Real estate reviews are evolving into an essential part of an agent’s digital marketing strategy. They ramp up online rankings and directly impact your sales. Even though some realtors are skeptical about investing more time and budget into earning more online reviews, there’s mounting evidence that reviews are more important than ever before.
Apparently, marketing fatigue is so ubiquitous that people filter out most advertising and sales messages. Indeed, a digital scene offers lots of information that brands craft to engage with prospective clients. People, however, are more keen to get hold of user-generated content, especially during the final stages of a buyer’s journey.
Below is a recap of the most interesting stats and facts from different sources that will compel you to prioritize real estate reviews in the on-going months.
4 reasons agents should start generating real estate reviews
1. Real estate reviews boost SEO rankings
2017 Local Search Ranking Factors Report revealed that online reviews are making their way to the top of the list. They’re not yet among the three top ranking factors but they might as well get there soon.
Having more real estate reviews can boost your positions in both the local snack pack and localized organic results. For the local pack alone, reviews account for 13% of all ranking factors (to compare, the most influential ranking factor is My Business signals with 19%).
In addition to enhancing local SEO rankings, reviews can be reused many times to deliver even more benefits, for example:
- reduce cost per click for Google Ads by 14.5%. Among other things, Google seller ratings are based on customer reviews. The more you have, the less you’ll have to pay for your adverts. Also, including reviews data in your ads is sure to boost your click rates:
- adding reviews to your rich snippets can result in a 10-20% increase in a click-through rate (here’s a Beginner’s Guide to Rich Snippets if you need one):
2. User-generated content reinforces brand image and reduces ad expense
Obviously, people trust content from peers more than they trust ads. It’s not an easy job to generate lots of reviews all the time but the benefits for brands are huge:
- 93% of people say user-generated content (UGC) helped them to make a decision;
- brands see a 28% increase in engagement when prospective clients can access both brand and user-generated content;
- companies can quadruple their click-through rates if reviews are used in the ad copy.
[Related post: 10 Nifty Ways to Maximize the Value of Your Real Estate Reviews]
3. Reviews are a highly sought after content
- When judging a local business on its reviews, 60% of customers say the overall star rating is the No.1 factor they pay most attention to;
- 68% said positive customer reviews make them trust a business more, even without visiting their website;
- 51% of customers select a local business if it has positive reviews;
- 84% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust a personal recommendation.
4. Reviews increase conversions
A customer review is a great tool to build a connection with prospective clients, especially when most of those interactions take place online. It’s no surprise that people rely on reviews from their peers greatly:
- publishing reviews on your site can increase conversions by 74%;
- 92% of customers worldwide say they trust word-of-mouth more than advertising;
- 71% of people say they’re more comfortable with a purchase after studying user reviews.
So promoting your real estate reviews is basically helping your leads make a decision easier and faster. People will be more willing to rely on your expertise and trust your judgment if they see lots of their peers doing the same thing – as simple as that.
What’s next?
Just like referrals, real estate reviews are incredibly effective which is why you should start growing your review portfolio as soon as you can. Not sure how? Use this guide for the complete breakdown.
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