thursday april 04, 2024
DMA: How the European Union is changing the landscape of online reviews
The field of digital marketing is constantly evolving, shaped by technological advances and current regulations. At the heart of this transformation is the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a European regulation that has been attracting a great deal of attention for months, if not years.
What is the DMA (Digital Markets Act)?
The Digital Markets Act (DMA ) is a European Union initiative aimed at regulating major online platforms, particularly gatekeepers such as Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft and Tiktok (ByteDance). Its main aim is to promote competition and fairness in digital markets by limiting the anti-competitive practices of these companies.
In practice, the DMA imposes obligations on major technology companies, such as prohibiting preferential treatment of their own services on their platforms and the exploitation of sellers' data to compete with them.
DMA's impact on companies' local visibility
One question that has attracted a lot of attention is how the DMA will affect the local visibility of businesses, particularly on platforms such as Google. Many have speculated that Google reviews will diminish in importance in local searches, or even disappear altogether.
However, contrary to alarmist predictions, Google has not put an end to its Google Business Profile services or its customer reviews. These reviews remain a crucial element in the consumer buying journey: nearly 77%* of French people say that Google reviews act as a purchase trigger.
Understandably, it was completely out of the question for Google to give up such leverage, even if it must now diversify the sources of customer reviews.
Diversification of online opinion sources thanks to DMA
The DMA has encouraged Google to diversify the sources of reviews on its Google Business Profile. The aim is to promote fairer competition and reduce dependence on a single platform.
So, alongside traditional Google reviews, users can now find reviews from other platforms such as Trustpilot, The Fork, Facebook, and even websites directly. This diversification offers a more comprehensive view of a company's online reputation.
It also enables them to "take back control" of their reviews by creating a dedicated page on their website, which can be referenced as a source of online reviews.
Adaptation of local referencing strategies following the DMA
Faced with these changes, companies need to rethink their approach to local SEO. It's no longer enough to focus solely on Google reviews. It's now essential to diversify review sources and create a presence on multiple platforms.
In addition, having a dedicated reviews page on a company's website is becoming a key strategy for maintaining optimal online visibility. This development underlines the importance for companies of not relying on a single source for online reviews.
In conclusion, the DMA represents a significant change in the online review landscape, prompting companies to diversify their review sources and adapt their local SEO strategies.
To find out more about the implications of the DMA and the implications for your feedback management strategy, you can view our webinar :
*Source: IFOP and GuestSuite 2023 survey
