An informative look at tweaking and improving your Google My Businesses from Whitespark so you get the best chance in local search.
One area I think that’s important to me is to being found are reviews.
For local businesses, it’s no longer enough to rank. Your presence in the SERPs (Search Engine Ranking Position) has to stand out in order to attract new customers. Reviews play a critical part in a business’ ability to differentiate from the competition and can impact rankings.
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The Impact of Reviews:– Listings with reviews instantly stand out because they have the golden stars.
– Google showcases your reviews in the branded KP (Knowledge Panel) and also adds review highlights.
– Google also features a section of reviews around the web giving your total reviews and average rating, which means if you have reviews from other third party sites (or even on your website) then your KP will expand further.
– Reviews can bring in more business and provide valuable feedback.
However, I wasn’t aware of this new review condition from Google.
You cannot review gate – if you are using a review platform or any review software to encourage customer feedback, you have to provide all users the option to leave online reviews. No moving the negative/unhappy experiences to a different landing page.
I find a lot of the information from Whitespark valuable, I recommend you signup to their newsletter if you are interested in performing well in local search.