GatherUp recently released 120+ amazing statistics on the importance of reviews for business success. This just underlines what I have been shouting for years… or maybe puts it in bold with an exclamation point.  As we move into the future with better algorithms and artificial intelligence, and with Google getting smarter at weeding out fake reviews through red flags about user activity and wording, reviews are gaining in importance, especially with small, geographic targeted business that rely on local search, but most likely with all businesses, as Google looks at our businesses as entities and associates review scores, content, links, etc. to our rankings and standings in Google.

Many of the statistics speak for themselves to the importance of having a system to generate reviews, so I won’t elaborate too much here and let you absorb it yourselves, but I will cover some headlines, in case you are one of those, give me the meat right here people. Needless to say, a review management program is now a critical part of your business plan. Of course, things vary by industry and location, so looking at generalities isn’t going to be directly accurate to your environment, but understanding the critical importance of reviews, in general, can help you do a better job of harnessing their power for your own success.

Review Statistics Headlines

  • Review Granularity: Future of ReviewsIt is Important to Have Many Reviews
    • People expect a product to have a minimum of 38 reviews
    • Businesses with more than 82 total reviews earn 54% more in annual revenue than average.
  • It is important to have Recent Reviews
    • Many consider a review over 3 months old to be irrelevant
  • Reviews have a big role in your local ranking
    • Reviews account for 15.44% of how Google ranks a local business
  • Don’t be afraid of negative reviews
    • They show you are real. Just respond the right way
    • Businesses whose total number of reviews are 15-20% negative average 13% more annual revenue than businesses whose reviews are 5-10% negative.
    • 19% of the reviews the average business receives are negative.
  • Don’t Cheat
    • Google is constantly working at figuring things out
    • Google knows what type of activity normal businesses receive and what isn’t normal
    • High review volume with a perfect score isn’t normal

Again, please check out the GatherUp blog for all of the great stats. It is not only worth a read through, but it is also worth a bookmark. If you need help getting a review management plan started, give us a call.