Local Marketing Mixup Newsletter - March 15, 2023
Your Weekly Update Wednesday, Mar. 15, 2023
Reviews Are Sneaky Important For Ranking Higher in Local Search Results
Unlike the banking industry, the local SEO world has no earth-shattering news this week. So, instead, we're going to explain why reviews are even more critical to ranking higher in local search results than you might have thought. Hopefully, this will be the nudge you needed to finally take control of your online reputation!
The Obvious Side of Reviews
We all know by now that 90% of people are searching for local businesses online and that about 87% are picking a business from a long list of options based on their reviews alone. This means reviews are massively important for getting chosen.. but how does that equate to actually ranking higher?
The Not-So-Obvious Side of Reviews
Google is smart. Google pays attention to what search phrase someone uses and which Google profile or website the user "clicks" (in reality, taps with their finger). So, if a user types in "best pizza Los Angeles" and taps Joe's Pizza, Google takes note of it. And, since Google wants to show its users the best search results possible, the next time someone searches for "best pizza Los Angeles" Google is more likely to show Joe's Pizza because they have user data that shows that when someone is searching for the best pizza in Los Angeles, they're probably interested in Joe's Pizza. The same principle applies to coffee shops, retailers, HVAC contractors, and any other type of business.
But what does that have to do with reviews, you ask?
If you have less than a 4.5 rating on Google, you are considerably less likely to get that "click" of interest from someone, meaning Google is getting indications that when someone types in your target keywords, users are not interested in your business, which means you are less likely to show up the next time someone types in your target keywords. Ouch.
If that wasn't convincing enough, just look at what Google shows when you search for "best" anything, anywhere:
Google Shows The Reviews Mentioning The Keywords In The Search Result!
There are countless ways you can ask your customers/clients/patients for reviews, but if you need some help thinking of a few that work for your business type, just reply to this email and we'll happily give you some pointers.
All that talk about pizza.. are you hungry for marketing services yet? We're serving up:
Google Business Profile management services
Listings management software
Reviews management software
Reputation management software
The best part? Everything can be 100% white-labeled
Check out our guide on every possible ranking strategy for Google Business Profiles!
We are seeking beta users for our new Google Business Profile Ai Tool!
Google Updates You Should Know About
Google updates their algos regularly, and we check and then digest them for you. Here are the latest ones local marketers should know about:
You can find details on all algo updates here.