52 Online Reputation Statistics for 2023

What do you see when you Google yourself?

As of April 2023, there were 5.18 billion people online - nearly 65% of the world population. With 68% of online experiences beginning with a search engine and over 95% of people going online to learn more about businesses, your online reputation doesn’t only impact your “real world” reputation but, often, your online reputation will precede you.

What goes into a strong online reputation, and how much does it matter? Here, I will outline 52 online reputation statistics to give you a comprehensive idea of what matters most when it comes to how you appear online in 2023.

Reputation Statistics

Your online reputation is made up of what you put out about yourself online and what others put out about you online. A strong online presence is one that puts your best foot forward and authentically represents you, your business, or your brand.

Business Reputation

When it comes to the reach, growth, and overall success of your business, online reputation is a key factor.

  • On average, it takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember a brand, highlighting the importance of visibility and consistency when it comes to your online strategy.
  • How you present your brand online can have a huge impact on how consumers respond to your business. Presenting your brand consistently across all platforms - website, social media profiles, etc.- can increase revenue by up to 23%.
  • In a survey conducted by Deloitte, roughly 90% of over 300 executives surveyed ranked reputation as the most significant risk area for companies.
  • 88% of executives surveyed by Deloitte said that their companies were actively managing reputation risk.
  • The risk of a bad online reputation shouldn’t be underestimated. 90% of consumers report not frequenting a business with a bad reputation.
  • A bad reputation doesn’t just lose you prospective customers. 87% of consumers report that they will even reverse a purchase decision after reading negative news or reviews about a business online.
  • Bad reputation can also impact your hiring. Nearly 70% of prospective employees report that they would reject a job offer from a company with a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed.
  • While a poor reputation can harm your business, a positive reputation can protect your business online. 95% of consumers report trusting a corporation with a positive reputation.
  • In a study conducted by TrustPilot, consumers ranked a positive internet reputation as the #1 most important factor when determining which business to frequent, even above the quality of products and services.
  • Stand by what you believe. Approximately 90% of consumers report that they will remain loyal to brands that share their values.

Individual Reputation

Online reputation for individuals can affect professional opportunities, public perception, and even your dating prospects. Knowing what to consider while building your personal online presence can help you avoid reputation pitfalls.

  • Approximately 90% of employers look at the social media presence of prospective employees.
  • 80% of employers have rejected a candidate based on what they found. If there are reasons your social media presence could harm your chances of being hired, consider making your personal profiles private.
  • If your social media is related to your work, it may help in your job search. 95% of businesses use social media when recruiting.
  • It likely won’t surprise you that nearly 75% of companies consider Linkedin to be the most effective site for finding qualified job candidates.
  • It doesn’t stop with Linkedin. 66% of companies use Facebook and 53% of companies use Twitter.
  • Your online reputation doesn’t only affect job prospects. Roughly 50% of people will look someone up online before going on a date, so if they don’t like what they find, you may be out of luck romantically as well. 💔

Social Media

Social media is an ever-growing online landscape that makes up a significant portion of many online presences. How individuals and businesses leverage social media can have a major impact on your online reputation.

  • There are approximately 4.9 billion people on social media.
  • Most social media users access social media platforms via mobile devices. This is not only valuable to keep in mind regarding the importance of a social media presence, but also highlights the importance of mobile-friendliness when it comes to the format of your website.
  • Facebook maintains the top spot for social media platforms with 2.9 million monthly active users across the world.
  • After Facebook, the top five social media platforms are: 2) YouTube, 3) WhatsApp, 4) Instagram, and 5) WeChat.
  • Although it is the sixth most popular social media platform, TikTok is on the rise. The short-form video platform outperformed Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat combined in Q4 2022, earning $350 million.
  • Traditional review platforms aren’t the only places where people are turning to learn more about businesses. 46% of consumers turn to Facebook, 35% turn to YouTube, 32% turn to Instagram, and 20% turn to TikTok.
  • Social media isn’t only important for what users may say about you or your business, but in how you use social media. 77% of businesses leverage social media to reach customers. Based on our earlier statistic regarding impressions and memory, utilizing social media can increase your audience.
  • People like to interact with businesses on social media. 90% of users follow at least one brand on social media.
  • Social media isn’t only about branding, but about sales. 76% of social media users have purchased something they saw on social media.
  • Depending on your audience, you’ll want to take different platforms seriously. Different age groups find information through different online channels. For example, nearly 85% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 use at least one social media site, a number that decreases as the age of your audience increases.
  • In 2023, the fastest-growing social media platform is BeReal. This platform has appealed most to Gen Z, with a 1,200% increase in Gen Z users.
  • Social media makes public figures, celebrities, and businesses more directly accessible to their audiences. Over 80% of social media users report that social media increases accountability for businesses, essentially meaning that it’s hard for things to slip by your audience. But this can provide opportunities for businesses, showing you what your audience cares about and giving you an opportunity to be accountable.

