Blogger Lenka Istvanova over at Koozai touches upon the importance of reviews!
Reviews offer customers a way to find whether a product or service is worth buying or not. I personally always check for reviews online before purchasing a product or service, especially if it's an expensive one and research confirm that I'm not alone; A Local Consumer Review (2012) study showed that for a staggering 72% of people, online reviews are as valuable as personal recommendations.
In addition, over half of respondents (52%) are more likely to purchase from a local company if it has positive reviews. It's fair to say that more and more of us pay close attention to online reviews and they play an important part in our purchase decision-making process.
Reviews or testimonials are as important (if not more) for businesses as for customers. It's not a secret that reviews are one of the top positive local search ranking factors and therefore can have a positive effect on your local SEO rankings.
Read more of her article with tips on how to encourage your customers to leave reviews.
