If you don’t think it’s important for your community to have reviews on Google, think again! According to a new study performed by BrightLocal, Google Reviews are more important than ever. Why? Simply put, Google Reviews are highly visible. On average, 92% of online users go with Google over their competitors. So it’s safe to say that if someone performs an online search for your business, Google Reviews will likely be one of the first things they see.
This study looked at 93,000 local businesses across 26 different industries. Researchers narrowed down the percentage of businesses who had reviews, their average number of reviews, and the average star rating. In it, they found that nearly 30% of senior living communities had no reviews whatsoever. Those that did have reviews had a total of 7 on average, with an average rating of 4.1 stars out of 5. When you compare that to the average of all of of all local businesses in the study — 53 reviews per with 4.4 rating — you’ll notice a big drop off in the average number of reviews. In fact, senior living services is in the bottom five of this study with regards to average amount of reviews.
The industries who have the most Google Reviews on average include hotels, restaurants and local stores. It is understood that industries like these will usually have more reviews simply because they have more customers. But there is nothing stopping your community from having just as many, if not more than the average over time.
But why are improving Google Reviews something that you should focus on? In general, Google Reviews act as a catalyst for someone to continue on to your website. If someone visits your website directly, you now have the opportunity to capture that lead for free rather than losing them to a referral site (lead aggregator) or even a competitor. That’s why it’s important to not only have a large number of positive reviews, but also the correct contact information so they get to the right place.
If you’d like to take control of your online brand, get more reviews and improve your visibility, contact Goldn, LLC today. We offer a Smart Marketing Platform designed to boost digital lead flow by improving your website’s ranking in Google and increasing the number of reviews. Email [email protected] or call (888) 482-6691 to learn more about the Goldn platform!