New Study Proves Google Reviews Affect Places Ranking

Last Updated On February 20th, 2025Local SEO, , , , , ,

5reviews1According to a recent study about local ranking factors by Bizible.com, having five or more Google reviews was associated with a 1.85 improvement in rank in pure local results. Bizible also discovered that not having any Google reviews on your Places page or having an average review score of one hurt rankings.

The fifth Google review helped rankings significantly, however incremental reviews between one and four and above five had very little effect on rankings. After the fifth review, it is likely that you would have to get 100+ reviews to make another significant impact on your ranking. However, this study goes to show how important it is to encourage your customers to leave positive reviews on your Google Places page.

Need help getting customers to review your business?  Check out Get Business Reviews, a section of our Local Splash website dedicated to educating business owners about the importance of business reviews, how to get reviews and how to deal with negative reviews.

Facebook Goes Public Today at $38 Per Share

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Search Engine News, Social Media Marketing, , , , , ,
facebook ipo zuckerberg ticker 600

Photo from Mashable

Facebook went public today at a price of $38 per share. The social network giant offered 421,233,615 shares of its common stock which is now trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “FB.” Facebook is offering 180 million shares of Class A common stock and selling stockholders are offering 241,233,615 shares of Class A common stock.

The company is now worth approximately $104 billion. By the end of the day, the price of each share is likely to increase, however it could settle down or even decrease over time. What do you think, is a social media company worth over $100 billion?

3 Online Marketing Don’ts That Could Hurt Your Reputation

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Local SEO, , , ,

onlinereputationMaintaining a great online reputation is crucial to attracting new customers to your business. With 97% of U.S. Internet users gathering information prior to shopping online, it’s important that when they’re conducting research they come across your business and like what they see. However, these three mistakes from Marketing Profs could hurt your online reputation and send potential customers to your competitors.

• Having an incomplete website: Many small businesses that conduct their business transactions in-store rather than online may not have website design and upkeep on their main priorities list. This is a mistake because although your potential customers may not purchase your product or service online, they are using the Internet to conduct research about your company. If they see a half-complete website or a site that lacks user-friendly or aesthetically pleasing design elements, they may decide to go with one of your competitors that updates their website often.

• Firing back at a negative review: It doesn’t matter how great your product or service is, you can’t make everyone happy. There is always a chance that someone will leave you a bad review. Although this review may be unfair, it’s important not to fire back and get defensive. If you do, you’ll look immature to other people viewing the review thread and you will probably make the angry customer angrier. Instead, respond with an apology and invite the customer to come back again for free or a discounted rate.

• Expressing your opinion on controversial issues: Although social networks and blogs are full of people sharing their opinions, it’s not a good idea to share your personal opinion on your business page or blog and risk offending your customers online. Keep your posts professional and encourage opinion sharing, just don’t encourage discussing controversial topics that may upset some of your customers.