The people have spoken – online reviews come out on top. A Pew Research study uncovered that a whopping 82% of American adults read customer ratings and reviews before purchasing something for the first time, with 40% claiming they always or nearly always do so. It’s clear that online evaluations have become an integral part of consumer decision-making processes.
It’s no surprise that online reviews are essential to success. However, the real question is “How can you use their relevance and turn it into meaningful results?” Let’s take a look at where we stand today. Even though these feedbacks are invaluable, there is still an untapped potential-only 23% of customers have ever written one! With this in mind, now’s the time to capitalize on this opportunity and make your mark!
Do you want to gain more Google Reviews for your business, but don’t know where to begin? Don’t worry; it’s easy!
Benefits of Google Reviews
Placing priority on Google business reviews can revolutionize your local marketing strategies – and the best part? It’s quick, simple, and the rewards are never-ending. When more customers leave a positive review for your business on Google, you’ll be able to achieve many of your company goals! If you haven’t already done so, now is an opportune time to start utilizing this valuable resource. Here are some facts and stats to back this up:
- Gather more leads, gain more reviews.
Believe it or not, a whopping 88% of consumers trust online reviews just as much as they do personal recommendations. If you want to increase the chances that someone who finds your business on Google will engage with it, then focus on amassing more positive reviews!
- When customers view positive reviews, they are more likely to take the plunge
Customers make a purchase if there’s word from other buyers than if there were no testimonials at all! With glowing reports from other satisfied buyers, potential consumers will be confident in their decision.
Unquestionably, customers read at least ten reviews before feeling certain enough to purchase a product. The more Google customer reviews your business accumulates, the higher the chances of consumers buying from you.
- Achieving the highest ratings propels your rank and increases visibility.
Google has affirmed that positive reviews are a key element of local SEO rankings, and businesses that receive frequent appraisals will be handsomely rewarded.
- Lots of reviews, lower costs
With no cost to create or respond to reviews, positive endorsements for your business on Google serve as free marketing and advertisement. Leverage the world’s most trusted platform by taking advantage of these opportunities today!
Just ask if you want more reviews
You can:
- Request in person. After each successful interaction, coach customers to leave their comments on the web. Additionally, instruct your staff members to make this request as well.
- Incorporate a request for reviews into your marketing materials! Ask customers to leave feedback in emails, receipts or cards that come with their product. An additional follow-up email or text message can be sent days after the purchase too, prompting people to share how they enjoyed their experience.
If you’re seeking phrasing for your request, consider saying:
- At our business, your opinion matters!
- We’d be delighted to hear about your experience and see photos of you enjoying our products.
- A review on Google would mean the world to us – thank you for being a loyal customer!
An impressive two-thirds of customers state that positive reviews are a crucial element when deciding to shop at an online business or store.
How to get more reviews on Google
If you’re seeking to get more reviews on your Business Profile, here are two valuable resources that can help:
- Marketing kit – Reviews are an essential part of marketing and can help you stand out from the competition. This platform enables you to design printable posters, social posts, business cards templates – everything that is needed to get customers to share their experiences with your company! Get ready for more visibility and increased sales thanks to the review generation materials.
- Make a custom short URL to make it effortless for customers to review your business. Provide them with one-click access to your Business Profile.
Take advantage of your complimentary marketing kit to create aesthetically-pleasing posts and gain more favorable reviews.
Make the reviewing process as effortless as possible for your reviewers.
To ensure your customers have the easiest time leaving reviews, provide them with a direct link to where they can review you on Google, Facebook, or Yelp. Doing so will save time and make it less likely for them to give up before completing their review. It should be noted that incentivizing your customers in exchange for reviews is not advised; instead focus on making the process as straightforward and effortless as possible!
Strengthen your existing customer relationships and create lasting new ones.
Reaching out to your customers and inviting them to leave an online review can appear intimidating, yet it is essential for building trust with future visitors. Additionally, responding promptly and professionally to reviews demonstrates that you really value customer opinion – this will likely encourage them (and potential buyers) to visit again in the long run. Therefore, make sure you thank those who take a few seconds from their day to express gratitude towards your business; they deserve recognition.
How to get more Google reviews
You are now well informed on the impact of Google reviews on your online reputation and ranking as well as how to manage them through a verified Business Profile. Now is the time to obtain more glowing reviews!
