Google in a Twitter tweet last week explained that marketers in some countries can now post automatically suggested reviews as customer testimonials in Google My Business.

The suggested posts, which marketers can review and edit before publishing, are based on four or five-star reviews recently left for the business.

Reviews and ratings like these boost search engine optimization performance. For example, 63% of Bazaarvoice clients rely on ratings and reviews to boost SEO performance, 53% to improve in-store sales, and 52% to foster brand loyalty.

Reviews may boost SEO, but personalizing content still falls short on its own. Less than 20% of shoppers participating in the Bazaarvoice study say the product recommendations they see are relevant.

Perhaps that’s why one in five consumers told Bazaarvoice that social media is still important. Nearly half of Bazaarvoice clients said integrating social media and online shopping is a top priority during the next 12 to 18 months.

And there are a host of holidays coming up in May such as Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Ramadan. 

In the U.S. as well as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region ,more than 100 million people — including a large percentage who frequent Facebook — are gearing up to celebrate Ramadan in May, according to performance marketing company Webpals Group, which supports mobile marketing.

Webpals Group conducted a survey with one of the largest ecommerce platforms in the Middle East, revealing that during Ramadan 2018, traffic rose by 230% and conversion rates increased by 30%. Social media users were more active at night, with the highest increase in time at 3 a.m.

A recent study from Damian Radcliffe, a professor at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communications, estimates there are 164 million active users in the Middle East, up from 56 million in 2013.

Egypt remains the biggest market for Facebook in the region, with 24 million daily users and nearly 37 million monthly mobile users, but Saudi Arabia had the highest growth rate at about 32%.

Internet World Stats estimate the Middle East internet user population in 2019 at 258,356,867, but Facebook numbers date back to 2017 at about 116,482, 942 users.

Loyal users of social media in the Middle East rose by 25% compared to the month before Ramadan in April 2018. In the week prior to Ramadan, marketers also saw an increase of 40% in app installation. Ecommerce transactions in shopping apps were 35% higher during the month of Ramadan compared with the month prior, according to data from Webpals.