Are you present and reviewed where customers look? Social and reputation checks
Are you present and reviewed where customers look? 8 checks · 10% of the overall score.
Before calling, customers look for proof: reviews, a real Instagram, a Facebook page with recent posts. This chapter checks whether the website connects to those places, whether those links actually work, and whether the site itself shows and marks up reviews so search engines can display them.
The 8 checks
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Social profiles linked | Linked profiles are how Google and customers connect the entity across platforms. |
| Linked profiles resolve | Dead social links are worse than none. |
| Third-party review sites linked | Yelp, Trustpilot, Houzz, Healthgrades and industry sites are where trust is built. |
| Reviews / testimonials shown on site | Social proof at the point of decision. |
| Review / rating markup | AggregateRating schema can show stars in search results. |
| Google rating & review count | With Places enabled: the number customers actually see. |
| Link preview (Open Graph / Twitter Card) | Controls how the site looks when shared in messages and on social. |
| Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Pixel | Needed to measure or retarget any Meta advertising. |
Most common fixes
- Link every active profile from the footer, and remove links to abandoned ones.
- Add three real testimonials to the homepage with AggregateRating or Review schema.
- Set og:title, og:description and a 1200×630 og:image so shares look intentional.
Questions
Do social media links help SEO?
They help entity recognition — Google connecting your website, your Business Profile and your profiles as one business. They are not a direct ranking factor, but consistency across them is.