Review sites like Google My Business, Facebook (reviews), Tripadvisor, and many others aim to match the right product/service with the right person at the right time.
Each of these sites has a specific way of doing this, making the ranking a complex and scientific approach, with the aim of offering the best result for the user.
There are many different factors and elements that influence the ranking of these review platforms, ranging from your customer's search behavior to your competitor's behavior.
However, all review sites and apps work basically the same way, using four main metrics as a basis, responsible for positioning each establishment in the most impartial way possible.
How can you improve your ranking on these sites? What variables influence your score? How can you improve your business's ranking on review sites? That's what we'll cover in this post.
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Key metrics that influence review site rankings
Review sites and apps like Google, TripAdvisor, Booking, and iFood operate using algorithms. And, essentially, they all work the same way, using four main metrics as a basis:
- Quality – having good grades
- Quantity – have a relevant volume of reviews
- Recency – how recent the reviews are
- Response rate – the more reviews responded to, the higher the score.
How these metrics impact your establishment's ranking
Quality and quantity: These provide insight into the consistency and quality of a business's performance. A business that receives more frequent positive reviews will rank higher than one that receives the same average number of reviews but a balance between good and bad. Review quality classifies the experience at each business, which helps your business rise in the rankings on review sites.
Timeliness: Reviews lose relevance as time goes by. Recent reviews carry more weight than a large number of older reviews because the more recent the review, the more likely it is to accurately portray the current experience of a property.
Number of reviews: According to research by Brightlocal.com, people read an average of seven reviews of a business to form an opinion and make a more informed purchasing decision. But be careful, we're talking about RELEVANT number, not the largest number of reviews. In other words, a business simply needs to have enough reviews to provide statistical data and allow for an effective comparison with competitors regarding the experience it delivers.
Response rate: Companies that respond to their customers' reviews have greater relevance in searches because, theoretically, they demonstrate a greater concern for providing excellent service, attesting to their commitment to total customer satisfaction. This is why the response rate influences the score: the more responses, the greater the commitment and the more relevant the company is to the search.
👉 Check out: 7 simple steps to never make mistakes when responding to negative online customer reviews again
How to improve your establishment's position on online review sites
Having a steady stream of positive, high-quality reviews—which reflect your customers' level of satisfaction. To achieve this, you invest in two things:
- Customer experience and
- Encourage your customers to review you.
How to offer the best experience:
- Use the compliments you get from reviews to find out how to please them even more.
- What can you do differently from your competitors? Also look to companies in other segments for inspiration for innovative solutions.
- Define your customer's journey: Use empathy to understand how they reach you. Why do they choose you? What do they expect you to deliver?
- Use negative reviews to your advantage: these feedbacks point to the need for operational improvements. And an appropriate response increases confidence in your business.
How to encourage your customers to review you:
- Ask for reviews: It's simple, painless, and harmless. In one fell swoop, you can send multiple emails with a personalized message asking your customers to review you.
- Make the review process as easy as possible: the fewer clicks required to review your property, the greater your chances of being reviewed.
- Be present on major review platforms. Google My Business, Facebook, Tripadvisor, and Yelp are just a few. Remember to manage the reviews you receive on each of these platforms.
- Make it clear to your customers that you're present on these sites and that you expect to be reviewed by them. Distributing printed materials around the site is an excellent way.
- Emphasize the importance of reviews to your team: train them to ask for reviews to reinforce the customer experience.
Warning: Do not offer incentives such as discounts, bonuses, or anything similar in exchange for positive reviews. Besides being unethical and a disservice to consumers, it can seriously damage your reputation.
Frequently asked questions:
I received a negative review. Will my ranking be significantly affected?
A single review (positive or negative) doesn't have the power to affect your establishment's standing, but a collection of reviews can. Furthermore, your standing may also be affected by the actions of other local businesses.
I get a lot of positive reviews, why am I ranked lower than my competitor?
Your competitor likely has a statistically superior set of reviews in terms of quantity, recency, quality, and response rate. Remember, these aren't the only metrics review sites consider. For example, commented reviews are worth more than reviews with just a score (stars). The length of the commented reviews is also taken into account, as is whether they're answered or not.
The more reviews you have, the easier it will be for your business to rank higher on review sites and the higher your position will be compared to your competitors.
Just because a place has 1,000 reviews does NOT necessarily mean it will be ranked higher than another place with 500 reviews received in a similar period. A place's rating doesn't increase based on the number of reviews, but rather on the experience delivered. Therefore, it's not necessary to have a huge number of reviews; it's enough that the establishment has a significant number of reviews, which provide a reliable picture of the experience offered, allowing it to be ranked more accurately.
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