Why Online Business Reviews Matter

Online business reviews are the social proof that your product or service is trustworthy.

The important question is – how do customers find your business?

Whether you’re trying to reach teenagers or grandparents, no matter the demographic, Google and Facebook hold a significant portion of your audience. By not utilising the users of these platforms you’re missing out millions
of potential customers in New Zealand.

Online reviews are on the rise and here are some more reasons why they should not be overlooked.

1. Building a Positive Brand Presence

Reviews help provide transparency and credibility to your customers. Not all reviews will be positive but continuously building a positive review base should balance out the negatives ones and help your customers gain confidence in your business.

80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from local businesses with positive reviews on their Facebook Page.

2. More Exposure

The quality and quantity of reviews on Google is one of the most important ranking factors for local SEO. This means that when a potential customer scans the search results for a local product or service in Google, those businesses that include customer reviews appear more credible and naturally, receive more clicks. The star rating algorithm on Facebook similarily determines whether or not your posts appear in users timelines. More reviews and higher star ratings equal more viewers. If one person writes you a positive review, it’s automatically shared with all their connections, giving you a huge boost in exposure
that costs you nothing.

3. Increased Sales

90 percent of people first check out what their peers are saying about a business online before making the decision to further the interaction. 54 percent of people will visit the website after reading positive reviews and 31 percent of people are likely to spend more on a business that has positive reviews. Reviews are, therefore, a major driver of the commerce that takes place across the world on a daily basis.

Key to success:

The key to successfully obtaining reviews is making the process as simple as possible. If you ask customers to write Yelp reviews, they may or may not already have a Yelp account and those who don’t are unlikely to open
new accounts just to review you. On the other hand, it’s more likely than not that a significant percentage of your customers are already on Facebook, so writing you a glowing review takes minimal effort.

7 out of 10 consumers will write a review for a business if asked

We at NZ Digital have developed a tool that makes it easy to obtain, track and manage Google and Facebook reviews.

Step 1: The customer is sent an email.

Step 2: They are then invited to provide positive feedback on either Facebook or Google.

The recipient is given direct click-through links to both business’ Facebook or Google accounts.

Or negative feedback, in which case they are shown a form that is sent directly to you.

This gives you the opportunity to deal with the problem before it becomes public.

Click here to see it for yourself

For more information about this service please contact us and make the most of the fastest growing audience base.

Costs 
One-off set-up cost $190 + GST
Ongoing monthly cost $99 + GST

Digital Insights

Explore marketing tips & advice

How Do I Get My Website to Show Up in ChatGPT Results?

Jun 24, 2025

Learn how to boost your website’s chances of showing up in ChatGPT answers by optimising for Bing, using structured content, and applying smart SEO practices.

Learn more

Common Digital Marketing Mistakes

Apr 24, 2025

Digital marketing platforms are more powerful than ever, but most campaigns fail due to avoidable mistakes. In this post, we break down the 5 most common reasons your ads aren’t converting, and how to fix them with clear strategy, smart targeting, and simple tracking.

Learn more

Does Email Marketing Still Work?

Mar 24, 2025

In 2025, email marketing is far from dead, it's thriving. With unmatched ROI, rising engagement metrics, and powerful personalisation through AI, email remains one of the most effective ways for New Zealand businesses to connect, convert, and grow.

Learn more