Online reviews can either be your digital marketing hero or nemesis. A high star rating can improve your search ranking and increase your website conversion rate. A low star rating, however, could be doing damage to your website SEO. Your star rating is so much more than just your reputation, and it is important to understand that to start using it to your advantage.

Online Reviews and ORM, SEO, and Local Search Services

Many business owners don’t realize that something as seemingly simple as an online review can affect online reputation management (ORM), search engine optimization (SEO), and a website’s ability to show up in local search results. Bad reviews can:

• Lower your star rating, which decreases your online reputation. A pet owner who might be interested in scheduling an appointment could change their mind when they see a less-than-ideal star rating.
• Decrease your click-through rate and decrease website conversions, which can negatively impact your SEO score
• Make your site less visible. When your site is less visible, it is harder for local pet owners to find you when they’re looking for a vet near them. Those low-star ratings could be making you miss out on pet owners that would have converted to clients.

What Moves the Needle for Star Ratings

Having a couple of high-star ratings is a great start, but it’s not enough to start using it to your advantage. If you want your star rating to help your website instead of hindering it, it’s important to consider the following:

Review Velocity

The more high-star ratings you have, the better your ORM, SEO, and local search capabilities. You really want to have at least 10 high-star ratings to start making a real difference for your overall score. Once you have that baseline, if you can get 3-5 new ones a month, you will be in good shape.

Review Quality

There is a hierarchy of star ratings that could also impact your site’s ORM and performance in search results. A 5-star review that has explanatory text with details in the review is going to do more for your site than a 5-star review with no additional information.

Review Responses

Whether or not you respond to reviews will also have a big impact on your ORM, SEO, and local search results. Managed responses to both positive and negative reviews can do a lot to boost your overall performance. 

Mutli-platform Reputation Management

When it comes to your star rating, it’s important to monitor all of your platforms. It’s not enough to just monitor Google. You need to also pay attention to Facebook, Yelp, and any other social platforms where you can find your business in a search. 

Reviews Drive Search Results

It is important to remember that your online reviews can drive your search results. If you’ve done a good job of cultivating a regular flow of high-star reviews, AI search engines will make recommendations based on these reviews. If you have not made the effort to improve your star ratings, however, AI search engines will still make these recommendations, but they won’t be doing your business any favors.

Make the most of your online reputation and SEO with the help of Beyond Indigo Pets. Our digital marketing experts can help you get the positive reviews you deserve to help you convert more local pet owners to real clients. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how they can help you.