Local Business Reviews and Ratings

Updated by Chima Mmeje — November 21, 2024.

Online reviews are a cornerstone of local business success. With 96% of US consumers reading local business reviews, it’s clear that these reviews significantly influence purchasing decisions. Google reviews, in particular, are a focal point, with 79% of consumers dedicating most of their review-reading time to this platform. Positive reviews can enhance trust and credibility, leading to increased sales and revenue. Conversely, negative reviews can tarnish a business’s reputation and deter potential customers. Therefore, local businesses must prioritize acquiring and managing reviews as a critical component of their local search marketing strategy. By doing so, they can build a robust online reputation that attracts and retains customers.

Consumers turn to various platforms to read local business reviews, but some sites stand out more than others. According to surveys, Google is the top choice, with 79% of consumers spending the most time reading reviews there. Following Google, Facebook captures 49% of the review-reading audience, while Yelp attracts 46%. Other notable platforms include TripAdvisor (28%) and Nextdoor (20%). Additionally, platforms like Amazon, the Better Business Bureau, and local news sites also play a significant role in the review ecosystem. For local businesses, focusing on these platforms is essential to boost online visibility and build a strong reputation across multiple review sites.

Review syndication involves sharing reviews from one platform to another, enhancing the reach and impact of customer feedback. For instance, Google often displays reviews from other platforms on the Google Business Profile, and Apple Maps integrates Yelp reviews. This practice can add an extra layer of trust to a business’s online presence, as reviews appear across various channels. However, it’s crucial to ensure that syndicated reviews are authentic and comply with each review site’s guidelines. Fake or spammy reviews can harm a business’s reputation and lead to penalties. Local businesses should focus on maintaining genuine, high-quality reviews to leverage the benefits of review syndication effectively.

Very simply, an online local business review is a written sentiment left directly by a customer on any website or platform that supports reviews. Google, Facebook, and Yelp are three of the major review platforms, but there are numerous other options that may be general (like Nextdoor) or specific to an industry or geography (like TripAdvisor). Reviews represent an ongoing conversation your customers are having about your business on the web and 96% of surveyed US adults now read these communications.

It can feel a little worrisome, at first, realizing that you don't control this discussion of your brand, but you can take significant action to both influence and contribute to building the lasting, positive reputation your business wants to earn, thanks to the vehicles of consumer reviews and owner responses.

In this article, we'll outline the 6 components all local business owners and local search marketers must master to make reviews work for the company instead of against it.

65% of review writers have left negative reviews after experiencing bad or rude customer service, and an additional 28% say their negative reviews result from businesses failing to resolve their complaints at the time of service. One of the best paths to building a sterling local business reputation is to run an employee-centric company. Be sure every public-facing staff member receives initial and ongoing training in the brand's customer satisfaction policies, products and services so that they are equipped to represent the business well. Ensure that each staff member understands the hierarchy of complaint resolution so that customers' issues are identified and rectified at the time of service.

Being an employee-centric organization means that the business incorporates the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion so that all staff can participate equally at work, and all members are fairly reimbursed for their contributions to the business. Additionally, smart local business owners can take the visionary step of entrusting their employees with the responsibility of using their own initiative to address customer complaints and to offer memorable personal service. These approaches will go far towards the goal of earning an outstanding online reputation. 63% of surveyed consumers write positive reviews to express appreciation for brands that treat them well.

Data Source: The Impact of Local Business Reviews on Consumer Behavior | SEO Industry Report - Moz

If you can catch a complaint before it turns into a negative review, you’ll be saving both your customer and your company a great deal of trouble. Having both positive and negative reviews can appear more authentic to consumers, and businesses should focus on how they respond to negative reviews. In addition to training your staff in complaint resolution, here are some steps you can take to ensure that you are resolving as many issues as possible, one-on-one, with your customers:

• Hang in-store signage warmly inviting patrons to let you know right away if something isn’t satisfactory.
• Put a mobile-friendly complaint form on your website.
• Post a complaint hotline text message and phone number in your store and on your website.
• Regularly ‘listen’ to social media for discussions of your brand and jump into these discussions with offers to make things better for customers expressing negative sentiments.
• Be sure all staff dealing with the public makes a point of asking, at the time of service, if anything wasn’t perfect. Facilitate both documentation and resolution of any complaints.
• Don’t overlook the valuable signals complaints provide. 38% of consumers write reviews to tell a business how it needs to improve, and such complaints become a vital form of business intelligence because they specify how a company can change to better satisfy its patrons.