1. The Process
With just a minute of effort, customers can write an incredible Google review to help support your business. Though the process is simple, it does require some steps:
- Open up Google Maps
- Search for a business
- Click on your GMB Profile
- Take a look at the reviews section of your profile by scrolling down.
- Click on ‘write a review
Now you just need to write a compelling copy to get your customers to review your product or service.
2. Generate a direct link to your Google review page with one simple shortcut!
Streamline the review process for your customers by providing a direct shortcut link on your website that leads them straight to an online review form.
Navigate to your GMB account, click the Home tab, and find the “Get your first review”. Click “Share review form.” Now you only need to copy the link to your clipboard.
3. Shorten your review shortcut
Incorporating this link into a website button or anchor text is simple enough, but there are numerous offline approaches to get Google reviews for which the clunky string won’t work. Fortunately, we now have access to free URL shortening services like bitly.com to shorten your review link.
Okay, now that you’ve got a nice and clean review shortcut link, it’s time to look at various ways to present this link to customers to get more Google reviews for your local business.
4. Bolster your website’s credibility and SEO rankings by linking directly to your Google reviews page
When a customer seeks to leave your business a review, the most likely place they will look first is your website. To make this process simple and straightforward for them, ensure that you provide an intuitive call to action button which stands out yet is uncluttered and easy to locate.
5. Create a Google reviews page on your website
Rather than relying solely on the above method, a more effective one is to create an entire website page dedicated exclusively to Google reviews- or any other type of review for that matter. This should comprise both a CTA directing customers to leave their own feedback, as well as existing customer reviews already in place. Not only will this inspire potential buyers and encourage them to make purchases from your business, but also serve as an incentive for current patrons to submit glowing ratings!
To maximize SEO benefits, it’s best to include customer reviews in text form on your website. The reason is that they often contain keywords; this allows Google crawlers to “read” them and understand their context. To make the task easier for yourself, create a template where you can simply copy and paste review texts into as needed. If you’re looking for something more automated, there are platforms and plug-ins available that would allow you to aggregate Google reviews onto your site effortlessly!
6. Make sure to add a call to action for Google reviews in your website footer – it can make all the difference!
Strategically adding a Google reviews page to your website footer is an effective way to ensure that you won’t miss out on potential customers. Rather than having the customer search for where they should leave their review, placing it in your site’s footer makes the process much easier and more convenient for them. Whether you use images or simply anchor text, this tactic has proven successful in driving conversions. Take a look at this example below!
7. Use “leave us a review” cards
Create physical cards that encourage people to review your business on Google and share the shortcut link supplied. On the card, you could display something like:
“Your feedback helps others discover our business and us strive for even better service. Please take a moment to rate and review us at bit.ly/reviewgrower – we’d be forever grateful!”
8. Personally request your customers to leave positive Google reviews – it’ll boost the credibility of your business and attract more potential buyers
As you converse with customers in your store or come to the end of a successful customer service call, think about how you could use this situation to solicit Google reviews. Here are some ideas on when and how to ask for such feedback:z
- “We are so thrilled that you have had such a delightful experience working with us. If you would be willing to leave a glowing review on Google, it will help other individuals discover our business and share in the same happiness that you did!”
- “We would be appreciative if you could take the time to share your feedback on Google. A couple of sentences would go an incredibly long way and help our business tremendously.”
Plus, you can provide them with a conveniently sized card that contains the link to your review page on your site. Making it oh-so effortless for them!
9. Convince customers of the convenience and speed to review
You may be aware of how straightforward it is to leave a Google review, but your clients may not. Plus, writer’s block can be real when composing reviews. An enthusiastic or long-time customer might have difficulty expressing their admiration for what you do within the confines of one review. Not everyone finds articulating thoughts easy either! To help with this process and encourage customers to write reviews, consider:
- Let them know it is possible for them to leave a star rating without writing anything.
- Urge them to take only a few moments of their time and express their thoughts with just one or two sentences in a review.
- Try substituting phrases such as “leave a review” or “drop a quick review,” rather than saying “write a review”. This way, it will appear less daunting to potential customers.
10. Make use of a Google review email campaign
Email marketing is a perfect way to obtain more Google reviews for your business. Be direct and honest in asking them—but don’t pressure people into leaving a review either. It’s perfectly okay to notify customers that they can help other potential consumers by writing an unbiased review of their experience with you. You may be surprised how pleased customers are willing to write something about you if the process is made easy and straightforward – which encourages positive responses towards your request!
