Digital marketing: The power of Google Reviews

Digital marketing: The power of Google Reviews

The Final Code

As a digital marketing agency, clients often seek our guidance and insight regarding business reviews. Common questions include how to earn more reviews, how many reviews are enough to really make a difference in attracting new business and building trust, and what platform provides the most value. Many factors contribute to building trust in the mind of the consumer, and what kind of reviews and how many you need to establish trust and authority will depend on your industry, your competitors, and your target audience.

For most businesses, Google reviews can produce the highest level of trust building and the most value for your business. If you could only choose one platform to accept reviews of your business on, it should be Google. Here’s why:

Google reviews increase your business’ indexing on Google Maps and Google My Business

This may seem like an obvious quality, but it’s actually overlooked or unknown to most businesses. When clients or customers leave a Google review of your business, it increases the chances that your business ranks in the Google Local Pack (the featured businesses) when someone searches for *anything* in *your location*. If you’re a Neurologist in Los Angeles, and a person in Santa Monica searches “Neurologist near Los Angeles”, you have a strong chance of ranking first in the Google Local Pack if you have more reviews than any other Neurologist in the Los Angeles area.

In fact, let’s test that query on Google Search:

Although UCLA Neurology doesn’t have the best total rating at 2.5 stars, their 15 total reviews is tied for the most of any Neurology resource in the Los Angeles area. As a result, they’re ranking first in the Google Local Pack. Mohsen Hamza MD also has 15 reviews and ranks second in the local pack. Most other Neurologists in the Los Angeles area have between 1 and 3 Google Reviews, and they’re listed in the “More Places” expandable results. Ranking highly in the local pack has serious lead generation benefits as more and more users call businesses directly from the local pack results, and click their website direct links. For some markets and industries, local pack results can equal hundreds of calls and website visits per month.

So, how many reviews do you need to dominate the local pack?

It’s not about a specific number of reviews, but rather a ratio of reviews compared to similar businesses in your local area. Acquiring three times as many reviews as your competitors is an effective cushion to target, or a 3:1 ratio, and this is the review ratio that Mohsen Hamza and UCLA Neurology have compared to other neurology resources in the Los Angeles area. This means you should try to earn 3 reviews for every review your competitors earn. Notice that we say ratio instead of citing a specific number. This is because the actual number is totally variable depending on your business, market, and how many reviews businesses like yours are earning. In niche industries like medical specialization, you may only need a few dozen reviews to establish a 3:1 cushion, while super high volume businesses like restaurants will likely required hundreds of reviews to establish that separation from their competition. Of course, this is only a guideline, and there can be exceptions to this, but if you’re determined to lead the local pack, building a 3:1 review ratio is a strong foundation for your digital presence in the local market.

The reasonable sample size clause

Now, while a 3:1 review ratio is a great target, in order for these reviews to really build trust with your target audience, there does need to be a reasonable sample size of reviews. While having six reviews compared to your competitor’s two reviews does provide a 3:1 ratio, and this may give your listing an edge in the Google Local Pack, this is still a very small sample size of reviews, and despite the 3:1 ratio, you still only have 4 more reviews than your competitor. For some prospects, six reviews may not be convincing enough to really build trust, especially if the reviews are brief, generic, or don’t contain any text at all. The reviews need to tell a story, and establish a pattern of clients and customers having consistently great experiences. For the cautious prospect, they may need to see more. Therefore, while the 3:1 ratio can help produce visibility, you should work to earn enough reviews to genuinely establish a strong pattern of great work, and build a reputation that shows the reviews are not a fluke.

Google reviews are presented to any user who searches for your business by name on Google Search

Making people aware of your business is a necessary first step in order for them to consider purchasing from you or hiring you. But it takes more than awareness to acquire new business. A person in the consideration phase of the hiring or sale process will research your company. If this awareness was generated through an outbound sales technique like email marketing, a sales call, or a networking introduction, the prospect is likely to Google your business to find your website. Doing this will generally trigger your business’ Google Knowledge Graph.

Let’s test the query “Amgen in Thousand Oaks CA”

Google my business prpfile creation

Of course, Amgen’s website and many of their profiles on job search sites appear in the index, and the Knowledge Graph for their business is triggered. The first information snippets shown are their business name, followed immediately by their rating on Google Reviews and the number of reviews. Prospects researching your company will be presented with this information. If your Knowledge Graph has significantly more reviews and a higher rating than your competitors, this is a very valuable trust building asset for your business.

Conclusion: You need more Google reviews

If your goal is to stand out from the competition and similar businesses, you need substantially more reviews than your competitors so that a prospective customer or client can not ignore the sheer volume of positive feedback. Google is the most used resource people use to search for products, businesses, and information. It’s logical to collect reviews of your business where the most amount of people are actively looking for information. Google reviews can help your business be discovered by people, then those reviews also help to build trust with those people so they will actually feel comfortable hiring you or buying from you.

