The Impact of Local Business Reviews on Consumer Behavior | SEO Industry Report

What are the most common behaviors of review readers today?

To better understand customer reliance on local business reviews and the role this content plays in decision-making, it's important to consider reading frequency, preferred platforms, trust, and other factors. When a business is competing to be chosen, it’s important to feel confident in decisions around marketing and SEO strategies. The data around review readers provides a sense of consumer routines which can then be used by local businesses to support their decision-making and gameplan development.

As this is Moz’s first local business review survey, the results set a benchmark for gauging future trends of the habits of review readers.

How often do you read reviews?

When evaluating the impact a particular form of marketing may have, it’s important to estimate public engagement.

96% of People Read Reviews

Well over half of consumers (56%) are turning to reviews on a daily (23%) or weekly (33%) basis. Another 18% consult reviews monthly, and 13% report reading them multiple times per year. Only 4% of consumers (those disqualified from this portion of our survey) never read reviews.

The task for local brands is to gain and maintain a body of reviews that is ready to serve the 96% of customers who are turning to them for information about the business.

On which review platforms do you spend the most time reading reviews?

Knowing where customers spend most of their time helps create strategy for where the business needs to devote its resources.

79% of consumers spend the most time reading Google-based reviews

It’s not a surprise that 79% of consumers spend the most time reading Google-based reviews. Google’s dominance as a search engine has given it a natural advantage as an already-familiar resource for reading reviews, enabling it to outpace even those platforms which were developed solely for publishing consumer sentiment.

As people look at multiple sites for reviews before choosing a business, our survey found that Facebook comes in second at 49%, with Yelp running a close third at 46%. TripAdvisor performs well at 28%, given that it is closely-associated with the specific niche of travel and dining, and don’t overlook the growth of the neighborhood platform Nextdoor, where 20% of consumers spend time reading reviews.

Some respondents (13%) preferred smaller, industry-specific websites and 5% reference reading local business reviews on 28 additional platforms, with these being the most cited:

• Amazon
• Better Business Bureau
• Individual business sites
• Local news
• AAA
• Direct to business

Taking these numbers into consideration, it’s obvious that local brands must place prime focus on maintaining their Google Business Profiles, while not overlooking the 21% of valued customers who are seeking business information elsewhere. Given the vital role reviews play at different stages in customer journeys, brands must grow and maintain a presence across multiple platforms to avoid missing out on sales.

How much importance do you place on reviews when deciding whether to visit a local business?

It’s vital to recognize points in the customer journey where trust comes into play and decisions are made.

Trust is on the line for 98% of review readers

For 33% of respondents, reviews are the number one signal as to whether they can trust a local brand enough to do business with it. Another 53% name reviews as being somewhat important in the trust component of their consumer journey. Only 12% think of reviews as only slightly important, and a mere 2% call them the least important signal.

Taken together, about 86% of consumers consider reviews as being either the most important or a somewhat important factor in determining whether a business is worthy of their trust. This significant number quantifies the degree to which the public now controls brand perception, underscoring the need to provide exceptional customer service and continuous engagement within the online body of reviews.

When you're deciding between local businesses, which part of a review matters most?

It’s good to know which review elements help you stand out most in a competitive field.

Star ratings are the key differentiator amongst local competitors

When choosing between multiple local businesses, 36% of consumers cite the star rating as the portion of reviews that matters most. This makes sense given that review stars provide an at-a-glance rating for business evaluation. Meanwhile:

• 28% turn to the written content of reviews for differentiation
• 17% consider review recency as the top factor
• 10% place prime importance on the overall number of reviews
• Just 4% of consumers put photos in the top spot for trust

Surprisingly, only 5% chose the presence of owner responses as a top trust factor, begging the question of whether the scarcity of such content, or its low-quality, may not be giving consumers a strong enough signal to rely upon. Brands needing to stand out in a crowded local business scene should be investing seriously in the quality of customer experiences which generates high star reviews and persuasive user-generated content

What's the minimum rating a business needs to have for you to consider it?

Star ratings equal reputation at-a-glance, and you need to meet expectations to win business.

6 in 10 consumers require 4+ stars to consider doing business

For over half of respondents (51%), a rating of 4 stars is the minimum they will accept in considering whether to patronize a local business. Only 13% require a perfect 5-star overall rating.