Images and Video

I’m a broken record when it comes to saying content is king when it comes to SEO; however, video has climbed to the top, both in short- and long-form.

  • YouTube is the second most popular social media platform with 2.5 million monthly active users.
  • Over 50% of users visit YouTube as least once a month.
  • Over 68% of YouTube results on page 1 of Google search are HD videos.
  • Page 1 YouTube videos have an average length of just under 15 minutes.
  • Comments, views, shares, and likes have an impact on how well YouTube videos rank, both on the platform and in Google search results.
  • Short-form videos, no doubt due to platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram’s reels, are considered to be some of the most engaging content on the internet. Shorter videos get engagement from 66% of consumers, roughly 2.5 times more than longer videos. This may also be due to the shareability of these videos.
  • Over 60% of Gen Z and Millennials prefer visual searching over other new technologies.
  • While videos currently occupy the #1 content spot, images are not to be forgotten. Google Images accounts for over 20% of search queries, and the inclusion of unique images in written content can have a significant impact on rankability.

News

Most Americans get their news online, and how you or your business is covered in the news can have a massive impact on your overall reputation.

  • ​​Roughly 80% of Americans receive their news from digital devices.
  • Of those, over 50% get their news from social media.
  • Approximately 280 million searchers click on the Google News tab.
  • Over 60% of searchers trust Google News more than traditional news outlets.
  • Negative news can have a tangible impact on businesses. Businesses with just one negative article ranking online risk losing over 20% of prospective customers. Businesses with four or more can experience a loss of up to 70%.
  • This can likely, at least partially, be attributed to the fact that negative news has been reported to be three times more impactful than positive news.

Reviews

Online reviews are one of the most important factors in a business’s online reputation. From ratings to responses, how you stack up can determine whether you soar above the competition or sink far below it.

  • 93% of people read online reviews before making a purchase.
  • 98% of people report reading online reviews about local businesses.
  • Over 90% of people report that positive reviews make them more likely to frequent a business, and 86% feel that online business reviews are as trustworthy as personal recommendations from friends or family.
  • It’s a myth that people only leave reviews when they’re very happy or very upset; only 4% of consumers have never left a review.
  • Almost 75% of all online reviews are left on Google. While you may not be able to control what people say about you, you can have a positive impact by maintaining and monitoring your Google My Business (GMB) profile.
  • When it comes to review ratings, you don’t want to be perfect. Purchasing likelihood increases for companies with ratings between 4.0 to 4.7 stars, and actually decreases for companies that approach a perfect 5-star rating, likely due to the rating seeming inauthentic or untrustworthy.
  • That said, you do want to aim for that 4.0 to 4.7 range; less than 50% of consumers report frequenting a business with a rating under 4 stars, and 87% of consumers would not even consider a business with an average rating below 3 stars.
  • Over 80% of consumers are likely to leave a positive review if they feel the business went above and beyond. This may be intuitive, but what is less intuitive is that nearly 80% of consumers are likely to leave a positive online review if the business had turned an initially negative experience into a positive one.
  • Engagement matters. Almost 90% of consumers are more likely to frequent a business if the business responds to all reviews, both positive and negative.
  • Don’t wait for customers to choose to leave a review - just ask! 65% of people leave reviews if asked to by a business, with email, in person, and requests along with invoices yielding the highest number of reviews.

If you are working on your online reputation, or want to learn more about how to put your best foot forward online, you can reach out to Status Labs for a free consultation.

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