How we can help your business build its review library

We embrace the entire gamut of digital services in pursuit of client growth. We support all digital assets, carefully examining how to extract the most value out of each component to meet the project’s success milestones. Your project may include any combination of web development, web design, content creation, ecommerce, search, conversion and sales optimization, analytics, social, project management, and all support for all digital touchpoints and assets. 

We can help you build your Google review library by identifying key opportunities in your market, industry, and your business’ workflow, then by implementing smart remarketing strategies. We only support using techniques and behaviors allowed and endorsed by Google to encourage audience reviews to ensure that your efforts are helping your business’ digital profile in the short and long term. Review building in conjunction with a comprehensive digital marketing strategy is a powerful marketing tool that your business must have.

What clients say about working with us.

Word for word. Read them all on Google

  • We are very pleased with the website that the team at the Final Code created for us and with the training they provided on how to control our site. Our customers are also impressed with our site and comment on how good it looks.
    Kaylor Painting Google review, Jul 9, 2016
  • I started my business about 6 months ago and couldn't get my key words anywhere in search engines after burning through a few hundred dollars trying google adwords with no results I went to the Final Code. Now I am on page one or two of every category I am attempting and moving up all of they time. Larry and his crew teach you what you need to maintain a competitive web site that brings results. They are fun to work with. You could spend thousands on an outside company to optimize your website of a fraction of that with Final Code and learn how to do it yourself. Highly recommend them
    Nancy Barna Google review
  • This company saved my sanity! I was looking for a company that allowed me to have the freedom to do what I needed/wanted to do with my website and also offer excellent customer service. I struck gold! The Final Code team is super supportive. They never leave me hanging if I have questions or need assistance. Their software allows me complete control of our site. It has made having a website fun again! I would highly recommend them!
    Channel Islands Sportfishing Google review
  • Several web companies have created and hosted my website over the last 20 years. Never before have I received the service, support, and training that The Final Code provides. They respond immediately to my needs and sincerely want me to succeed. The Final Code has designed my site so that I have access to all my pages. I am able to make immediate changes to the text and images, whenever I desire. I love playing with my beautiful website and I love the Final Code for making it possible!!! PS I am grateful for the great response to my site from new clients. People are finally finding me because of The Final Code's SEO.
    Nomi Wagner Google review, Jun 29, 2016
  • Everyone at The Final Code has been so helpful .. Larry is always just a phone call away. Not being very computer savvy I am always relieved that Larry is willing and able to make the changes and additions to my website keeping all of my Surfcat Cafe & Adoptions followers up to date. As a nonprofit we were very grateful that they were understanding about our financial situation and were very reasonably priced. Thanks Final Code!! Leslie Weiss Surfcat Cafe & Adoptions
    Leslie Weiss Google review, Jun 17, 2016
  • In our line of work we get SEO/Web Marketing calls all day and to say the least my least favorite of calls. However We have been working with the Final Code for Almost 2 years now and they are top notch in customer service and know exactly what they are doing. My SEO Stats prior to the final code i thought was impressive for a small company of our nature, however after the final code.. WOW. My numbers have almost tripled this year alone and the business reflects those numbers. The team at the final code is top notch and extremely friendly. With their web code program i can go in and create, edit and screw up any page of my website in a flash (not recommended!) and the best part is these guys are always right on the button to fix my mistakes same day. We have had a great working relationship and if you truly want Free Google Placing, SEO tracking and of course local 805 business they are the guys to contact. We highly recommend them!
    Channel Islands Helicopters Google review
  • Working with Larry and the rest of The Final Code team has been fantastic! We originally had our website built by an independent web developer and it was a nightmare dragging on for months. It got to the point where we fired the guy and started looking for a professional web development company to finish the project. We found The Final Code and from the very beginning the process went so smoothly and the website was up and running in just weeks! I’ve worked for and with other web development agencies before and by far The Final Code has exceeded all my expectations – very professional, quick turnaround times, and Larry was beyond knowledgeable on building the best website to attract the most traffic. The best part was how the website was built so I can maintain it myself and Larry is there to teach me all that I need to know. I highly recommend The Final Code for all your website needs!
    Macy Homes Google review, Jul 2, 2016
  • These guys are great! I have 5 million questions and they are quick to help. Check them out!
    Molly Carroll Google review, Feb 19, 2016
  • I was referred to The Final Code by a support person at Xero Accounting, an online accounting app I use and support for clients. I had a website up and running for over 2 years, and knew that little or no search traffic was driven to the site, datapro.la. I spoke first to Larry Murphy, and then with Carlo Godoy and James Nisky. They spent a good deal of time with me, going over what they offer, and after takig a look at my existing site, made some recommendations. I am quite computer-literate, but website-dumb. They were patient with me, explaining until I had a good preliminary understanding. Feeling that I was in good hands, I decided to move forward with them redoing, and educating me on how to redo what I could to the website. A great decision on my part, as this group has come through for me in a spectacular fashion. Although not complete, as ongoing tweaking by me, with their assistance, to optimize content, add blog material, etc., datapro.la has a much more professional look and feel, and more importantly, has added what it takes to drive traffic to the website. I cannot fully describe how very happy, and confident, I am dealing with this group. I know they have my back, and are very responsive to questions and requests. Stupid cliche, buy you are in good hands with The Final Code. It is a great feeling to know this is true.
