Chicago-based ReviewTrackers has released a report on the impact of online review websites such as of Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google, Foursquare, and others.
The report, released in tandem with the National Restaurant Association Show, identifies the minimum requirements restaurants must have in terms of online reviews.
In a comprehensive survey, comprised of more than 500 internet users of various backgrounds, aged 25-50 year olds, and conducted over the course of 3 weeks, 33 percent of frequent restaurant-goers stated that they would never eat at a restaurant with an average 3-star review on online review websites, such as Yelp, Google, and Facebook.
Chris Campbell, founder and CEO of ReviewTrackers, adds, “A half-star improvement on Yelp’s 5-star rating makes it 30 to 49 percent more likely that a restaurant will sell out seats during peak hours. I can’t think of a single restaurant that doesn't want a 30 percent increase in sellouts.”
Online reviews have proven to affect sales. Incorporating reviews as a regular feature of digital channels can help you attract more people, generate more leads, and give a business more visibility, as a recent report on AdWeek stated. It seems the more reviews a restaurant has, the greater the likelihood of a higher overall rating. An increase of 8 to 100 reviews can result in an increase in your natural search traffic through search engines such as Google.