If your business is struggling with reputational issues, you can draw strength from the finding that 34% of shoppers may still choose you with only a 3-star rating, hopefully giving your company new chances to provide much better service so that ratings begin to rise over time. However, brands with an overall rating of 2 stars or less will only be considered by about 2% of consumers, signaling that reputational issues are significantly endangering the viability of the company.

All enterprises can take comfort in knowing how few customers expect perfection with 85% of people willing to consider transacting with a neighborhood establishment with a rating which falls in the 3-to-4-star range. However, do not take this as a license to ignore complaints. Reputation can deteriorate quickly, and should be safeguarded for a positive, upward trend in incoming sentiment.

Which of these review filtering actions do you most often take?

It’s important to know that customers may not be reading your reviews in the standard order in which they appear on your profiles.

Recency and negativity are the review filters of choice

Only 18% of modern review readers are not filtering the review content they read. On the other hand, 39% are filtering reviews to see the most recent reviews first, and 24% filter for negative sentiment. Of the remaining respondents, 15% filter to see positive reviews first, while 4% have caught on to filtering sentiment by topics such as Google Place Topics.

The key takeaway here is that consumers are bringing an agenda to their evaluation of review content and at this time, the largest percentage of them will be judging brands on the basis of the most recent sentiment about them. It makes sense to put a review acquisition strategy in place that results in ongoing, fresh user-generated content.

It’s good to know how much reading material potential customers require before choosing you.

70% of customers read 5-20 positive reviews before deciding a business is worth a try

Today’s customers are taking the time to read a significant amount of review content to inform themselves as to whether a business is worthy of their consideration. An astonishing 20% will read more than 20 of your reviews, a dominant 37% will read 10-20 reviews, and another 33% will read at least 5-9 reviews. Only 11% read just 1-4 reviews in the decision making process.

These figures speak to the volume of reviews a business must seek to earn. When taken in conjunction with our findings regarding the prevalence of review filtering, successful businesses need a significant number of positive, recent reviews to provide clients and customers with the information they’re seeking.

A local brand’s strongest messaging comes from whichever source is most trusted by the public.

Only 11% of consumers trust brand messaging over public sentiment

When asked which types of information respondents trust more, an overwhelming 68% say they trust what customers say about a local business more than what that business says about itself. Just 11% place more reliance on brand messaging than they do on the public opinion showcased in reviews. A modest 20% place equal trust in both sources.

Brands and marketers are making the transition from a past reality in which they largely controlled public perception of companies to the new dynamic in which it is the customer who controls the business’ story. For local businesses, brand narratives exist within the review corpus, which is a living document that is continuously refreshed with new content. Reputation must be grounded in customer service and tended and assessed within the framework of reviews.

Know which barriers derail key moments in the customer journey.

Even a hint of review spam kills trust for most customers

When asked to select all elements that might cause the respondent to lose trust in reviews, signals of spamminess trigger widespread suspicion. Half (50%) lose trust if it looks like owners or employees are reviewing their own business, 44% are suspicious of a profile with all-five-star reviews and no complaints, 41% are put off if other elements of the local business listing seem untrustworthy, 39% are concerned when the profiles of reviewers look suspect, and 20% feel mistrust when a business has too many reviews compared to competitors.

Meanwhile, signals that aren’t tied to spam can also erode trust. Just under half (48%) cite a profile with a low star rating compared to competitors and 28% mistrust a business with too few reviews compared to competitors. Both signals are likely to bring the quality of the business into question.

The top takeaway here is that it is never worth it to try to fake success. Reputation = business treasure, and it must be earned, in part, via the hard work of providing excellent customer service. Adhere to Google’s content guidelines and steadily build an authentic reputation you can be proud of and that the public can trust.

It’s wise to know whether trust in reviews has been trending up or down over the past few years.

83% of consumers trust reviews as much as or more than they did 3 years ago

While some polls indicate a growing awareness of the widespread problem of review fraud, only 10% of our survey group trusts reviews less than they did 3 years ago. A sturdy 52% trust reviews as much as they did 3 years ago, and an interesting 31% trust them more. The remaining 7% were unsure whether or not their trust in reviews has changed in this time period.

