Consumer reviews 'good for SEO'

21st May 2008

Search engine optimisation strategies should incorporate customer web reviews, a new report suggests.

Small and medium-sized businesses in the US are noticing the benefits of reviews, both negative on positive, for increasing search engine rankings, reports USA Today.

Jeremy Stoppelman, chief executive officer of local listings site Yelp, told the news provider: "Some business owners will post their reviews on their door, or on the counter, to show them off and that's a subtle way of asking customers to write about them."

According to the report, local listings portals such as Yelp and its peer Google Maps are drawing increasing numbers of visitors.

Traffic to new arrival Yelp has increased by 129 per cent in the past year, with the corresponding increase for Google Maps standing at 25 per cent.

In related news, the Times reported earlier this week that a new feature on Google Maps enables web users to search for properties for sale in particular neighbourhoods.