Fifty Reasons why Google Reviews Matter
1. 92% of consumers now read online reviews vs. 88% in 2014
2. 40% of consumers form an opinion by reading just one to three reviews vs. 29% in 2014
3. Star rating is the number one factor used by consumers to judge a business
4. 44% say a review must be written within one month to be relevant.This highlights the importance of recency in reviews!
5. 68% say positive reviews make them trust a local business more vs. 72% in 2014
…Fifty Reasons why Google Reviews Matter
11-50 Reasons
11. 29% have read reviews on a tablet
12. 33% believe all local businesses should have websites designed for mobile vs. 25% in 2013
13. 61% are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile optimized site
14. In 2016, 13.5% of online reviews mention the words “friendly” or “rude,” and 26.8% talk about the service!
15. 73% of consumers form an opinion by reading up to six reviews ,vs. 64% in 2014
16. 88% of consumers form an opinion by reading up to ten reviews vs. 84% in 2014. This means it’s important to have a large body of reviews, as customers are reading more reviews now than in all years past.
17. Only 12% are prepared to read more than 10 reviews vs. 16% in 2014
18. 26% of consumers say it’s important that a local business responds to its reviews
19. Only 14% of consumers would consider using a business with a one or two star rating
20. 57% of consumers would use a business with a three star rating
21. 94% of consumers would use a business with a four star rating
22. 51% of consumers will select a local business if it has positive reviews
23. 88% trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, vs. 83% in 2014
24. 48% will visit a company’s website after reading positive reviews
25. 23% will visit the business premises directly after reading positive reviews
26. 9% of consumers will phone a business after reading positive reviews
27. 95% of consumers suspect censorship or faked reviews when they don’t see bad scores
28. Reliability (27%), expertise (21%) and professionalism (18%) remain the most important attributes to consumers
29. More consumers are interested in “good value” than before, while less are concerned about the “expertise” of a business
30. Word of mouth is still the most popular method of recommendation for consumers despite a 2% drop year over year
31. On average, a consumer will look at over 10 information sources before making a purchase
32. Over half of young people aged 18 to 34 say they trust online reviews more than the opinions of friends and family
33. 88% of online shoppers incorporate reviews into their purchase decision
34. Consumers who read reviews on a smartphone are 127% more likely to buy than those who read reviews on desktops
35. Reviews are especially important for local searches as they influence up to 10% of the ranking
36. Only reviews from friends and family are trusted more than online reviews. Reviews from experts and celebrity endorsements are less trusted than online reviews
37. 30% of consumers assume online reviews are fake if there are no negative reviews
38. The three online platforms dedicated to reviews with the most global traffic are: yelp, tripadvisor, foursquare
39. 58% of consumers said they have recently (within the past five years) began leaving more and more online reviews based upon customer service
40. 100% of customers who make over $150,000 annually claim to leave reviews when it comes to a poor customer service experience
41. Reviews of 50 or more, per product can mean a 4.6% increase in conversion rates
42. 63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a site which has user reviews
43. Customers are 105% more likely to purchase while visiting, when site visitors interact with both reviews and customer questions and answers, and spend 11% more than visitors who don’t interact
44. Reviews produce an average of 18% uplift in sales
45. 64% of consumers would read online reviews when purchasing technology items
46. 68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both good and bad scores
47. Between one and three bad online reviews would be enough to deter the majority (67%) of shoppers from purchasing a product or service
48. 86% of people will hesitate to purchase from a business that has negative online reviews
49. Number of reviews posted every minute by Yelp users is 26,380
50. If a business resolves its issue quickly and efficiently, 95% of unhappy customers returns back to your business