Did you know some marketers estimate that it costs 25 times as much to win a new customer than it does to keep an existing one happy? Only 2% of consumers will consider doing business with a company with a 2-star rating and only 1% will choose a company with a 1-star rating. Statistics like these are all the proof you need that every enterprise must strive to identify and resolve complaints with speed and skill, before they develop into negative reviews.

Numerous platforms which feature reviews also facilitate a function known as ‘owner response’. This provides an empowering opportunity to contribute to the online conversation that surrounds your brand. You’ll be able to thank customers who leave positive reviews and attempt to win back customers who leave negative ones.

In order to participate, you’ll need to claim your business profiles on the websites and platforms your consumers prefer to use most. You can do a simple search in Google for your business name and the word ‘reviews’ to start compiling a list of those websites that rank highly for your brand and feature reviews from your customers. If yours is a brand new business which has yet to build an online footprint, look up your local competitors to see where their customers are leaving reviews. Chances are good, those sites will be important for your company, too.

Claiming your profiles typically involves creating a login of some kind. If you don’t yet have a business profile on a platform, you’ll be creating one. Creating and managing a business page on platforms like Facebook and Foursquare is essential for customer interaction and engagement. These business pages serve as hubs where users can leave reviews, find detailed information, and engage with your business. Some platforms may require additional steps to verify that you are the owner. Because 79% of the public spends the most time reading Google-based reviews, and 66% of reviewers spend the most time writing on Google as well, local business owners should invest resources in understanding all the fundamentals of creating and managing Google business profiles. Read The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide for complete information on this key topic.

First and foremost, you must know the policies of each platform on which your business has a profile. Each site has its own guidelines concerning what you are allowed to do in seeking reviews. Every country also has its own laws as to what is permitted or forbidden in regard to communications. Failure to comply with guidelines and laws can lead to punitive action, including public shaming of the business by customers or the platform, profile takedowns, and even litigation. For example, major review power Yelp, does not want businesses to ask customers for reviews. Google, on the other hand, is fine with this as long as money or gifts aren’t offered in exchange for positive sentiment. Meanwhile, Europe and North America have unique governing bodies which are continuously redefining truth in advertising. Local business owners and marketers must adhere to guidelines and rulings to avoid multiple negative outcomes.

Collecting more reviews is crucial for improving visibility, trust, and search engine rankings.

Some rules of thumb to keep clearly in mind: never pay for reviews. Never pay customers for reviews or offer them any type of incentive. Never pay marketers to post reviews on behalf of real or fictitious customers. Never post reviews on third party sites on behalf of customers. Reviews must come directly from customers and be left directly by them on their own devices (not company devices). Never specifically ask customers to write positive reviews. Never ask staff, former staff, friends or family to review your business. Never review your business yourself. Never purchase review gating software that moves customers through a funnel designed to only publish positive sentiment while hiding complaints

98% of surveyed consumers state that they place some degree of trust in review content when deciding whether to patronize a local business - this is why the validity and truthfulness of this content is critical. Reviews are also considered to be a key local search ranking factor. The good news is that most platforms do allow you to appropriately encourage customers to leave reviews and every local business should have a review acquisition strategy in place.

A few best practices to encourage reviews include:

• Collaborating with a digital marketing agency or using a review generation tool can streamline this process
• Gathering emails at the time of service and sending a request for a review shortly afterward
• Gathering mobile phone numbers at the time of service and texting a review request
• Having a Review Us page on your website, featuring links to your major review profiles
• Designing storefront, in-store and print material (receipts, handouts, cards, packaging) so that customers visiting your premises or hiring you for services are encouraged to leave a review
• Asking, personally, for a review at the end of a transaction
• Always respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, in a timely and thoughtful manner

For the life of your business, you will be aiming at earning a slow but steady stream of positive reviews over time on a wide variety of platforms.

Six words of advice for every business owner who will inevitably experience a negative review or two at some point: keep calm and have a strategy. Even the most complaint-friendly business with the best customer service policies is likely to receive at least a few negative reviews. A mistake can happen, or an employee or customer may be having a bad day. Know that a negative review is not the end of the world, but that it is, in fact, the last chance the business will likely be given to make amends and win back the customer. Remember, if it's 25 times more expensive to earn a new customer than to retain an existing one, you have all of the incentive you need to make a heroic effort to win back customers who are slipping away due to an unmanaged, negative experience.

