Staying ahead of the competition can be grueling especially if you are not using every marketing weapon you may have at your disposal. Putting together a marketing plan that can effectively drive traffic is no easy task. When the search engines, especially Google, apply their standards, it can often be disappointing when you are not seeing yourself where you believe you should be in a SERP. There is, however, one weapon that far too many small business ignore that is pretty much guaranteed to drive traffic. That weapon is reviews and testimonials.
- Google considers online reviews to be a huge part of where it determines you may land on a search. In fact, Google states that about 10% of their search results are directly related to customer reviews. Research also has long stated that around 3 out of every 10 customers who have a great experience will leave a positive review while that number explodes to 7 out of 10 for a poor experience.
- Always actively solicit positive reviews at your site. While many will likely do so, it never huts to try and provide some manner of incentive for doing so. One of the simplest ways to get them to leave a great review is to have a standard form already to go that asks them several questions about their experience with your company.
- These days, most consumers read reviews and take those peer evaluations rather seriously. Make sure that the reviews are seen at all of the top review sites as well as at your own home page. Video reviews, in the form of customer testimonials, are one of the most powerful weapons you have both for the advancement of your SEO as well as for driving those conversions. Make the most of them.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
