What’s the Most Important Lead-Generating Tool in Local SEO?
3 Reasons Why the Answer is Reviews!
There are plenty of tools that businesses can use to improve their local SEO:
- Citation clean-ups
- Business directories
- Social media
- Analytic software
Ideally, a marketing strategy should incorporate all the tools at one’s disposal. But we at LinkNow think that if you need to focus on one—one that many people forget about—the answer is obvious: Reviews.
Why reviews? Here are three reasons that generating reviews is the most important tool for local SEO.
1. Reviews Are Free
Marketing costs money. Citation cleans-up can add up, as can registering with different directories, paying for Google Ads, purchasing a local SEO package… you get the point. But you know what doesn’t cost money?
Getting reviews!
We’re not saying that those other options aren’t worth the time and money. On the contrary, they’re critical to an effective and comprehensive SEO program. But what we’re saying is that a lot of business owners neglect getting reviews from their customers. As a result, they’re missing out on a perfectly good, completely free option for improving their local SEO.
2. Reviews Are Easy to Get
Local marketing can get complicated. Business listings, NAPs, citation audits, ranking reports, analytic software—all these factors can make the world of local SEO difficult to navigate, especially for a non-specialist. Sure, there’s plenty of useful stuff out there, but it’s not always easy to use. In the right hands, something like Google Insights can be a potent tool. But it can also be excruciating to try to wrap your head around it.
By contrast, getting reviews is simple. All you need to do is ask your clients for them. Many will happily write a review on Google for you. If they’re really jazzed about your services, maybe they’ll even leave you one on Bing, Yelp, and Glassdoor.
Remind your clients that the more information, the more detail, the better. It’s not just because they’ll be more convincing for potential clients. It’s also that by describing how good your services are, your clients will unintentionally use the keywords you need to boost your ranking.
Create a review-generation strategy. Start asking your clients to review your services online. You’d be surprised how many will respond when you give them a simple nudge.
3. Reviews Generate Leads
82% of U.S. adults check online reviews before buying a product. And that figure will only get higher as younger generations reach maturity.
Ultimately, more and more people consider reviews to be the number one factor in making a purchase. They’re a source of authority. And if you have good reviews, it shows your potential clients that you are a trustworthy service provider who will do them right. On the flip side, no reviews (or too few) suggests that you’re either not well established or you’re hiding something.
Reviews will help you build trust not just with your clients, but also with Google. In fact, Google reports that they consider the information in reviews a crucial factor in determining search results. With good reviews that reflect the quality of your services, you’ll see both your local and organic search results improve. And with that, watch the leads multiply!
Got your own hot take on local SEO? Leave a comment below!
And if you need help overhauling your local SEO strategy, be sure to contact us by phone at 1.888.667.7186 or by email at mylocalseo@linknowmedia.com.
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