These statistics may shed light on the dynamic of those who deal most with review spam – business owners and their marketers – assuming that everyone is as aware of fraud as they are. However, our figures show that the majority of the public (83%) continue to place significant trust in the validity of reviews. That’s good news for most local businesses, unless they become the subject of a review spam attack.

When those who have come to trust reviews less in recent years were asked to explain what has eroded their confidence, they mentioned the following factors:

• 56% are more aware of fake reviews or reviews scams due to news exposure, or personal experience which has affected trust.
• 20% distrust reviews because they don’t trust that reviewers’ values are aligned with their own, especially if they are too negative, leading readers to believe the reviewers are too picky.
• 11% have had their trust impacted by COVID which they say has changed people’s expectations leading to more negative reviews which they then trust less.

Meanwhile, those who have come to trust reviews more provide these contexts:

• 21% of people mentioned they trusted reviews more because they were from real people and they offered specific information. As more people are online, especially during COVID, respondents feel that more ‘real’ people are online leaving reviews – not just ‘professional reviewers’ whom readers perceive as having different values than themselves.
• 4% mentioned that awareness of fake reviews/review scams enabled them to better decipher real reviews from fake reviews.
• 6% believe platforms are cracking down on fake reviews.
• 10% trusted reviews more because of the higher volume of reviews online in general.
• All of this was underpinned by frequent mentions of review trust increasing as they are validated. by personal experience which accurately matched the review.

Visualize more of the customer’s journey by knowing where they go after reading reviews.

91% of the review-reading customer journey remains in the direct control of local business owners.

When asked to explain the next action they take after having read enough positive reviews to become interested in a business, 51% of consumers head to the website. This is excellent news, given that websites are the assets over which local brands have maximum control. The next most common action is going directly from reading reviews to visiting the physical location of the business (27%), followed by contacting the business (13%), and looking at the company’s social media profiles (8%).

What emerges here is a fascinating dynamic in which the customer journey goes from an arena only partially controlled by the business (reviews) to a next stage in which an amazing 91% of the environment is directly controlled by the business (the website, contact options, and in-store visits). Only 8% transition from partially-controlled reviews to partially-controlled social media. It’s excellent news for local business owners that they retain the majority of control over the quality of the customer experience.

It’s essential knowledge that reviews are seen as a source of public health and safety information in times of emergency.

58% view reviews as a source of COVID safety information

As society and local businesses continue to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for brands to know that 58% of people have turned to reviews to assess the safety protocols put in place by local businesses.

When considering long term adjustments to health and safety protocols that impact customer behavior, local business owners can help enable customers to make informed decisions. Local businesses should provide clear communication to inform customers about short staffing, reduced hours, temporary closures, product unavailability and expectations around customer behavior and safety protocols.

Business owners and marketing agencies should actively listen to customers and monitor local business reviews to better understand customer sentiment. Consider engaging in clear, transparent communication to enable customers and staff to interact safely and engage in ways that are mutually beneficial. This should include providing factual information around safety protocols and services available to assist customers of varying degrees of mobility and vulnerability such as curbside pickup and delivery.

Apart from visiting review sites, what else do you do to understand a business' reputation?

It’s smart to diversify your reputation strategy so that customers encounter it wherever they go.

Word of mouth is the top alternative to customer reviews

When asked to list all the resources respondents use to gauge local business reputation apart from typical review platforms, a wealth of alternatives appears. Word-of-mouth advice from family and friends is a resource 67% count on. This figure boldly highlights how brands must strive to become local household words about which everyone in a community is speaking well. With 55% turning to social media for local business recommendations, it's plain to see the new habits that have formed around online information sharing. Local brands must practice social listening and participation on platforms favored by their community.

It’s heartening to see that 42% of consumers will look at reviews and testimonials on a local brand’s own website, and this figure is a strong incentive to incorporate review content into your location, service, and product pages. The Better Business Bureau continues to be trusted by 28% of respondents, and 25% seek local business information in both local and national news publications - a good reminder that older forms of media still matter. Another 16% appreciate professional reviews from publications like Zagat and Michelin, which is noteworthy for local businesses in specific niches.

Next Up: The Habits of Review Writers

Written by Miriam Ellis, Moz Local SEO Subject Matter Expert and Moz staff.