BBB Rating Is A Ranking Factor Or Not?
Google’s algorithms use more than 200 factors for ranking. But the question is BBB rating is a ranking factor or not. Google has denied they are using BBB ratings as a ranking signal few times. But it doesn’t make sense that they have completely ignored it. Let’s look at some evidences and make sure whether BBB rating is a ranking factor or not.
The Claim of BBB Rating Is a Ranking Factor
Before diving into this subject, we should know what is BBB rating and what does it measure. What does BBB mean. BBB refers to Better Business Bureau. It is a non-government organization. BBB examines trustworthiness of companies. Which means they uphold certain standards across the boards. And also they let customers to feel confident in dealings with different businesses. Companies are ranked from A+ to F letter-grade scale. A+ is the highest and F is the lowest. This letter-grade scale represents BBB’s degree of confidence in their businesses and how those businesses interacts with their customers.
To give those scores, BBB measures some factors. Some of them are given below.
- The type of the business. Whether those business is operating in violation of the law or not.
- How long the company / businesses has been in operated.
- Advertising issues. For example, inaccurate claims
- The transparency of the business practices.
- Any failures to commitments to BBB. Arbitration awards and mediation settlements are also included.
- Complaint history. (The nature and number of issues that raised against the company and how long company take to resolve those issues.)
- Government actions that was taken against the company.
Businesses who are looking to get BBB accreditation need to complete several eligibility requirements. And also they need to pay an annual fee to the bureau.
The Evidence for BBB Rating is a Ranking Factor
constructors who are running manual evaluations of search engine result pages use Quality Raters Guidelines (QRGs). In 2018, Google make some changes in QRGs, because they want to focus more about user safety. In the same year, they introduced a broad core algorithm update. It affect to many sites. A drastic ranking dive was taken by many popular medical and health sites. SEO experts saw a connection between this and BBB ratings. QRGs mentioned BBB, is a indicator of trustworthy sites many times. It mentioned some third party review sites as well. What the said is given below.
“There are a number of reputational sources and even company reviews. For examples, Better Business Bureau, Amazon, Yelp, and Google Shopping.”
It also highlight the importance of BBB ratings. It further said to consider very low BBB ratings as a evidence for a negative reputation.
The Evidence Against BBB Rating is a Ranking Factor
In 2017, a Twitter user asked from Google’s Garry Iliyes, whether adding Accreditation Badges (Trust seals) give any SEO benefits. He replied that he doubt about it. In 2018, Google’s John Mueller was questioned during a video hangout. What he was asked is given below.
”Once you said, Google or Googlebot are not researching about user backgrounds. Can you say the same thing about Better Business Bureau ratings and site reputation as well? Because some believes that BBB reviews and its score are used with the latest core updates. But it doesn’t make any sense that Google would use a source like BBB algorithmically when Google’s algorithms are global. BBB is only for the Canada, US and Mexico.”
Muller replied as below.
” You are correct and we wouldn’t use BBB ratings for something like that. There are many issues about these kind a source of information about websites and businesses. We don’t blindly rely on any third party scores. We usually think about what relevant for users, not these kind a ratings. ”
In 2020, Google’s Danny Sullivan replied for question that came from Twitter. That question was whether Google uses BBB ratings to determine website rankings. He tweeted that they didn’t use BBB rating as a ranking factor.
Final thoughts
We believe that you might get a clear answer for your question of whether BBB rating is a ranking factor or not? For Google rankings, trustworthiness is important. But there is no certain evidence which says BBB rating is a ranking factor. Any company needs pay for get BBB accreditation and its only for US, Canada and Mexico. Which don’t make sense that Google use it algorithmically. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about BBB ratings. Though it’s not a direct ranking factor, Google consider it as a reliable measure of a company’s trustworthiness. And also QRGs has suggested it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check the reputation of a company?
You can do a reputation check by reaching the Better Business Bureau (BBB) either online or by phone. You will be directed to the regional headquarters by BBB’s main web site. The telephone number of the Better Business Bureau in Metropolitan Atlanta is 404-766-0875.
What does it mean if a business is not BBB accredited?
If a businesses lose their accreditation, it means that they decided to stop paying their bill. The Better Business Bureau does not engage to protect consumers or their interests. They earn their money by protecting businesses from consumer complaints.
Why BBB accreditation is important?
One benefit to maintaining accreditation with the BBB is the trust that people may feel when they see that you’re accredited. And, the BBB also has metrics that all accredited members have to adhere to concerning factors like truth in advertising, transparency and responsiveness.
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