Never in the history of commerce have customer reviews been so critical to our buying 
process. Why this new emphasis on customer reviews?
The Digital Economy
In a single phrase-“the digital economy”. It’s the digital economy that allows our vast number of buying options. It is the digital economy that has become so interactive that people can easily make their comments on a business, a product or their buying experience.
If you grew up in a small town or a city neighborhood, you knew the owner of the local grocery store, the local hardware store, the local bank, the local car dealer, the local real estate agent. You knew these people personally. You knew what you could expect from their businesses.
Today, the digital economy makes the world our market place. You know only what you see on a screen about the business whose the products or services you want to buy. How do you become comfortable with the business? We rely more and more on what other people say about the business and their experiences with the product or service.
If you have made any purchase on the web, you used customer reviews. These reviews made your buying process more comfortable. Here are a few of my personal examples.
Customer Review Examples
Recently I purchased a coffee pot online. I narrowed down my choices to two models. The 
reviews on one model were not good. “It has plastic parts and they broke within the first month of use,” said one reviewer. It did not take me long to click to the other model where I found more positive reviews.
When my mother-in-law developed early Alzheimer’s, I wanted to learn more about the disease. I went to Amazon to find books to help. Which book was the best? I found the book Still Alice with 478 reviews.
After reading several reviews, I was convinced this book could be helpful. I was not disappointed with the suggestions of other people.
On the negative side, two years ago we were looking for a dermatologist for my daughter. My wife located one and got an appointment. A girl friend of my wife has a daughter the same age and asked for the doctor’s name.
I took my daughter to the appointment. It was a complete disaster. The doctor had “no bedside manners”. My daughter asked, “Dad, do we have to come back here?” “Absolutely not.”
Meanwhile my wife’s friend went on Facebook to check out the doctor. There she found many negative comments—the very same things I had personally experienced at the doctor’s office. She said, “No way am I sending my daughter to that doctor.” Prominent on the Doctor’s front door was the Better Business Bureau logo. People would rather hear from other people than the BBB. 
The Art of Getting Business Reviews and Local Search Marketing
You have your own examples about the power of reviews in today’s digital economy. How do they affect local search marketing? Will reviews automatically move you to the top of the local search map?
Google says “Prominence” is a key ingredient in local search ranking algorithm. Google wants to know how valuable others consider a business to be—reviews both the numbers and quality are part of this algorithm. Other factors being equal, reviews will push your business to the top of the local search maps.
Tips and Tricks for Getting Customer Reviews For Local Search Marketing
Getting reviews is not easy. Some businesses like the restaurants have been getting reviews for years. Other industry, reviews are new. Getting rid of bad reviews is a specific challenge. In the next several posts, I will provide tips and tricks you can use to get reviews for your business. Your local search marketing site can become more prominent to both searchers and search engines.
Please share your customer review experiences and questions in the Reply Section below. Thank you.
