business results.

• Lower the companies bounce rate
• Increase the time on site
• Long dwell times

So, in a nutshell, you want to attract as many shoppers as possible. Yet, in order to improve any business’s organic search engine optimisation, you must improve dwell time and lower the companies bounce rate. This basically means that Google is analysing how long a shopper is spending on your company website- how engaged are they with what your business is selling?

For example, if the dwell time is very high, this means that a shopper is spending a long time browsing the items. If most of the shoppers are doing the same, this means that they are interested in your business.

This is, therefore, a crystal clear indication to Google and Google’s algorithms that if someone is, say, searching for “boxing gloves” and they are spending time browsing your items, they are interested in the products you are selling.

 

Google E-EAT

Regular readers of our blog posts will know that we have written several posts about Google E-EAT.

We have written so many blog posts regarding Google E-EAT because understanding this Google update is crucial if you want to improve your business’s organic and local SEO.

So, the part of Google E-EAT we are interested in discussing here regarding Google E-EAT is the “authoritativeness” aspect.

The primary way to improve authoritativeness is to build high-quality backlinks.

However, another way to improve local SEO, is to accumulate many positive Google Business reviews and also business reviews on separate websites such as Trust Pilot.

 

 

How do you obtain Google Business reviews?

The simplest way is to obtain a Google Business listing

For example, if you sell used cars, a customer might get directions to your business via Google. After they visit your business, they might be prompted to leave a business review because they clicked the “get directions” button on the company’s Google Business listing.

Then, the customer can select a star rating and leave a short review.

Also, if a customer is in your shop and says, for example, “You make the best coffee I have ever tasted,” you might want to ask if they can leave a review on our Google Business page. Most customers will do so, this means your business can then accumulate many positive business reviews.

 

Does your business need help to improve your SEO?

We have some of the very best SEO consultants working for Walsh & Partners. So why not give us a call, and we’ll offer you a free quotation.