Location3 Study on Review Management Featured on Search Engine Land

A Location3 study that examines the relationship between online review management and paid-search conversions reviews was recently featured via Search Engine Land and Local Search Association. VP of LSA and Search Engine Land contributor Greg Sterling published a report on Search Engine Land detailing the results of the study.

Using 16 months of SEM campaign data, the study concluded that more favorable reviews in terms of stars are correlated with higher paid-search conversion rates, which Sterling notes, “makes intuitive sense”.  Sterling goes on to say, “somewhat less intuitive is the finding that business review-response rates also improve paid-search performance.”

Here are a few figures from the online review management study:

• Businesses in the lowest grouping had an average 3.31  stars, translating into an average conversion rate of 10.42 percent.
• The best-rated segment had an average of 4.96 stars, translating into a 12.83 percent conversion rate.
• Businesses with the highest response rate (8.13 percent) saw an average conversion rate of 13.86 percent.
• Businesses with the lowest response rate (5.73 percent) saw an average conversion rate of 10.42 percent.

For more analysis, Sterling’s post at LSA can be found here.