In the recent video, we answered some of the most popular questions when it comes to Google Reviews. Are Google reviews important, how important are the Google reviews, weights of different ranking factors and how Google determines local rankings.
Why Should you Rank on Google Maps?
Google my Business is one of the best ways to get results for your business locally.
This is the space where a relatively new business has a good chance to compete against the Amazon’s and Walmart’s of this world.
In the previous videos we discussed the role of ranking on Google Maps in our Internet Marketing System.
Today, we will talk about how much Google Reviews impact your rankings?
How Google Reviews Impact the Ranking?
And the answer is - a lot.
Look, Google makes most of it’s money from advertising.
People who search on Google are their customers.
That’s why Google has to make sure that it gives people the best answer to their search query. Otherwise, they won’t come back.
Now let's think - what is the best answer when it comes to Google Maps?
What are the Ranking Factors on Google Maps?
Imagine going on Google Maps & searching for a coffee shop.
You are not looking for any coffee shop in the city, you likely want something with good coffee, good service & close by.
So there is three major factors:
Proximity - how close you are to the search
Relevance - how closely the search query matches the local business
Prominence - how popular the business is, reviews are a part of it.
Google Maps Ranking Weights in 2022
According a study done by Moz, Reviews is one of the top five ranking factors on Google.
But the impact of different factors changes over time.
In 2017, it was estimated that the weight of the reviews has increased by 20%.
Based on the day-to-day practice, I think that in 2022 reviews are even more important.
How Google Ranking Works in General?
But there is more thinking that goes into this.
The fact that you rank on Google doesn’t mean that your page, product or service is good or bad.
It absolutely doesn’t.
For Google in General, they look at how fresh & relevant your content is, they want it to be up to date.
Imagine there was an amazing comedy that came out five years ago.
It was a great movie at the time. And it still is.
But in the last five years a lot of new comedies came out, these movies are now getting a lot of attention.
And while the old movie is still great, there are newer things to consider.
How Google Determines Local Ranking?
Ask yourself:
You got a review, but was it yesterday or two months ago?
What product or service was this review about?
And how about other platforms? What is your rating there?
Google uses this and other data to determine the ranking factors we discussed above - relevancy, proximity and prominence. I can be searching for an Italian Restaurant near me, or I can be searching for pizza.
And I may get different results from Google.
Because Italian restaurant may offer pizza, but is it known for its pizza?
The same works the other way around - pizza is an Italian dish, but the restaurant that serves pizza doesn't have to be Italian.
Summary
As of right now, reviews are super important.
This is one of the biggest ranking factors on Google Maps.
But if you want to rank well on Google Maps, there is a lot of other things to consider - is your listing freshness, relevancy, proximity.
So get reviews, that’s for sure, but don’t forget about the bigger picture!