Local Search – Reviews Help!

Reviews are important – especially to those who aren’t familiar with your organization!

We recently discussed the importance of verifying your local listing to be sure your youth sports organization is reflected properly across the web.

Once that’s done, consider reviews as a key differentiator. When potential new users seek out area organizations, reviews are one factor that help determine how things are listed – and what ultimately gets clicked by the person searching.

The below example is a portion of the search results page for the search term “alexandria soccer clubs” – I’m pretending I’m a new parent in the Alexandria, VA area looking for soccer programs for my child.

You’ll notice three organizations are listed – two of which have a full address confirmed with Google. This most likely happened by registering free through Google My Business.

Between these three groups, you’ll see only one has a review…and they only have one.

Since it’s only one, Google isn’t putting much weight into it. If there were more reviews, it would highlight them on a 5-star scale (showing the actual stars), and may end up listing the best-reviewed group first in this list.

While reviews aren’t the only factor influencing the order here, it’s an important one, so once you confirm your listing with Google My Business, point your members there to leave a quick review. It will pay dividends in the long run!

Have you found success with this technique? Let us know in the comments below!