Google reviews hold significant importance as they serve as a crucial source of social proof on the internet, influencing customers’ decisions on whether to engage with a business. In fact, a staggering 90% of consumers consult Google before visiting or purchasing from a business.

Here are several ways in which Google reviews can benefit your business:

1. 1. Establishing Trust: To convince customers that your business is the ideal solution to their needs, trust and transparency are vital. Whether it’s a product or service, customers require assurance before making a purchase. Surprisingly, 93% of people read online reviews prior to buying. Google reviews provide valuable insights into your product’s effectiveness, the quality of your customer service, and whether you align with their specific requirements. As customer reviews are viewed as impartial, they carry more weight and are considered more trustworthy than brand claims. Positive Google reviews and your responsive engagement with them can contribute significantly to building consumer trust in your brand.
   2. Enhance online visibility and SEO. Google reviews play a crucial role in enhancing your online visibility, particularly in terms of search engine optimization (SEO). By leveraging Google Business Profile listings, which is a free service for businesses, you can significantly boost your online presence without the need for paid advertisements. Let’s say you run a digital marketing agency and have optimized your listing for local SEO. As a result, your business becomes more discoverable to potential customers. Furthermore, positive Google reviews can increase the likelihood of your business appearing in relevant local searches, particularly those including terms like “best.” For instance, when someone searches for the “best dealership near me,” Google prioritizes displaying Google Business Profile listings with a star rating of 4.0 or above. By actively accumulating positive Google reviews, you enhance your chances of ranking higher in search results and attracting more organic traffic to your business.
   3. Reviews can help convince and more importantly convert  more customers. Having an optimized Google Business Profile listing with customer reviews can greatly influence potential leads and guide them closer to making a purchase on your small business website. This process becomes even more effective if your website employs persuasive techniques, making it more likely for visitors to convert into customers. (This is just one example of how SEO can be utilized for lead generation!) For brick-and-mortar businesses, a substantial number of Google reviews can result in increased customer visits to your physical location, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates. The reviews establish an automatic sales funnel for your business, where customer feedback builds trust, while your website employs persuasive tactics to drive conversions.

Top online review statistics
Now that you know how review can help can impact your business’s reputation, let’s review some general online review statistics:

• • 50% of business owners have seen incorrect information on their online review listings. Plus, 73% of consumers won’t trust a local business unless their online listing information is correct.
  • On average, a business needs to have about 40 reviews before they achieve an average star rating.
    However, a few reviews are still better than none as the likelihood of a product getting purchased increases by up to 270% if it gets at least five online reviews.
  • Authenticity matters as 62% of consumers say they won’t buy from brands that pay for, fake, or otherwise censor reviews.
  • Nearly 50% of all internet users claim to post online reviews at least once per month.
  • 85% of people think that if an online review is older than three months then it’s no longer relevant.
  • 31% of people claimed to have read more reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 84% of people weigh online reviews the same as they would a word-of-mouth recommendation from friends or family.
  • People are willing to pay 22% more for a product or service if the company has a good online reputation.