How Important are Reviews in Local Search?

Reviews are just one out of the dozens of different factors that can influence how high your business profile ranks in map listings, but it is a very important one.  A healthy quantity of reviews (good or bad) shows that there is a level of community participation with this local business, and it bolsters the credibility of that profile.  Of course, obtaining favorable map positions is a wasted effort if there are only negative reviews, so it is important for businesses to continuously ask their best customers for some kind words.

Rich Snippets – Advantage or Disadvantage?

Another advantage (when reviews are positive)  is the addition of rich snippets.  Rich snippets are best imagined as very succinct snapshots of the most important pieces of data taken from your business profile.  This data usually consists of such things as the number of reviews and the average rating, address, hours, etc.

Rich snippets are very much like a reward, given by Google for having numerous reviews, but what many people don’t realize is that there are other things affecting how your business profile is displayed over which you have direct control.  These aspects add flare and inspire potential customers to click your profile.  Take a look at the listings below and just think about which is more appealing?

Clearly the first listing has more visual appeal since there is a photo of the dentist, you can see his number of reviews, his average rating, and even an excerpt from a randomly selected review.  These aspects all help a profile to stand out from the blue and white coloring seen on typical listings.

PatientScout’s local maps optimization services takes all the guesswork out of our dentist’s hands.  We make sure your profile has all the relevant information needed by search engines while also including all the attractive visual aspects that potential customers want to see.  When performed properly, local maps optimization can be one of the most powerful ways to grow your practice and improve your bottom line, so contact us today to get your online marketing started.