Negative reviews can stem from multiple scenarios, with surveyed consumers citing these as the most common causes of them writing a negative review:

• Bad/Rude customer service (65%)
• Bad product (63%)
• Low-quality work on a job (38%)
• False information in the local business listing or reviews (29%)
• Failure of the business to resolve complaints in person (28%)
• Inadequate safety protocols (28%)
• Incorrect online info about physical addresses, phone numbers and hours of operation (23%)
• Having a negative opinion after having formerly worked for the business (11%)

When a bad review appears, it's the time to re-read this article and remind yourself that only 13% of review readers expect companies to have flawless 5-star ratings with zero complaints, and that, in fact, a much larger 44% say they feel suspicious when a local brand has only 5-star ratings. Few customers expect perfection, and the good news is that skilled local business owners can become adept at using complaints to improve business operations while simultaneously utilizing the owner response customer to transform unhappy campers into delighted, loyal customers.

Data Source: The Impact of Local Business Reviews on Consumer Behavior | SEO Industry Report - Moz

Take strength from the knowledge that:

• Good owner responses have improved the opinion 67% of negative reviewers have about a brand
• 63% of negative reviewers are willing to update their initial review if a good owner response resolves their problems.
• 62% of negative reviewers are willing to give a local business a second chance if an owner response fixes their issue.

To be effective, understand that 60% of customers will be expecting your response within two-or-less days. If you're having trouble keeping on top of incoming reviews, use software like Moz Local that notifies you so that you can respond quickly. Once you have a system set up for review monitoring, you simply need to know the do's and don'ts of responding to negative reviews:

Don't

• Fail to offer a solution to a cited problem or 54% of customers will avoid your business
• Accuse the customer of lying (even if they are) or 33% will avoid your business
• Argue with the customer, or 46% will avoid your business
• Fail to include an apology, or 47% will avoid you
• Respond too late to be effective
• Respond to spam reviews; seek removal instead
• Respond to reviews alleging illegal behavior; seek legal counsel if this ever occurs

Do

• Offer to fix a cited problem and make things better with the customer, because 58% of consumers will definitely seek out your business if you do so
• Apologize sincerely for the customer's bad experience; use the words “I'm sorry” or “I apologize” and 56% of consumers will possibly seek out your business because of it.
• Accept complete responsibility for a cited problem, as the owner of the business, and 54% of consumers will definitely seek out your company.
• Write a custom response instead of using an automated one, because 51% of customers prefer that
• Respond within two-or-less days to please 60% of consumers - the quicker the better!

And, don't forget, owners should respond to positive reviews, too, expressing gratitude and building a sense of active engagement within a given community.

Google reviews are a pivotal element in local SEO, significantly influencing a business’s ranking in the local pack. The quantity and recency of reviews are directly correlated with improved rankings. While the content of the reviews can sway consumer decisions, it doesn’t directly impact rank. Google’s Search Quality Evaluators assess reviews to gauge a business’s reputation and trustworthiness. Therefore, local businesses should focus on acquiring high-quality reviews on Google. This not only boosts their local SEO but also strengthens their online reputation, making them more attractive to potential customers. Prioritizing Google reviews is a strategic move for any local business aiming for long-term success.

No ethical, dedicated business owner needs to feel dread of user reviews. While it's true that working with the public sometimes means encountering customers who have unrealistic expectations or unresolved personal problems, for the most part, the majority of customers simply want fair treatment. Complaining customers must be viewed as a company asset, red flagging problems that need to be addressed before further customers encounter them.
The smartest business owners support all staff with careful training in complaint resolution that leaves consumers feeling heard and appreciated. When a negative review slips through despite this effort, the owner has considerable powers to make amends. Certainly, every business would prefer never to receive negative reviews, but it makes a world of difference to the company if the owner sees meaningful opportunity in the situation.

Develop a positive take on negative reviews, and make the most of the opportunity they provide to shine on a public stage, building a community reputation for excellent customer service.

• Prioritizing Your Review Efforts
• The Local Review Ecosystem
• Implementing a Review Acquisition Strategy
• Understanding Review Guidelines
• Understanding Review Filters
• The Impact of Local Business Reviews on Consumer Behavior | SEO Industry Report - Our local business review survey outlines key takeaways regarding the impact of reviews on consumer behavior and local business success. Learn more about the fundamentally important inclusion of online local business reviews in any local SEO strategy.
• Local SEO Cheat Sheet [Free Download]
• The Ultimate Guide to Local Search Ranking Factors
• Local SEO Certification - In this six-part Certification, you’ll receive nearly six hours of on-demand, instructor-led content, covering the fundamentals, local competitor research, location data management, reputation management, and measuring and tracking success.
• In Real Life: Local SEO Tactics - In this course, local business owners learn how to get the most out of their SEO strategy using skills and knowledge they already have.
• The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide - A comprehensive beginner's guide to SEO marketing for small businesses.