Just Start -- Yes, Even Your Brand New Business Needs to Get More Online Reviews As Fast As Possible
Top 3 reasons why getting more online reviews is critical...even for new businesses
"Yeah, I hear what you're saying but we're brand new. We don't have that many customers yet."
If you're skeptical about putting a system or plan in place to secure online reviews for your new business, then you only need to answer 1 question...
Do customers search for your products or services online?
If you answered yes to this question, then you 100% need to get more online reviews for your business. Period. End of story.
In fact, quickly generating even just a few online reviews can be a MASSIVE competitive advantage in the market for your business. Online reviews can be an "equalizer" for up and coming local businesses now. Just take a look at the example below.
1) Online reviews can make a brand new business look like an industry titan
Take a look at the screenshot below of a Google search for "car repair Houston".
Can you tell which of the business has been around the longest?
No you can't. In fact, as a consumer you likely don't really care about that at this point either.
The only thing clear to the consumer at this point is the fact that these 3 businesses are all pretty highly rated, and one of them has over 100 online reviews.
No, you can't tell...
- which business has been around the longest
- which business just opened their doors this month
In a matter of weeks, or even days, new businesses can get more reviews and quickly grow an online reputation that surpasses other veteran in their market.
2) Consumers choose businesses with high quality online reviews
Let's take a look at the same example we used above.
Pretend you just searched for "car repair houston" and you saw the results below.
Which business would you call first
?
If you're like most people, you likely calling Midtown Auto Service and Repair. They have a 4.6 star rating and over 100 reviews.
With double the reviews and the same star rating as Ron's Downtown Auto Service, this would like be the 1st phone call for many consumers.
Now, this doesn't mean this business will 100% end up being the one the consumer chooses DO
business with, but chances are they will be the 1st phone call for a huge majority of online searches -- and that is priceless.
How much would you pay to be the 1st phone call for people in your market searching for your products and services?
3) Getting more online reviews for your business boosts your ranking with Google
Without getting super technical about all the things that contribute to your business' online search rankings, online reviews are being weight more heavily now than ever before.
According to the 2017 Local Search Rankings report by Moz
, your online reviews are one of the top 5 variables that determine your ranking within map results, and in the top 10 for how your business ranks with organic search results.
More importantly, of all the ongoing actions you can take to impact your Google ranking, getting more reviews for your business is one of the easiest to do.
*If you're interested in learning more about all the other variables that impact your online rankings see the image below and make sure you check out the 2017 Local Search Rankings report by Moz.
