There is a temptation among small business owners to rely too heavily on star ratings and total reviews. When a local business has a solid 4.7 stars and over a hundred positive reviews, it is easy to assume that reputation management can be put on autopilot. But it can’t be.
Here is the dirty little secret about online testimonials and reviews: they have a relatively short shelf life. A 2018 study clearly demonstrated that about 85% of American consumers consider reviews older than 90 days completely irrelevant. In addition, some 40% only look at testimonials written within the last two weeks.
Though the study is eight years old, little has changed since it was published. The fact is that consumers interested in reviews and testimonials are equally interested in current opinions. Google knows this, which is why online reviews older than 90 days have less impact on search results.
Read More: How AI Is Transforming the Future of SEO
Have You Heard of Review Velocity?
Considered one of the best SEO companies in San Diego, Pixsan emphasizes something known as ‘review velocity’. Do you know what it is? Here is Pixsan’s description:
Review velocity is the rate at which a business’s customers post online reviews, measured over a particular amount of time. One SEO provider might measure every week while another measures by the month.
Google cares about review velocity because its primary objective is to provide users with the most accurate and up-to-date information on local businesses. One of the ways Google algorithms determine whether a business is still active and trustworthy is to look at review velocity.
When a local business’s review stream completely dries up, Google perceives that business as being in trouble. It’s no longer providing quality goods and services. Perhaps there has been a change of management or the business has closed up entirely. Regardless, negative perceptions do not bode well for local search results.
Does That Mean Review Blasts Are Good?
Poor review velocity is obviously a bad thing. But the other extreme, review blasts, is equally bad. If you are unaware, review blasting is the process of running a massive campaign to collect as many testimonials as possible, then posting all those testimonials in a short amount of time. It’s not unusual for a San Diego SEO company to suggest an annual review blast. But it is still bad practice.
Review blasts appear to search engines as artificial and automated. Algorithms interpret a sudden surge of testimonials as being forced rather than organically curated. Instead, Google wants to see a steady stream of reviews and testimonials over an entire year. Even small volumes spread out over 12 months will yield better results than an annual blast.
How Can You Make the Best of Online Reviews?
It’s clear that online reviews are critical to local business success. In order for a local business owner to make online reviews work for him, he must insist that his San Diego SEO company establish an automated feedback workflow that consistently asks customers to leave reviews and write testimonials.
A good example is to set up an automated text or email that immediately follows a business transaction. That text or email should provide a friction-free link to make things as easy as possible for the customer. Then, the SEO team should be alerted so that the review can be posted in a timely manner.
Read More: SEO Best Practices for Web Design
Here’s the bottom line: online reviews and testimonials have a useful life of 90 days or less. If you run a local business and your review velocity exceeds the 90-day threshold, your positive reviews and testimonials are not helping you a bit.