3 Reasons Consumers Use Online Review Websites

Consumer reviews have become extremely important for businesses in recent years. So making sure your listings are claimed and optimized is critical. Not only that, but you should also encourage your customers to leave reviews on these platforms. Once you do this, you will be ready to accept and convert any traffic that lands on your listings.
However, did you know that there are multiple reasons consumers end up on review sites such as Yelp, Google Local, Yahoo Local, and others?

In fact, the number one reason may surprise you. Read on to find out…

1. To find local businesses

   The number one reason most consumers end up on review sites is because they’re trying to find a local business.
   These days, search engines place a lot of importance on companies that have received good reviews. So when a consumer searches for a business, they’ll often be shown results that are determined by how many reviews a company has. They can then go to the review site and read more about what customers are saying about you.

2. To find discounts, deals, and coupons

   This one may come as a surprise, but many consumers head to review sites to find out more about discounts, deals, and coupons. Saving money is something the majority of consumers are concerned with.
   A lot of searches carried out are specifically looking for businesses that offer discounts and deals. The more reviews you have, the higher up you’re going to show on the rankings. So, the consumer may not have been directly looking for a review site, but they will click through to it to see what others are saying about you.

3. To read and leave reviews

   While it may not be the primary reason consumers head to a review site, many do still go there purely to read and leave reviews. In fact, the majority of visitors to consumer review sites are there to read, rather than leave a review.
   When you look at the 3 reasons above, you can probably understand just how important reviews are to your business. Consumers may not be directly looking for a review site, but they do ultimately often end up on one. So, it’s extremely important to make sure your business is getting reviews and responding to reviews if you want to build up trust, gain new customers and increase sales.

It’s also worth noting that consumers looking for discounts, deals and coupons will quickly decide against using your business if it has a lot of negative reviews. Therefore, it’s not just important to have a good level of reviews, you also need to make sure they’re positive.

Contact us today, and we’ll provide you with a business-focused review management service.