How Google Reviews Can Benefit Your Local SEO

Last Updated: November 22, 2025By mesua

Local SEO is an acronym for Local Search Engine Optimization. It represents the set of SEO activities of a local business targeting better search engine ranking within an area or region. In other words, Local SEO seeks to improve local business raking in a local search.

An example will a search for “furniture makers in Port Harcourt”. The searcher’s intent is to get results for a specific region and searches of this kind offer an opportunity for local businesses to be featured in search ranking.

Google reviews help the searcher to make informed judgement about businesses that can fill its needs. Because reviews are the reports of real users of company products and services, they help assure users and consumers that they are in safe hands with a particular producer, store, or retailer.

So this post focuses on how Google reviews help businesses to be featured in Google results for local search.

Understanding SEO

Search Engine Optimization, simply called SEO, is the set of tasked performed on a website to improve their quality and likelihood of top ranking in the search engines. Usually, these set of activities are guided by the guidelines and recommendations prescribed by Google. Google leads the search market, controlling about 90 percent of search traffic and so, its prescriptions guide the optimization process.

Key Aspects of SEO

SEO is broadly categorized in on-page and off-page. We will look into these categories with some detail.

On Page SEO

On-Page SEO refers to optimizing the elements of a specific page. Also known as on-page optimization and on-site SEO, On-page SEO deals with those optimization components you conduct on your website. Key aspects of on-page SEO are page speed, page title, page description (commonly called meta data), keyword optimization, internal links, external links, image optimization, and header tags.

Also read: 30 Most Important Google Ranking Factors For Beginners

Page Title

This is one of the most important element of On-Page SEO. Titles are usually the most outstanding element displayed by search engines and they are also a Google ranking factor. It means, therefore, that in writing website tiles, particular importance should be placed on target keywords and language that drives conversion.

The best and recommended practice is to use natural language while delivering on target keywords. It is also recommended that tiles should be between 30 to 60 characters.

Mata Description

The meta description, though not a ranking factor provides critical information and context that helps Google understand the sense, focus and purpose of your website and therefore helps Google rank it properly.

The standard recommendation from most SEO professionals and based is that meta descriptions should be between 70 to 160 characters. Google has also provided a guide to writing good meta descriptions which include not using same description on multiple pages, providing context and writing naturally for users and not for bots.

Image SEO

Images convey meaning and can also be used to break up blocks to improve readability. It is important that in using images on your website, consider image aspect ratio, ensure that images have appropriate alternate attributes. Google does not understand images with a description or attribute added to them so using appropriate alternate attributes will also help Google properly categorize the images in its search results.

Content and Keyword Optimization

The most important thing about content is that it should be useful and answer the questions that searchers are asking. It is equally important to use the right keywords in content to provide context and help Google understand the purpose of the page or page.

Avoid keyword stuffing , it can attract a penalty. Also avoid duplicate content – it will not add value to your website and will instead reduce its quality leading to ranking loss.

Internal and External Links

Internal linking had been known to boost website ranking. However, you must do it right. We have written a post on Best Link Building Techniques Recommended For Higher Ranking in Google. External links within the context of on-page SEO is in respect of incorporating external links to add value and provide information sources as well as sources of more information on the subject matter.

Header Tags

Header tags, also known as heading tags, are basically used to separate headings on a web page. Headings range from H1 to H6 and they are used in order of importance with the H1 usually representing the most important heading. Header tags are very necessary for user experience as they enhance readability.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO, as the name goes, is all the things done off your website to boost it’s visibility and ranking in the search engines. Here are key components of Off-Page SEO.

Link Building

This is not about internal links, it is about getting referral links from other websites. The idea is that it suggests that you have quality content and that is the reason people will link to your post. The fact is that referral links is a strong ranking signal, though Google has said it is not as weighty as it used to be. For more on this, read our post on Link Building Strategies That Boost Search Engine Ranking

It is important to sound a note of caution here about link building. You must avoid unethical and aggressive link building. Many website managers are tempted to link buying to gain ranking. It is an unacceptable link building method and will earn you a penalty.

For more on unacceptable link building methods, read these articles:

Deliberate Link Building Can be Offensive to Google

10 Unwholesome Practices That Hurt Your Website Ranking

SEO Myths That Can Kill Your Ranking Gains

Social Media Marketing

Social media platforms offer an opportunity to gain clicks and sales as well. By sharing your content on popular social media such as Facebook, X (formerly twitter} LinkedIn, Instagram and more, you can leverage the power of their huge clientele base and domain authority to attract links and reach out to a large group of customers.

Harnessing the Power of Social Media Marketing in Business Growth

Build Website Reputation and Authority with Social Media

Others Off-Page SEO Techniques

These would include guest posting, press releases, broken link building, forums and comments, and several others.

Guest posting had been a traditional way of getting links from other websites. It involves writing an article for websites and contacting them to have your post published on their website. Google has long understood that SEOs do adopt this method basically to get links and not necessary because of the value the post adds for users. We do not recommend guest posting as an SEO strategy.

