Reviews on Google Maps are unpaid (or paid) and voluntary online commentary that clients write about their experience with a business. Additionally, these are directly linked to Google Business Listings, which facilitates the process of giving feedback, responding to messages and improving the chance of people finding your business.
Almost 60% of customers check Reviews on Google Maps for reassurance and social proof of a business's good or bad. With a simple online search, Google now works as a virtual showcase for enterprises to display information about scheduling, website and prices. As a result, about 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else, and 85% of those users willingly leave a review of the website/location visited.
Nowadays, Reviews are necessary for businesses to connect with potential customers and engage with a community that spends most of their time online, but how can they help your business grow? Here are a couple of ways:
Reviews on Google Maps are a great way to engage with potential customers
Reviews on Google Maps impact your business’s ability to engage with potential clients and your target audience because of your rank and the organization's reputation. What customers say about your business carries more weight than your own opinion of your company. Clients value the local ranking algorithm, which is Google's way of putting business orders online.
Many factors, like personalization, citation, links and owning a Google Business Profile, are evaluated when ranking a listing. But, one that stands out the most is Google Reviews.
For example, if a potential client chooses between two businesses, its decision probably stems from another person's perspective. Picture this: Mariana and Ashley own the same type of enterprise: a vegan cafe that offers various plant-based dishes. Nonetheless, Mariana decided to step up her SEO and marketing game and updated her information (business hours, contact number, location) while including pictures of her venue on her Google Business Profile.
By doing this simple process, Mariana granted her enterprise more credibility because customers could envision themselves having an experience at her cafe. In addition, since her profile is linked to Google Maps, her future clients will be able to find the location of her venue with no trouble.
Google Maps can help you protect your business from fraud or abuse
For many internet users, Google Maps is a space where they look for information about locations they want to visit or places they need to go. However, it is also a site that grants business owners the security that the platform singles out blackmailers.
Just like good reviews on Google Maps can make or break a business, fake reviews can attack an enterprise and affect its authentic ratings, which boosts its reputation. Unfortunately, fighting this unhelpful content is not an easy task. It is a ceaseless battle that Google rarely details publicly, so scammers utilize their ever-changing techniques.
The average customer will likely use Google Maps to navigate a commute or future trip while searching for nearby restaurants or services. They’ll leave reviews at places they’ve been and usually add ratings or photos in location-specific clusters. But what if one of the reviews left under your enterprise profile seems unusual?
No need to panic. The Google Maps algorithm will detect and remove policy-violating content across a variety of languages and also scan for signals of abnormal user activity like:
Hate Speech
Civil Discourse
Mature Content
Any Deceptive Content
Google Reviews are an excellent tool to improve your business’ SEO traffic
Google is the world’s biggest search engine. It makes up 87% of the online search market. Therefore, online traffic is essential to optimize your website and earn a higher rank on the search engine results pages (SERPS), AKA, the page you see after entering a query into Google.
Google Maps allows business owners to manage their products or services online, edit pictures, monitor reviews, edit open hours, and add their website and phone number. The topics you advertise are essential for reaching your target audience and increasing search traffic. In a B2B space, like digital marketing, tracking the high and low volume of searches is essential to accelerate the approaching of a niche market while using the broad keyboard of Google to type those keywords and scan through the options.
Though Google Maps may only seem like a tool to navigate a city and keep yourself updated on the state of traffic, it is an excellent asset for enterprises and small businesses to track their target audience.
Getting customer reviews is easier said than done, but the reality is that the more positive reviews you have, the higher the chances that customers prefer your business to the competitors, and Google selects your website or listing as trustworthy and high-quality
We regularly get our customers to rank within the top 3 positions in local Google Search results - which is where you want to be! Rank in the top 3 or get your money back! Book a free consultation call to get started.