New data has revealed that reviews on sites like Yelp have more impact than just the value of a third-party review. It appears Google is using authoritative review sites for its own local search rankings.
Since Google decreased the Local Pack first from seven to three and now to just two with an advertisement, receiving a high ranking is key to gaining any visibility at all. Plus, competition for these spots has increased. Ever more businesses are realizing the importance to gaining attention on the web and are learning more about local SEO techniques.
How Yelp and Other Review Sites Impact Local SEO
It is not only the reviews themselves that are playing a role. Also significant are pages like Yelp’s Top 10. Although few people view these pages, and they seem intended purely for boosting SEO for Yelp, they have the unintended effect of also impacting SEO for the businesses on the list. For some reason, these types of pages are not excluded by Google’s “no search results within search results” filter.
This indicates that businesses that want to reach top rankings should work at increasing their reviews throughout the Internet — but not just on Google and Yelp. Any review can increase the sense of authority and relevance of a business. For example, reviews on social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram have all been found to make an impact.
Bear in mind that it is against Google’s guidelines to offer customers money or a free product in exchange for a review. Similarly, your website may be penalized if Google discovers you are asking people to write negative reviews about a competitor.
Other Ways to Impact Local SEO
The Importance of Google+
Another finding from recent data suggests that key information on Google+ can also improve local rankings. To start, local businesses need to set up a company or brand page with as much information about the company as possible. Ideally, this should feature the business logo, photos of the business and its products, office hours, types of payments accepted, and a description of the business including an appropriate number of keywords.
The most crucial information of all is the business name, address, and phone number (NAP), which must be consistent with the NAP elsewhere on the web. Google uses this to place the business and present it to users within the area. Since July 2014, Google no longer places businesses in the search engine ranking according to proximity, as it recognizes this is unrepresentative of quality.
In addition, Google rewards businesses with active followers on Google+. Businesses may find they have drastically improved local rankings if they correctly categorize posts in collections, create shareable content, and receive engagement from real people, rather than spammers.
Move Toward Organic Algorithm Ranking Factors
Organic factors are playing a greater role than ever in local search. For instance, geographical keywords on landing pages improve rankings. Better yet, businesses should include their NAP details to develop greater consistency throughout their web presence and clearly state their location for SEO purposes.
Furthermore, businesses need to fill their websites with local content. They can optimize this content by including keywords in titles and by adding pictures of local activities with descriptions explaining how the business plays a part in the local community. Content should focus on events or activities in the city and its surroundings, even when this is unrelated to the business. It can also describe promotions and specials at a specific location with a city-specific keyword throughout the content.
Finally, there are two more factors playing a major part in all types of organic search: links and a mobile-friendly website. Businesses aiming for the top results in local search should use both in the same way they would to receive high rankings for regular search.
A Warning
Just like SEO methods for regular search, it is essential that businesses avoid implementing too much at once. This is especially true in the case of reviews. If you ask a large number of customers for reviews all at the same time, it will look suspicious both to Google and your potential customers, no matter if all the reviews are from real customers. Plus, some review sites, such as Yelp, will suppress reviews when many for the same business appear at once.