11. Ask for reviews on social media
Showcase your top reviews on social media platforms to boost conversational marketing and transparency. Ask your customers for their feedback, including through a concise Google review shortcut link – remind them that this is an opportunity to introduce someone else like them to the advantages of working with you! Facebook has its own review system so make sure you use this when reaching out.
12. Leverage vendor and partner reviews to boost your Google standing
After all, they’ve interacted with you on a regular basis – much more than any typical customer! And if you write one for their business first, then they’ll be even more likely to return the favor. These honest endorsements will go a long way in convincing potential customers of your quality services.
13. Respond to your existing Google reviews
Replying to your customers’ Google reviews can empower prospective reviewers that their feedback is valued and it’s worth the effort they take in writing a review. Engaging with reviews gives you two ways of getting more reviews – responding effectively will both encourage new reviewers who are already aware of your business, as well as bring an influx of those unfamiliar with you!
- By responding to positive reviews with gratitude and specificity, you can cultivate a plethora of additional glowing feedback from customers. Timeliness is paramount – the quicker your response, the more likely it will be seen by other potential buyers!
- When confronted with unfavorable reviews, responding promptly and courteously and dealing with the problem can result in a shift of opinion. It may even turn that negative review into a positive one!
An astonishing 97% of consumers who read reviews, also take the time to peruse businesses’ replies to these reviews.
Remember these things
Ask for Google Reviews
Asking for Google Reviews can certainly increase the quantity, but it also results in an extraordinary change of quality. Those who are not asked to review tend to be more disgruntled and give negative reviews; however, requested reviews usually have a positive spin that goes beyond what is expected! Hence why directly asking customers for their feedback will undoubtedly provide you with greater insights into how your business is being received by your clientele than just relying on unsolicited reviews.
Help Customers Know What to Do.
Not all customers are aware of the process of leaving reviews, so make it easier for them! By using an online reputation management software package, you can quickly text or email your customers and ask for a review. The best packages out there even allow you to collect their feedback right in the same message. This way, automating this task is made incredibly easy – no more stressing over having to manually look through each customer’s response but instead allowing you to focus on running your business efficiently.
To make sure your business stays front-of-mind with customers, create profiles in the services most used by them. For instance, if you own a restaurant Yelp would be an ideal choice. However, Google and Facebook are more general but should not be overlooked – they’re extremely beneficial for businesses of all types!
Set up accounts on each of these platforms with this handy list of links provided:
- Google My Business
- Yelp
- Bing
- Yahoo! Local Listings
- Foursquare
For certain professions, such as physicians and attorneys, there are specialized review websites that customers use to rate services. To maximize visibility on the web, be sure to set up a profile on these vertical-specific sites so your clients can find you quickly and easily.
With that taken care of, you can rest assured knowing your clients will always have easy access to all the information they need about your company.
Remind them.
Staying in constant communication with your clients? Why not use that time to let them know the impact their reviews can have on your business? Stress how important it is for feedback of any kind – good or bad – to be left on your Google profile. And if they had a great experience, encourage them to leave you raving reviews– because nothing boosts trust and credibility like happy customers!
Provide Multiple Touch Points.
Help your customers and patients remember to leave Google reviews through a range of available methods. It may be as simple as encouraging them on all receipts or adding a reminder in email signature files. Put up signs in store locations and add prompts during call center wait times for an extra nudge! These are inexpensive opportunities that could make all the difference when it comes to building customer loyalty.
Respond to Every Google Review
When customers perceive you as a proactive and engaged business owner, they’re more likely to connect with your brand. Show them that settling customer grievances is an action-packed review in itself!
To succeed in any venture, modeling yourself after the industry’s top performers is key – and Amazon reigns supreme when it comes to online reviews. So, what strategies are they using that you could adopt?
Conclusion
After taking into consideration all the necessary steps, it is paramount to take action simply. If you are pressed for time and must choose two of these options, I would highly suggest requesting reviews from customers as well as responding to each review that comes in. Making it effortless for clients to leave a review about your organization and demonstrating how much their experiences matter to you will help increase the number of customer Google reviews exponentially. The rest is sure to follow suit!
