Customer reviews are increasingly becoming one of the most powerful tools for businesses; after all, people want to know what others are saying about products or services they are interested in buying, especially when it comes to offers closer to the consumer.
Since 2017, Google has been talking about the trend of searches for "near me," and in that year alone, searches using the term "near me" grew by 75%. In other words, search engines are also guides for people to find services, products, and establishments in their vicinity, and it's necessary to have ways for the algorithm to find your business so that it can be exposed to the public.
Without a doubt, one of the ways to gain exposure – organically – online is through your own customers and their opinions on what your business offers, which is why we talk so much about reviews as a major driver of a successful strategy.
The relevance of reviews
Reviews are extremely influential for the reputation of a local business, especially in a world where people do research and want opinions from others before completing their purchasing journeys.
According to Reclame Aqui (, 70% of people say that, during their purchasing journey, customer reviews are the source of information they trust most. Furthermore, people want to find places that have reviews, and according to consumers, 63% are more likely to make a purchase on a website with user reviews.
And of course, all of this has the result that every business seeks: the reviews produce, on average, an 18% increase in sales
Reviews and local businesses
Reviews are already important for businesses as a whole, but when we talk about local businesses they become even more powerful, after all, search engines combine various strategies to offer content, relevance and proximity to their users.
And if your business wants to be found by customers, especially those in your immediate vicinity, you can no longer expect people to simply walk the streets looking for a service when you have Google to help, can you?
Imagine you need a laundry service to take items from your house. Will you go out with a bag in hand looking for the nearest place, or will you first search on Google for nearby options?
When searching for what's available "near me," how will the choice be made? Certainly, the comments from those who have already brought their own clothes and experienced the service will weigh heavily in the decision, right? If the first options offered are nearby, have positive reviews, and seem realistic, they will certainly be chosen for your items, correct?
This is exactly what we mean when we talk about reviews and local SEO to boost business. It is through these reviews that a company is able to reach another customer and expand its consumer base without spending on ads and without making great online efforts, after all, the search engine understands that it is a good offer option because others have already talked about their experience.
How does local SEO work?
Local SEO is crucial to the strategy of local businesses – and here we're not saying you can't expand your strategy, but rather that it's essential to reach those who are right next to you and who can quickly do business and become loyal customers effectively.
That being said, understanding local SEO and will help you at this stage. In addition to Google's usual ranking factors, the local algorithm uses three pillars to find the best result for the user: relevance, distance, and reputation.
- Relevance: how closely the result matches the keywords the user is searching for;
- Distance: how far the user is physically from the company when they perform a search;
- Reputation: how well your company is rated compared to its competitors.
When we talk about reputation, we're talking specifically about reviews. After all, what better way to define how well a company offers its services than through its own users?
Based on the overall rating, volume of reviews, quality and updating of reviews, and of course, the company's response to customers, Google understands what is most relevant to offer its users, allowing your company to reach further (or closer in this case, reaching people in your region).
How can you get more reviews to stand out in local SEO?
Although it is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to reach other consumers, we cannot say that stimulating word-of-mouth is an easy task, after all, it depends on your customers and their willingness to express their opinion.
The good news is that people are increasingly willing to talk about their experiences. According to a study by Consumoteca, 51% of consumers write a review about a product, brand, or store when they are satisfied with their purchase.
Therefore, the first step is basic, but one that many companies get wrong: offer a quality service. Invest in experience, differentiated customer service, after-sales support, and accompany the customer throughout their journey, seeking loyalty and partnership beyond a simple sale.
Having done that, here are some important tips to increase your relevance with reviews:
- Encourage your customers to leave reviews. Provide spaces for this type of interaction, whether on your website, in apps, through email surveys, or messaging apps, for example. As we said, people are willing to talk about a company, but sometimes you need to remind them!
- Share your reviews; after all, other people and Google need them! Show others how you're being talked about to gain relevance.
- Don't censor comments.Unfortunately, not all comments will be positive, and the important thing is to show the reality to the public. Use negative reviews as a point for improvement and never ignore or delete them.
- Respond to reviews and build a relationship with the customer. Whether it's a positive or negative review, respond to all of them and show the public how much your company cares about their opinions. If the customer spent time reviewing, the company also needs to invest effort in earning a return.
- Analyze the reviews. Comments aren't just for making your local SEO look better and attracting people; they can also be analyzed and used to grow your business.
Harmo: Increase your reviews and rank higher in search results
Receiving reviews is crucial, but local businesses aren't always able to handle the collection, volume, responses, analysis, and evaluation of everything they receive, and this can cause the company to fall behind in terms of relevance.
Of course, doing this work manually becomes unsustainable as the business grows, and that's precisely why platforms and tools exist that automate, optimize, and facilitate this strategy.
Harmo is that platform and much more, being the ideal partner to transform your customer experience and put you at the top of organic search results through expertise in online reputation management via reviews and SEO.
How well is your business utilizing its local potential and the positive reviews it has? Now that you know more about this topic, schedule a demo and find out how we can help you on this journey!