Reviews provide a good picture for Google what the quality of your products or services is. It provides Google with an additional piece of context to determine who you are, what you do and how well you do it. It makes sense that Google values this because visitors actually do, which is underscored by a study by
Bright Local:
- 97 percent of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, with 12 percent even reading them daily;
- 85 percent of consumers trust online reviews to the same extent as personal recommendations;
Positive reviews increase trust in the business for 73 percent of consumers;
- 49 percent of consumers consider a four-star rating the minimum to choose this company;
- 30 percent of consumers see responses (from within the company) to reviews as essential in rating local businesses.