Small & Medium businesses used to depend heavily on word of mouth to generate business and traffic. In today’s online consumers who are dominated by mobile device usage and search results, word of mouth has been replaced by social media and online reviews. According to a study, a large percentage of respondents who have read online reviews indicate that the reviews influence their buying habits. Consumers also trust online reviews. Negative reviews, positive reviews or a lack of reviews can make or break a small business and understanding their influence is necessary.
The Review Platform are important
Google results also consider from source of the online reviews, going so far as to update their search algorithm. The Pigeon update effectively takes reviews from popular review and business directory sites into consideration when ranking local businesses. Google wants to provide users with the best possible results and values reviews as much as consumers do.
The Volume Also Matters
It turns out, a minimum of 10 reviews are necessary before people believe the results. This is important, as small businesses sometimes struggle to get customers to review their business or products. Small businesses should do what they can to gain visibility on the high-traffic sites like Penang business directory and Google Reviews.
Reviews Impact Search Rankings
Google currently displays the top three most relevant businesses for any search. When multiple businesses are available locally and meet the search conditions, it turns to online reviews as a way to further determine which of the three businesses to show-up. Review signals have been ranked as the fifth most important search-engine ranking factor. Businesses with higher reviews will, therefore, be more likely to hit that popular “top” spot.
Customers Will Pay for Highly-Rated Products
In addition to driving traffic and generating sales, online reviews can also impact a business’ bottom line. Even the smartest customers may be willing to pay a bit more for a business or product with “excellent” reviews, appreciating the assurance of quality which comes from positive reviews. Considering what a small percent premium could do to the bottom line of a small business, this fact alone is reason enough to value the online review.
Overall it’s proven that consumers are heavily influenced by online reviews and often make buying decisions based on those reviews. Search engines like Google present the highest rated businesses in their results; online review sites get huge amounts of traffic and customers are always reading, writing and comparing online reviews. Reviews are essential to the consumers purchasing process and businesses that get good reviews are far more likely to succeed.
Penang business directory let consumer and visitors to leave their comment and reviews for businesses to get feedback and improvise their services for better. Start getting reviews today by adding your business listing for free today.