    David Goldstein Google review
  • Everyone at The Final Code has been fantastic. I own a small beekeeping company. Almost all of my business comes from people google searching beekeepers, due to the nature of the trade. Initially I hired a company for $1200 who promised they could get me to the top of google. It was one guy working out of a library. He claimed it would be easy. I needed the work done in six months. He informed me that his method was a secret, and that he used hidden back links to boost my website. Eight months and $1200 later I was congratulated on reaching the fifth page on google, and the first page on bing. Not only was I out the $1200, but I also lost a year of revenue. I started taking work from my biggest competitors to get by since my phone was not ringing. They were getting all of the business in the area since my SEO guy failed. They were receiving twenty to fifty calls per day. I was lucky to even get one. In a final desperate move I asked The Final Code for help. The Final Code was very different than the previous company. I walked into their office. They offered no secret back links, no empty promises. They laid out everything they were going to do, and everything I had to do to improve my results. Within two months I had several key words on not only the front page of google, but a few of them were the top search result, and they had reports which allowed me to see all the key words I need to improve upon to continue growing. The difference in my business has been incredible. I went from nearly going bankrupt in December to hiring my first employee in June, and I am completely overwhelmed with business. The Final Code saved my business. I really can't thank them enough. To top it all off Larry and Amber have been a genuine pleasure to work with. I can't recommend them enough.
    Bryan Castro Google review, Jun 30, 2016
  • The Final Code was very patient in trying to fulfill all my requests. Carlo worked with me to set up my website for my tax preparation business and he also provided a good training session to manage my website. I feel confident in using my website and I know I can come to ask Carlo if I have any questions.
    Luis Huapaya Google review
  • My wife and I operate a company in Ventura County which provides assorted janitorial and commercial cleaning services. We contacted The Final Code because we had several existing websites and various online listings ran by several different people. Our online presence was a mess and were paying a web company for services we couldn't necessarily verify, we couldn't manage our own website if we wanted, we weren't sure if people were visiting our site and it wasn't a great feeling. We met with The Final Code to help us tie up all of those loose ends, built a new website for our company to attract more users to help generate more business. Thankfully, The Final Code was understanding and was able to work within our budget. We now have these issues resolved and the new site is climbing the Google rankings weekly and is now a page one on several main search terms. We received a lot of of valuable advice on SEO, search engine optimization, and they continue to work with us to progress upward in our online presence. I appreciate that The Final Code staff has been so patient and they are always available whenever we have questions or concerns. They have also trained us on how to update and edit our site so that we are free to make changes when necessary. One of the best parts of working with them is that I'm able to walk into their office and know I will be taken care of. This year The Final Code is building several new websites for separate organizations of ours and we're excited to continue collaborating with The Final Code! Thanks everybody for making our company online presence successful and helping to increase business
    Ken Duff Google review
  • Through my experience, web marketing companies are like used car salesmen... Thousands to choose from, difficult to trust, and are filled with empty promises. The Final Code is exactly the OPPOSITE! Larry, James, and Carlo are always fantastic to work with and know their business inside and out. From SEO to web marketing tactics, I trust them completely with the online presence of my company. They take their time to personally make sure that I am happy with their service and provide REAL statistics (not just Google analytics) behind any changes made to our site They provide valuable insight and ideas on how to grow your online presence and then can execute those ideas immediately (or train you on how to make changes yourself)!. The interface that accompanies their service is easy to use and gives you access to change / update anything that you would ever want to. I highly recommend The Final Code for any of your SEO / Web Marketing needs.
    Justin Engelbach Google review
  • Larry and the team at The Final Code in Ventura literally breathed life back into my business. At the time I hired The Final Code, I had invested thousands of dollars in ongoing website “optimization” with another company. Despite that effort, my law office website was nowhere to be found when it came to the core of my practice – potential clients searching for either criminal defense attorneys or DUI attorneys in my local area. As soon as The Final Code took over care of my website applying their innovative approach, I experienced a dramatic increase in the number of calls I received for DUI and all other criminal cases. I not only skyrocketed to the very top of DUI searches, I have maintained a consistent, top-ranked placement over the last six months. The Final Code team has a passion for helping clients that is evident in all they do. Larry, Carlo, James and team were always at the top of their game and, I felt, sincerely committed to helping me achieve real results. They went out of their way at all points to help me through the process, to aggressively make results-oriented changes, and to communicate with me in a way that made me feel valued as a client. Most importantly to me as a client, everyone at The Final Code conveyed to me that they truly cared about the welfare of my business and did so in an ongoing way. Recognizing the ever changing nature of internet marketing, the team at The Final Code has gone out of their way to keep my website fresh and at the top through expert monitoring and continual innovation. In the website business, the professionals at The Final Code are people of honor and that’s saying a lot. I whole-heartedly recommend The Final Code. You can trust the team to get you the results you want and to do so with dedication and integrity.
    Jennifer Zide Google review