Local SEO Reviews I 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a 'review funnel' in the context of local SEO?
- A paid tool that generates fake reviews
- A step-by-step process guiding satisfied customers to leave a review (Correct answer)
- A widget that embeds reviews on a website
- A Google feature that filters low-quality reviews
Correct answer: A step-by-step process guiding satisfied customers to leave a review
A review funnel is a structured workflow — typically via email, SMS, or QR code — that makes it easy for happy customers to leave reviews.
Question 2: When a business responds to a positive review, what is the best practice?
- Copy-paste a generic thank-you to save time
- Personalize the response and mention a specific detail from the review (Correct answer)
- Keep responses to under 5 words to avoid keyword stuffing
- Avoid responding to positive reviews to save time for negative ones
Correct answer: Personalize the response and mention a specific detail from the review
Personalized responses to positive reviews reinforce engagement and signal to potential customers that the business pays attention.
Question 3: What is the impact of review recency on local search rankings?
- Older reviews carry more weight because they are more established
- Recent reviews are weighted more heavily, signaling ongoing business activity (Correct answer)
- Recency has no impact — only total review count matters
- Reviews older than 6 months are automatically removed by Google
Correct answer: Recent reviews are weighted more heavily, signaling ongoing business activity
Google's algorithm favors businesses with recent reviews as they indicate the business is active and currently serving customers.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes Yelp's stance on businesses asking customers for reviews?
- Yelp encourages businesses to actively solicit reviews from loyal customers
- Yelp explicitly discourages businesses from asking customers for reviews (Correct answer)
- Yelp only allows review solicitation via their paid advertising program
- Yelp has no official policy on review solicitation
Correct answer: Yelp explicitly discourages businesses from asking customers for reviews
Yelp's official policy discourages businesses from asking customers for reviews, as it may trigger their review filter algorithm.
Question 5: A QR code in-store linking to a business's Google review page is an example of what type of review strategy?
- Black-hat review acquisition
- Passive, point-of-experience review generation (Correct answer)
- Review gating
- Incentivized review collection
Correct answer: Passive, point-of-experience review generation
Placing a QR code at the point of experience is a passive, compliant method that prompts customers to leave feedback at the moment of interaction.
Question 6: How does Google handle reviews left for a business that has been permanently closed and removed from Google Maps?
- The reviews are transferred to the new business at that location
- The reviews are deleted along with the listing (Correct answer)
- The reviews remain visible but no new ones can be added
- The reviews are archived and only accessible via Google Takeout
Correct answer: The reviews are deleted along with the listing
When a GBP listing is permanently removed, its associated reviews are also deleted from public view.
Question 7: What percentage of consumers, according to widely cited local consumer review surveys, read businesses' responses to reviews?
- Less than 10%
- Around 25%
- More than 50% (Correct answer)
- Nearly 90%
Correct answer: More than 50%
Multiple consumer surveys (including BrightLocal's annual study) consistently find that over 50% of consumers read business responses to reviews.
Local SEO Reviews I 5
What is a 'review funnel' in the context of local SEO?