Reviews for SEO
                                    Reviews for SEO?
How Important Are Reviews for 
SEO?
 Your company's reputation plays a large role in local organic search 
rankings. For example, if your company is listed in every major 
local business directory and you're mentioned on local news 
sources regularly, and if great user reviews of your business dot 
the web, you'll likely rank higher than if just the reverse occurs: 
You're rarely mentioned and your reviews are poor.
 Related: How to Identify the Best SEO Strategy for Your Company
 Every business gets a bad review now and then, and some 
businesses naturally have trouble attracting reviews from their 
customers. But, with local SEO becoming more important and more 
influential, just how important are consumer reviews for SEO?
The multiple benefits of reviews
 Online reviews do more for your business than just look good on external sites:
 Lots of good reviews can increase your business's local rankings in search engines. Currently, 
Google displays the "top three" most relevant businesses for any given query.
 When someone searches for a business in your area that's like yours, Google uses customer 
ratings as a major determining factor for whom it places in those top three spots.
 Better reviews mean you'll get more clicks once you're ranked. Imagine that you're looking for a 
specific kind of restaurant, and you're met with three options: One has an average of five stars, 
while the other two have an average of two stars. Which one will you click? Rankings are nice, 
but qualified traffic is even better.
 Better reviews mean more business. Customer reviews are a subjective yet reliable credibility 
score that let other potential customers know whether your business is a good choice.
 These three benefits, working together, clearly illustrate the value of attracting good reviews 
online. If between two otherwise equal competitors, one business pursues better reviews while 
the other ignores them, the business that pursues better reviews will undoubtedly win out in
 terms of traffic and eventual purchases.
The multiple benefits of reviews
 Online reviews do more for your business than just look good on external sites:
 Lots of good reviews can increase your business's local rankings in search engines. Currently, 
Google displays the "top three" most relevant businesses for any given query.
 When someone searches for a business in your area that's like yours, Google uses customer 
ratings as a major determining factor for whom it places in those top three spots.
 Better reviews mean you'll get more clicks once you're ranked. Imagine that you're looking for a 
specific kind of restaurant, and you're met with three options: One has an average of five stars, 
while the other two have an average of two stars. Which one will you click? Rankings are nice, 
but qualified traffic is even better.
 Better reviews mean more business. Customer reviews are a subjective yet reliable credibility 
score that let other potential customers know whether your business is a good choice.
 These three benefits, working together, clearly illustrate the value of attracting good reviews 
online. If between two otherwise equal competitors, one business pursues better reviews while 
the other ignores them, the business that pursues better reviews will undoubtedly win out in
 terms of traffic and eventual purchases.
Relative value
 When it comes to all the factors responsible for producing your 
ultimate ranking, reviews aren't the most important. The 
structure of your site, the user experience you offer, your 
content strategy, and your link-building program are all going 
to play a greater role in determining your ranking than online 
reviews. Still, once all the "basics" are taken care of, the 
quality and quantity
 of reviews you attract will add another significant influence to 
the list. Never sacrifice the quality of a content campaign to 
attract more reviews, but don't shelve reviews as being 
unimportant, either.
Industry considerations
 It's also important to remember that certain industries are subject to 
greater influence from consumer reviews than others. For example, if you're 
looking for a nice restaurant or a good hotel, user reviews can inform you 
whether your experience will meet your expectations. On the other hand, 
choosing a new bank requires less user-based input; a consumer is more 
likely to base his or her decision on objective factors, like rates or product 
offers, than subjective customer reviews. Accordingly, consider your 
industry when weighing the value of local reviews for your overall success.
 Along similar lines, remember that not all review sites are relevant for all 
industries. For example, UrbanSpoon exists exclusively for rating 
restaurants. If your industry has a specific review site, be sure you're listed 
on it. If there's a review site completely irrelevant to your industry, you can 
ignore it safely.