Press Releases is quite similar to guest posting in respect of the intentions of the author. Press releases are usually circulated via a mailing list and the recipients are expected to publish them on their websites. Press releases can also be beneficial for SEO and work positively. When you uncover some behavior which is useful to the SEO community or any other, it can be made known to the public via press releases. Such content will get quality referral traffic and build authority for your web page along with other SEO benefits such as improved ranking.

Broken Link Building is a great SEO strategy that have proven to be very beneficial to website ranking. Broken links arise from a change in content folders or directories, a delete of a content or merger with another page and will usually result in a 404 error page. Broken links lead to bad user experience and so should be fixed where possible. A good way to do this will be to contact the website owner notifying him of the changes to the directory or other changes you made which is causing the broken link and requesting that the link be updated. Most webmasters will accept the request and implement the update because broken links hurt, not only the linked website, but the the link website that contains the broken link as well. It leads to bad user experience and Google is very concerned about user experience as it affects the quality of their search when users are led to websites that contain broken links.

Forums and Comments have long been used for links building. However, forums have been an established low quality link building strategy and building links using forum posts will hurt your website performance. We recommend that you do not build links using forums. Google frowns at these spammy practices and have been very clear about disregarding them so you need not waste your time on these spammy link building practices.

Why Google Review is Beneficial SEO Practice

Google reviews are part of and found on your business profile on Google Business. So, when someone searches your local business, the reviews shows up on your Google Business Page. To get reviews, you need to create your Google business profile and share with your users for their reviews. Google review are similar to comments. They are actually comments of real users who simply report their experiences with a brand, product or service. But they are not considered scrappy like forum posts and other comments we see at the end of most articles. Firstly, Google reviews is a product of Google – the SEO masters. Secondly, they are helpful to users and buyers, especially new ones, during their assessment of a product, the pre-purchase period when they grabble with the buying decision and even after their purchase and they are faced with the challenge of usage and cognitive dissonance.

Google reviews can provide a lot of useful clues to new and existing byers, as experienced users narrate their stories which sometimes could include how they overcame some challenges.

How Does The Reviews Benefit Your SEO?

Keep in mind that Google reviews are real customer reviews, although, some businesses have been found to post false reviews, which Google seriously frowns at and will penalize. Here are the ways Google reviews impact SEO?

Build trust and Credibility: Customers, be they active and potential, believe in the reviews from existing customers. Positive reviews on Google can help build customer confidence and trust in a brand and boost the credibility of the brand.
Boost Sales: According to Qualtrics, over 90 percent of new customers are more likely to make a purchase after reading reviews. What that means is that businesses should not fail to create a Google Business Profile and they should make their reviews more outstanding.
Boost Search Appearance: Most reviews contain targeted keywords which help search ranking for the targeted keywords.
Local SEO: Google business profile collect important information on business location and services. These help local SEO and ranking for specific search because Google uses indices like proximity and relevance to deliver local search results. It is therefore important to ensure that accurate and sufficient information is provided in your Google Business Profile.
Better Click-through Rate (CTR): Click-through rates are encouraged by the volume of reviews. Business profiles with large volumes of reviews tend to attract more clicks than those with very few reviews. The fact is that reviews provide much information in the buying process and the volume of review can boost click-through rate.
Reflect Activity: It is important that businesses encourage reviews because recent reviews tell Google that the business is alive, active and that is something Google loves.

What Google Love About Reviews

We have repeatedly stated that Google love business reviews and they are good for local SEO. But what exactly does Google love about reviews? We will deal with that shortly.

High Rating: Google is interested in top rating because it signals customer happiness and indicates that people who use the product or services are satisfied.
Mention of Keywords: Google uses keywords to understand a business. The mention of keywords in user reviews help Google understand the business and affects the business ranking potentials.
Recency: Google is interested in the time and period of reviews. More recent reviews suggest that the business is active and gives Google an idea into how well the business has sustained its quality delivery.
Response to Reviews: Active businesses need to respond to reviews. It shows that the business takes customer reviews seriously, and Google loves to see how customer concerns are treated. When you show an empathic behavior in dealing with customers, Google loves that.
Balanced Reviews: The fact here is that everyone cannot be happy with a product or service. When reviews are one-sided, let’s say its all five stars, it does not look real. A real review should be balanced and reflect reality and not look like a manipulated outcome.

A Guide to Google Review Optimization

Understanding that Google reviews definitely make an impact especially on Local SEO, you need to take Google reviews very seriously. Here are some useful guide.

Encourage Customer Reviews. You can email your customers or leave them with a note encouraging them to do a review after they sign up, buy a product or take some other action. You can also encourage customer reviews by adding reviews on your site with a link for people to post a review.
Respond to Google Reviews. Take time to respond to customer reviews. Be it a commendation or condemnation, a simple thank you or an explanation to a misconception, or an apology and promise to address an issue is a good way to respond to Google reviews and show empathy. Google loves to see happy customer, especially when the customers landed on your website through a click from Google search.

Final Words

Every aspect of your website is important and every opportunity to grow your business within any market should be exploited. Google reviews offer a huge opportunity to grow your business popularity, authority and trust. You need to pay particular attention to reviews, encourage users to post reviews because it helps you understand how users feel, improve your offering and it encourages buyer action to click and buy. Most of all, Google is interested in customer reviews and how you respond to these reviews. They all add up to how how Google sees your business.