4 Ways Online Reviews Build Trust and How to Boost Your Digital Presence
Small businesses are constantly fighting to be seen online without being swallowed up by larger competitors. Search optimization (SEO - Search Engine Optimization + GEO - Generative Engine Optimization) is a cornerstone of online visibility, and the factors influencing it are continually changing. We now think about search visibility as SEO plus GEO, optimizing not just for rankings but for how AI tools generate and summarize answers. One of the priority elements that can significantly impact your website's SEO+GEO is online reviews.
The trust factor in SEO+GEO
When it comes to SEO+GEO, trust plays a pivotal role. Search engines like Google that incorporates Gemini-powered AI features and AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude, prioritize trustworthy and authoritative content. They want to ensure that the results they display to users are not only relevant but also reliable.
Online reviews are like digital word-of-mouth recommendations. They provide potential customers with insights into the quality and credibility of your business. Here's how they help build trust and boost SEO+GEO:
1. Credibility
Positive reviews from real customers act as social proof, assuring visitors that your business is legitimate and dependable.
2. Relevance
Reviews often contain keywords and phrases related to your industry and services. These user-generated keywords can improve the relevance of your website in search results.
3. Fresh Content
Regularly updated reviews on Google Business Profile, Yelp, and others keep your authority signals fresh, indicating to search engines that your business is active and relevant. In addition, if you’ve got a review widget integrated into your website that displays your current reviews, your website content is now getting updated regularly. We’ve learned that regular, fresh additions to a website can have a powerful effect on the visibility of a small business in search.
4. Enhanced Click-Through Rates
With star ratings displayed in search results, click-through rates increase. Users are more likely to click on a listing due to the trust established through reviews, which in turn, tells the search engine algorithm that the site is legitimate and valuable content, boosting SEO.
Real success: gaining trust through Google Business Profiles
Here’s an example from one of our clients. This local nonprofit organization was struggling to improve their website's visibility in order to be found more easily by the population they serve. After a thorough analysis, one of our recommendations was that they launch a Google Business Profile and actively encourage customers to leave reviews. After implementing this strategy, they experienced:
Increased trust with search engines: As the number of positive reviews grew, our client's business gained credibility with the algorithm.
Increased trust with clients: The glowing reviews also increased trust with users visiting the site and made them more likely to engage.
Improved local rankings: Reviews with location-specific keywords improved their local SEO rankings, which increased their visibility in search results.
Digital tools
We used a similar strategy with a for-profit client as their business launched. For this client, using digital tools to manage their reviews was key. We wanted to garner as many reviews as possible from customers who had visited the business, in order to boost their visibility right from the beginning.
Because their online booking system didn’t have integrated reputation management, it meant using data management tools to export and import lists of email subscribers, enabling us to reach out and ask for reviews efficiently. Responding to each review quickly with professional, personal responses gave this client a huge boost in their digital presence.
Unlock the power of online reviews with our support
Ready to harness the potential of online reviews for your business?
Streamline your review management process and build trust with ease. By prioritizing the gathering of genuine reviews and effectively managing them, you can not only improve your SEO but also build a loyal customer base.
We offer tailored reputation management support to fit your requirements. You can choose to manage your reviews in-house (as our nonprofit client did after initial setup), or we can assist by handling the process for you, as was the case for the new business mentioned above. We can also integrate a review widget onto your website if you’re interested. We’re happy to provide flexibility based on the unique needs of your business!
If you have any questions or would like to discuss how we can help your business thrive in the digital landscape, don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to support your marketing journey every step of the way.
