How will changes to Google’s star ratings system affect you?

It goes without saying that just about every business could do with more traffic to their websites, which is why so many business owners engage our company for website design and management services. When you work with an agency who specialises in both WordPress web development and related marketing services, such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), you can rest assured that your rankings and traffic will increase over time.

So what has this got to do with Google’s star ratings?

Well, even though you may have a wonderful WordPress site with the very best web development underpinning it, if you don’t have a handle on your online reputation and presence in search engines, you could be in serious trouble.

Why can Google’s star rating lose you customers?

For a long time now, Google has used a star rating system, where 1 to 5 stars can be shown next to each website address in the search results. When you use our SEO services, this is one of the optimisation techniques we pay attention to for our clients.

These stars are based on the quality of the reviews your business receives on their Google+ page, and until recently you needed at least 5 reviews for these stars to show in the search results. Now however, Google has reduced this to 1 review, so you’re instantly visible as soon as anyone leaves a review.

While only needing one good review will now give you a 5 star Google rating, one bad review can get you just 1 single star, and we all know that shoppers pay attention to these star ratings. It’s a no-brainer to say that if a shopper sees two websites in Google — one with 5 stars and the other with 1 star — they will opt for the 5 star website every time.

This is why you need to encourage as many reviews as possible on your Google+ page, so that if by chance, you receive a negative review, it will be counter balanced by all of the good reviews. This is something we regularly put into practice with our clients, as just one of the strategies we include in our website design, website management, and digital marketing services.

Get more positive reviews today

If you want to stop worrying about your rankings, why not engage our website and SEO services and get an instant quote online?

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