“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Warren Buffett (source)
American Investment Heavy-Weight Warren Buffett couldn’t have said it any better.
These days, online reviews are becoming more influential. They are becoming a more reliable medium which businesses could use to expand their customer base. Furthermore, reviews are like a portfolio of how reliable your company and products are.
However, reviews could also break your business, especially if they are online. One negative review on the internet could plummet your entire reputation. Like a black sheep, one negative piece of feedback could stick out like a sore thumb amongst the rest.
Still not convinced? Read on to find out why online feedback is so important today.
1. They are Easily Accessible
Firstly, reviews are easily accessible by customers on your website or social media platforms. With the inclusion of the “Review” tab on your business profile on Facebook, potential customers could conveniently retrieve that information.
They are easy to find online on your websites and business profiles as well as Business Review Sites like Glassdoor, Google My Business as well as Yelp.
Thus, you would want to make sure that any review of your company is an optimistic one. One bad review (especially on the first page) could leave a permanent black mark on your company’s reputation.
2. They Build Trust
Second, reviews build trust and showcase your reliability as a company.
Think of your online feedback as a portfolio of your business thus far. Accumulating abundant positive reviews adds credibility to your site. It implies that your company is a reliable and trustable business. Moreover, reviews also showcase your company’s competence and expertise in your industry. It gives potential customers reassurance that your company can be trusted to deliver excellent service.
Outstanding reviews could boost conversions and expand your customer base without any heavy marketing or sales.
A single negative review, on the other hand, could make your company look bad. It could cause mistrust and a lack of confidence amongst new customers towards your business and products.
3. They Could Boost your SEO
This might come as a shocker – but reviews on your website and Google My Business could actually have a huge impact on your ranking on Google.
A. Thick Content on your Websites
Generally, Google gives favour and picks up websites with thick and valuable content which contains the relevant keywords, external links and word count. Feedback on your website add value and content to your webpage and could even boost your chances of getting picked up by Google.
This could skyrocket traffic to your website and improve your rankings in the long run.
Click here for a beginner-friendly tutorial on how you can write valuable content that will sell on Google.
B. Reviews on Google My Business (GMB)
If you have no idea what a GMB is, basically, it is a business profile on Google that contains your company name, address, contact information, reviews and website. Essentially, users should be able to get a quick but comprehensive overview of your company.
According to Moz, review signals on your GMB take up 13% and 7% of the Local Pack Ranking Factors and Localized Organic Ranking Factors pie charts, respectively. This means that reviews on your GMB are significant in affecting your ranking on Google. No reviews and poor feedback would cause your website to get slapped. Moreover, limited reviews would also imply that your company might be inexperienced or lagging behind.
References:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesberman/2014/04/20/the-three-essential-warren-buffett-quotes-to-live-by/#716d5ce26543