Static vs. Dynamic Reviews
In the busy street picture above, we can’t help but think that these shops are probably lucky enough not to have to worry about being online. They should have enough foot traffic business to succeed. For many small and medium sized companies though, they must also rely on their ability to drive online traffic to their web properties.
So, how does a firm drive traffic to it’s site? One of the best ways to do this is through the use of reviews. I like to differentiate between two types of reviews: static reviews on your website vs. dynamic ones from third party sites. Static reviews that you place on your website are important, but do not carry as much “weight” with the general public. Third party reviews are not only more trusted by the public, but can also help your business rank higher in the search engines.
Review Websites
Some examples include:
1. Trip Advisor – an online resource for travelers.
2. Facebook – a company’s Business Page has a review feature.
3. Yellow Pages
4. Yelp – online review forum.
5. LinkedIn – reviews for professionals.
6. HomeStars – reviews for the trades industry.
7. Dine Here – dining review site.
8. Google+ – must sign up for Google My Business to allow reviews.
The importance of reviews from third party sites cannot be ignored. Here are some of the findings from Bright Local’s survey about reviews:
- 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
- 85% of consumers say they read up to 10 reviews
- 72% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more
Google My Business
We cannot stress enough the importance of registering for Google My Business. When you register, you will be asked to create a Google+ page. This is where you will create a company profile and receive reviews. The reviews that your business obtains will show up on Google’s search results. In some cases, I’ve seen companies rank for keywords on page one based only on their location and reviews from Google+.
Now go and get those reviews!
