• Home
  • News
  • Marketing Events
    • Marketing Events Calendar
    • Submit An Event
  • Business Directories
    • Marketing Agencies
    • Advertising Agencies
    • Market Research Agencies
    • Market Research Recruitment
    • Event Management Agencies
    • Public Relations Agencies
    • Marketing Industry Associations
    • Industry Recruitment Agencies
    • Promotional Merchandise Agencies
    • Social Media Marketing Agencies
    • SEO & SEM Agencies
  • Marketing Tools
    • Marketing Plans
    • Marketing Publications
    • Marketing Jobs
    • Calculators
    • Media Research
    • Advertising Facts
  • Advertise
  • Write For Us
  • Subscribe

Marketing.com.au

Marketing news, events and resources

  • General
  • Advertising
  • Content Marketing
  • Market Research
  • Public Relations
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Social Media
The Focal Point of Local SEO Is Online Reviews

The Focal Point of Local SEO Is Online Reviews

October 4, 2016 By Amir Noghani

For any online business their reputation is important as it determines your local SEO rankings. The more positive reviews you have for your business, the better your site will rank. Therefore, the focal point of Local SEO is getting those online reviews.

However, the local search algorithm considers many things such as external certification, social media presence, on-site optimisation, and listings found in the local directories and so on. Reviews make up a critical part of every local business, whether you are selling online or not.

Online reviews are important as they affect your local search engine rankings, inform consumers if they should buy your products or use your service, and have an effect on traffic to your website.

Now you may be wondering why online reviews are so imperative. Let us help answer that question for you!

The Importance of Customer Online Reviews

Before you buy a product, you want to feel reassured about a product or service and this is why online reviews from customers are most important. Therefore, how do the online reviews from clients affect your business? First you need to remember that by the time clients start looking at reviews, they have zeroed down their product or service choices.

They are on the verge of selecting and researching your business. They are deciding if your business can help them with what they need. The gap is very small between reading the available review and deciding if they are going to need your product or service.

Therefore, you need an excellent reputation, as this becomes their deciding factor in choosing your product or service. More than 80% of clients read reviews online to help them determine the quality of local companies and 65% of them say they read different reviews to convince them if they should buy a product or use a service.

Dimensional Research had done a survey and found that 90% of clients are influenced by positive reviews. This helps to determine if they want to buy a product or use certain services. While 86% felt that, a negative review influenced their decision in using or buying a product or service.

This proves the importance of reviews when looking at a client’s point of view. However, how do these online reviews fit into the ranking signals of local SEO?

Why SERPs Love Local SEO Online Reviews

When it comes to local reviews on the local search engine, it makes up 10% of the ranking factors. Reviews make it easier for users and that is why it is the primary reason that the SERPs love it. Search engines continuously work to provide accurate and instant information to clients while on the go.

If they can do this, effectively and quicker, more users come back to them when doing their next search. In turn, this helps consumers to make immediate choices when wanting a service or product. The most popular search engine is Google and local reviews have a direct impact when it comes to local rankings, as they trust reviews and especially those left on third party websites.

As these reviews link directly with SERPs, prospective clients are likely to see them. Google displays the number of reviews you have received, below the link to your site. They show a rating based on a scale of 1-5. Always strive to receive high reviews and never feel discouraged when you receive negative ones.

The negative reviews you can use to your advantage and turn your clients around advocating your business in the end. If you think that, some of the reviews are unfair, you can flag them.

Another Source of Reviews That Is Just as Important

Google is not the only platform when it comes to online reviews there are many that play an important role when it comes to local SEO online reviews. Yelp and Facebook are just as important as they generate signals that link to Google about how relevant, authentic, and established your business is.

