
How Do These Reviews Affect Potential Customers? So you can see that reviews are presented at just about every online customer touchpoint. And immediately below the reviews from the web, Google offers up a sample of live Google reviews for this business. On the Google business profile, in addition to the Google reviews, it shows “Reviews from the web” which features ratings from other review platforms such HomeAdvisor, Facebook, and Houzz. In my search for CertaPro Painters of North San Diego, the business with 91 reviews, I found this: They’ll search by company name and will come across your Google listing. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t take the time or effort to “View All” and may prefer to go with the 3 pack offered up from Google.Įven in the best scenario when you get a great referral online or even through word of mouth, people still need to find you online. It’s only when I click on “View All” that I can see that there are many other painting contractors in close proximity to my home that I can choose from. The second has 57 reviews with a 4.9 star rating and a bit further away and the third which is furthest away, has 91 reviews with a 4.8 star rating. The first has 11 reviews, with a 4.9 star rating and is closest in proximity. Let’s look more closely at the results, which are in relative proximity to me, the searcher. This is just one example of why it’s important to connect with experts who understand these subtle changes in how customers can find you online. In 2015, Google switched from a 7 pack to 3, making it even more competitive for local businesses to be found by consumers. The Google 3 pack consists of 3 business listings that Google serves up to users, driven by algorithms which remain mysterious to many, but are heavily influenced by customer reviews. When we search for a local painting contractor on Google and use what is known as a “category search” – like using the terms “house painter” – and we will get the following, from top to bottom: paid ads, the “Google 3 pack,” and organic results.

You can compare some of the differences of review sites here.

(Bright Local) The review platforms offer a curated list of vetted service providers, but many homeowners start out with Google. According to a recent survey, 93% of consumers used the internet to find a local business in the last year, with 34% searching every day.

When homeowners are ready to do a painting project, they usually do an online search to find a local painting contractor. Let’s start from the beginning of a customer journey. But did you know that reviews are also a key to winning new customers? Start At The Beginning We can see that having online customer reviews is an important part of building your business brand. Demonstrate your presence in your local community.Show your competitive strength or what makes your business different.Get exposure to new customers who are browsing the review sites.Build credibility and trust through social proof.So it’s incredibly important to make sure that on each of these sites, you’re putting your best foot forward. As a result, the many review sites in which your business profile appears are great opportunities for potential customers to learn more about your business. How you represent yourself and engage with your customers online is a great indicator of the importance you give to customer service offline. Why Reviews?Īs a general rule, your online business presence is an extension of your business brand. But today, online customer reviews play a much broader role in how customers find your business and how they think about your company brand. Nice to have more reviews, right? It may have been a nice stamp of approval in the past. If you promote your business on Yelp, Google, Facebook, or HomeAdvisor, you probably ask for customer reviews to fill out your business profile.
