See Ya Later Zagat – Google’s 5-star review ratings are back!!
In Google’s official statement they said;
“Today, with the launch of the new Google Maps, we announced a change to the way people rate businesses on Google on the Google and Your Business blog …As a business owner, you’ll notice that past ratings have been translated to the five-star system… “
This is actually interesting and exciting news because consumers clearly understand what 5 Star ratings are all about had were more than a bid confused how the interpret the rating out of 30 based a minimum of 10 reviewers rating of 1, 2 or 3 (…ummm ya, soo clear and obvious)
What’s different now though is that you can see the 5-point ratings outside of the “new” Google Maps. In other words, Google has finally rolled it out completely and a companies ratings – i.e. your reputation – now shows up front and center any time your website comes up in the search results.
In fact we’ve noticed over the weekend that this is even more prominent when searching is done on a smartphone. Google has placed a lot of attention on mobile search over the last year and stats show that 1 in 3 local searches are happening on a smartphone, so it’s no wonder that Google has made ratings – your reputation – a very important factor in mobile search.
Here’s a great article that goes into more detail on these very recent changes.
Now that the 5-star ratings are back, how many reviews does it take to get your stars to show up in the search results? The answer is: 4 to 5 reviews.
As we have been saying for the past year now:
“Your businesses online reputation has become the MOST important factor in how you are perceived in your marketplace and you are always just ONE bad review away from having a bad reputation!”
Improving Your Reputation is Your #1 Marketing Priority
Your number one marketing priority should be developing a 5-star online reputation. Why? All your other marketing efforts, whether they be online such as SEO, social media, PPC, or offline such as direct mail, magazines, radio, or TV, will ultimately lead the consumer to learn more about you online. There, your less than sterling or non-existent reputation drives them away.
Use this free online tool to check your businesses online reputation – http://screamingtreemedia.com/reputationreport/