Here are some sites you should target to obtain product and business reviews:

  • Angie’s List
  • Yelp
  • Amazon Customer Reviews
  • TripAdvisor
  • Yahoo Local
  • Trustpilot

How Your Business Can Earn Reviews

  • Ask your clients when they are around to provide feedback about your service or product.
  • Never fake it and be real as the real reviews will come out eventually even if you used a family member or friend to write a review.
  • Send out emails to your customers when buying a product or using your service to please provide feedback.
  • Make use of your social media and post a tweet asking your customers for a review.
  • Always reply to clients who left negative reviews by humbling yourself.

How to React to Negative Reviews

Every time, you see a negative review calm down and write a private response to them. Try by starting a conversation and understanding their situation. How you can help to rectify the problem and close on a positive note. Negative reviews help you to concentrate and better on the complaints provided from your customer service to your products.

Always listen and consider every complaint as serious while moving to resolve the problem. Make up by giving your clients insensitive or discounts with their next purchase or replace the product they bought with a different one.

Conclusion

Never get angry with your clients ending up in an argument even if you are right. By getting angry online will only harm your business and reputation online. Consult with your SEO consultant, listen to client’s problems, offer solutions, and be the sweetest you can be while having an online conversation to get positive results.

  • About
  • Latest Posts

Amir Noghani

Technical Director at Algorithm Digital Marketing
Amir is the Technical Director at Algorithm Digital Marketing Services. Along with holding a master degree in Engineering, he has been working in the field of marketing and communications for over Seven years and developed strong knowledge and skills in Online Marketing and Public Relations and also writing journal articles and blogs.

Latest posts by Amir Noghani (see all)

  • The Focal Point of Local SEO Is Online Reviews - October 4, 2016

Other Related Marketing.com.au Articles:

  • Utilising Customer Reviews to Enhance Your SEO
    How To Get More Google Business Reviews
  • Complete Guide To Google Disavow Tool
    How To Avoid The Biggest SEO Mistakes
  • Popular SEO strategies being utilised in 2018
    What Is The "Helpful Content" Update According To Google?
  • links reclamation
    The Power Of Digital PR For Australian Businesses
  • How to Maximise Your Social Media Ads Budget
    How to Maximise Your Social Media Ads Budget
  • Strategies to maximise the effectiveness of Backlinks
    Strategies To Maximise The Effectiveness Of Backlinks
  • How to Use Google Search Console in 2023
    How to Use Google Search Console in 2023
  • The Basics Around “on-page” SEO
    What Is A Sitemap & How To Submit It To Search Engines

Filed Under: General, Latest News, Public Relations, SEO Tagged With: local SEO, online reviews, seo

Recent Posts

  • Marketing Events – August 2025
  • Top 9 Effective Book Promotion Ideas For Authors
  • Marketing Events – July 2025
  • Step By Step Process For Opening Your Own PR Agency
  • Hotels and Influencer Marketing

Join Our Newsletter

For free updates on upcoming Australian events, articles and resources.

CONNECT WITH US

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

MAIN MENU

  • Advertise with Us
  • Write For Us
  • Submit An Event
  • List Your Business
  • Marketing Events
  • Business Directories
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

SEARCH BY CATEGORY

  • Advertising
  • Content Marketing
  • General
  • Market Research
  • Public Relations
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
  • Social Media

Join Our Newsletter

For free updates on upcoming Australian events, articles and resources.

Copyright © 2025 Marketing.com.au · Terms & Conditions · Privacy Policy

  • Home
  • News
  • Marketing Events
    ▼
    • Marketing Events Calendar
    • Submit An Event
  • Business Directories
    ▼
    • Marketing Agencies
    • Advertising Agencies
    • Market Research Agencies
    • Market Research Recruitment
    • Event Management Agencies
    • Public Relations Agencies
    • Marketing Industry Associations
    • Industry Recruitment Agencies
    • Promotional Merchandise Agencies
    • Social Media Marketing Agencies
    • SEO & SEM Agencies
  • Marketing Tools
    ▼
    • Marketing Plans
    • Marketing Publications
    • Marketing Jobs
    • Calculators
    • Media Research
    • Advertising Facts
  • Advertise
  • Write For Us
  • Subscribe