• Search Engine Land
  • Sections
    • SEO
    • SEM
    • Local
    • Retail
    • Google
    • Bing
    • Social
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • Live
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Search Engine Land

Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • More
  • Newsletters
  • Home
Local

85% of consumers disregard local reviews more than 3 months old

For those under 55, the majority of review consumption now occurs on smartphones.

Greg Sterling on December 10, 2018 at 10:52 am
  • More

When it comes to reviews, recency matters. Forty percent of consumers say they only look at reviews of local businesses written in the past two weeks — with 85 percent saying reviews more than three months old are no longer relevant. That’s according to the 2018 edition of BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Reviews Survey. The report is based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults. This is its eighth year.

90 percent now read reviews. The survey findings show incremental, growing reliance on reviews and greater sophistication among users. However, there’s evidence of caution and even some distrust among those relying on reviews. They’re also more demanding and have higher expectations than in the past. Perhaps most interesting are the differences among age groups.

Below is a summary of some of the top-level findings:

  • Nearly 90 percent (86 percent) of survey respondents now read reviews.
  • Users read an average of 10 reviews for a given business but want to see roughly 40 reviews to trust the accuracy of the star rating (this is up from last year).
  • Roughly 90 percent (89 percent) of respondents said they look at review responses by the business; however it’s a secondary consideration.
  • Nearly 60 percent of consumers will only consider merchants with ratings of 4-stars or more.
  • 40 percent of survey respondents only look at reviews that have been written within the past two weeks.

Majority of review consumption on mobile. Review usage is frequent and growing for all age groups. However, those in the 18 -34 year old category are much heavier daily review users than others. The survey also found that except for those 55 and older, the majority of review consumption is now on mobile devices.

There are some paradoxical findings around trust of reviews. Younger users (under 34) are more likely than other groups to “always trust reviews.” They’re also more likely to say they’ve seen “fake reviews.”

When evaluating a local business, in this order, users look at star ratings, then review quality, recency and length of reviews. A majority (60 percent) of survey respondents will only consider businesses with at least a 4-star rating. And on average, consumers want to see at least 40 reviews to believe the star rating’s accuracy.

Why you should care. It’s very clear that consumer expectations of reviews (and associated businesses) are growing. They want to see more reviews, more recent reviews and higher ratings overall. They rely heavily upon and trust reviews but are also growing more wary about the possibility of review fraud.

Google is now the dominant reviews platform (in terms of volume) and reviews are a local ranking factor. It’s therefore critical that local businesses and their marketing partners and agencies have active review management programs in place.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

Channel: LocalGoogleGoogle: SEOSearch Marketing: Local Search Marketing

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Lorem ipsum doler this is promo text about SMX events.

February 23, 2021: SMX Report

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

October 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

December 17, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges. Our next conference will be held:

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • 6 Powerful Ways Experience Analytics Can Help Your Business Now
  • Email Tune-Up: A 5-Point Inspection to Get Your Program in Gear
  • Digital Marketing Report Q4 2020: Benchmarks and Insights for 2021
  • Data SEO – The Next Big Adventure
  • Getting Started with Email Marketing Automation
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
  • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
  • Meet BIMI: The brand-boosting email security marketers must have for 2021
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

h
Receive daily search news and analysis.
Search Engine Land
Download the Search Engine Land App on iTunes Download the Search Engine Land App on Google Play

Channels

  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social

Our Events

  • SMX
  • MarTech

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Search Marketing Expo
  • MarTech Conference

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Connect With Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Youtube
  • iOS App
  • Google Play

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok