Tag Archives: local seo strategies

This is an archive of all the posts on the Local Splash Blog that deal with specific strategies for local SEO

New Study Proves Google Reviews Affect Places Ranking

Last Updated On August 13th, 2014Local 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.

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.

Search Engine Land Publishes Findings of the Local Consumer Review Survey 2012

Local SEO, Search Engine News, , , , , , ,

Local search marketingSearch Engine Land recently conducted a study dealing with local search and posted its findings online. The survey was centered around four questions that were asked to determine which types of local businesses searchers look for online and the importance of reputation for different businesses. The four questions asked to participants were as follows:

  1. Which types of local businesses have you searched for via the Internet (in the last 12 months)?
  2. Which types of local business have you read online reviews for (in the last 12 months)?
  3. For which types of business does reputation matter the most?
  4. Which ‘reputation trait’ is most important to you when selecting a local business?

According to the study, the most searched for type of business was Restaurants/Cafes (57%). Other popular categories were Hotels/B&B/Guest House (35%), General Shops (35%), Clothes Shops (34%) and Dentists/Doctors (27%).

The type of local businesses consumers most read reviews about is Restaurants/Cafes (46%). The second is Doctors/Dentists (21%). The analysis of this states that consumers turn to the Internet for finding and researching local businesses when they need their services. Having positive reviews gives local businesses a chance to stand out from their competitors and get the attention of their potential customers when it matters most.

Reputation matters most to consumers when choosing Restaurants/Cafes (32%), Doctors/Dentists (27%) and Tradesmen (23%). The results of the survey show that reputation does matter and it affects all businesses. Online reviews continue to increase in importance and as that happens, the reputation of certain types of businesses becomes a more important factor in the purchasing decision.

The study found that the most important ‘reputation trait’ is reliability (64%). The second most important trait is good value (44%). Consumers seem to be less concerned with traits like courtesy (7%), friendly service (9%) and ‘localness’ (7%).

To read the study in more detail, visit SearchEngineLand.com.