Not too long ago, the interaction between brands and customers was a one-way street. The business would whip up entire marketing campaigns and feed those messages to their target audience through the channels they have selected and established themselves. If buyers needed information about a product or service, their usual source could either be the website of the company or the advertisements, press releases and other official materials the company released.

Today, this hierarchal information structure has been shaken up. Information about your business can come from your customers. They now have the opportunity to share their thoughts, complaints, tips and recommendations about the brands they love or hate via social media, review sites, forums, online communities and other digital platforms. Customer- generated content has become more influential than ever.

Content that you can’t control may be a bit intimidating, but the good news is that you can also learn how to leverage customer reviews and use its power to increase your visibility and improve your rankings. Phoenix SEO experts list the following reasons why customer reviews are important for SEO:

Provide social proof. If you’re new to the scene, good reviews can be a testament to your credibility and trustworthiness as a business. They’re a way to verify that you’re a legit entity and can be trusted with their time, money and attention.

Increase your search engine rankings. Search engines use customer reviews as a major ranking factor. Your reviews affect your local search rankings, with MOZ estimating that customer reviews can have more than a 10 percent impact on your total rankings.

Boost your website and store traffic. Reviews can entice customer visits, both online and offline. Good reviews can compel new customers to visit your site or your physical store.

Narrow down choices. There are just too many choices in the market for most products and services today. Customer reviews or scores simplify the selection process for most customers. If ever they can’t make a decision, a positive review can guide them to their choice.

Influence purchase decisions. Surveys say 90 percent of buyers made the purchase because they were influenced by good reviews. In the same way, 86 percent of people say their decisions are also shaped by the negative reviews they read.

Protect your online reputation. Negative reviews may hurt your business, but if you are able to respond to those in an authentic, timely and strategic manner then you can actually turn things around. Studies say that people actually put more trust in a business when they see it responding graciously to bad feedback. Engaging customers through their reviews increases trust and visibility and paves the way for greater connections with the people who matter most to your business.