Absolutely. Online reputation is more important than ever before. A positive presence on the web builds trust with your target audience – a crucial ingredient for converting traffic into customers. Consumers won’t hesitate to take their spending elsewhere if your business leaves them with a poor impression. Here we’ll look at several reasons why your online reputation is important.
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Think about the last time you found a local business. Chances are you searched on Google for a relevant query, browsed the top listings, and read a few reviews. You’re not alone either as data from Google found that 4 out of 5 consumers use search engines to find local businesses.
A common mistake that local businesses make is not taking a more proactive approach towards getting customer reviews. According to the Local Search Ranking Factors Survey from Moz, online reviews account for as much as 15% of the local search results. That means all factors being equal, a site with more customer reviews online will likely outrank another with fewer reviews. Customer reviews then benefit your business in two ways: Positive feedback acts as a form of social proof and is correlated with higher rankings.
Kym Wallis, the founding director of Higher Ranking has over 15 years of advertising sales, digital strategy, and business development experience. He is currently working as Digital Adviser for iChoose.