It may seem obvious that having a few good 5-star reviews on a review site is a good thing for any business. However, what many businesses miss is that the real benefit comes from having hundreds or even thousands of reviews. And, they do not have to all be 5-star reviews to give the business a tremendous boost.
1. Protect yourself from bad reviews
Having a large number of reviews can prevent you from losing customers over one or even dozens of bad reviews. Anyone who runs a business knows it is impossible to please everyone. Yet, at the same time, Americans do have a right to voice their opinion and there are many places on the internet they can complain. However, if grumpy people only represent 1% of your total customers, then it is important for the rest of the world to see the 99% of the rest of your happy customers. Consumers also benefit from seeing a representative sample of your customers’ views, as it makes it easier for them to make a more informed decision on using your business.
2. More reviews typically leads to a higher overall star rating
It makes sense that if you only have a few bad reviews and a low star rating that if you simply have more of your customers review your business that your star rating will improve. But what most businesses don’t realize is that the benefit of having more reviews continues as the number of review increases. On Sitejabber, business with over 1000 reviews have an 18% higher rating.
3. More reviews can give you more leads
Consumers are hungry for information about a business before they make a purchase. Some 81% of consumers do research online before making a purchase, and this research often occurs on review sites. Businesses with more reviews are generally surfaced more highly on review sites. A Sitejabber study found that businesses with over 1000 reviews get 672% more leads every month.
4. Get a boost in Google
When prospective customers evaluate your business, they often Google your brand or your brand plus the word “reviews” or “complaints”. For leading review platforms, Google will show the title of the review page (e.g., “YourBusinessName Reviews”) followed by your star ratings and the number of reviews your business has, right on the search results page. This means prospective customers evaluate your business’s ratings and reviews without even clicking on a review page. Moreover, pages with more content tend to outrank pages with less content in Google and other search engines. As a result, if you want your review page to rank well, more reviews can help it.
5. More reviews = more social proof
One of the most important things that can increase a visitor’s confidence in a business is social proof. Facebook likes and Twitter followers are forms of social proof, as are reviews. By displaying a review widget on your website that shows that your business has hundreds or thousands of reviews, it can build trust with prospective customers and improve conversion rates.
Note: collecting reviews should always be free for your business—if a reputation management or review company asks you to pay for it, find another one that is free.
