Google Reviews
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Did you know that 57% of prospective customers expect a local business to have more than 11 online reviews? This has increased from 51% in 2017, suggesting Google reviews are becoming increasingly important to potential customers.
The more Google reviews you have, the more you'll stand out in the SERPs - think of your review count as a bit of a popularity contest between you and your competitors. But Google reviews aren't just there to make you look good, they help customers become more informed. The more reviews you collect, the more potential customers can learn about your business that will help them to build trust and confidence in your offerings.
The most important first step to getting more review on Google is completing your Google My Business profile. In order to edit and complete your profile, you'll first need to claim it. Once you're logged in, ensure all the details are correct about your business. This will make it far easier for customers to find you and leave you feedback.
Additionally, once you've claimed your profile, you'll be able to respond to positive and negative reviews, which - as we'll see later - is extremely important to gaining even more reviews.
One of the most self-explanatory things to do in order to get those Google reviews coming in is to go above and beyond for your customers. Whether you're a fashion boutique, dentist or pest control businesses, give your customers an experience they'll remember and they'll be more inclined to sing your praises on Google.
Leaving a review requires effort, and can be considered as 'giving back', so try to make it worth your customers while and they'll have no qualms going out of their way to do you a favour.
If you don't ask, you don't get. Did you know a whopping 77% of people are willing to leave a review when asked? One of the easiest ways to get more Google Reviews is simply by being proactive and asking your customers. Try to ask them at every touchpoint in the buyer journey to capture every customer's opinion on Google.
Luckily for you, there are loads of places to ask.Why not try:
Have you considered the prospect that your customers may not even know you're collecting reviews? To spread the message loud and clear, why not showcase them a little more?
User-generated content can be used in so many ways, including on traditional offline marketing - things like billboards and posters - ads and even on social media posts. Showing off your reviews shows you really care and value all of the feedback you received, which is likely to encourage more customers to voice their opinion.
Are you replying to the reviews you get on Google? 53% of customers expect businesses to respond to their online review within 7 days.
If other customers see that reviews have been left unacknowledged, it's likely to deter them from leaving their own.
To encourage more Google reviews, make sure you claim your My Business profile and reply to reviews. This creates a bit of a buzz around customer feedback and shows customers you value their opinions.
As humans, we love to feel we're part of something. Simply replying to a review takes it from something stagnant and independent and turns it into a conversation which other customers will also want to get involved in - after all, who doesn't like having their say?
Most Review Platforms have a feature that enables you to send review requests to not only new customers but previous customers too. At Reviews.io, we call this a review booster, and we can direct customers receiving this email to Google for you.
This means you can really crank up the number of reviews you've collected in Google and start improving your online reputation almost instantly.
Building on from the concept of engraining reviews into every aspect of your business model, we encourage clients to include a star-rating in their email signature. This reminds customers that you're collecting, as well as building trust through your reputation.
If it's Google reviews specifically you want to collect more of, you could use your Google star-rating here, and also add a line that says 'leave us a review' and link to your Google page to boost engagement and conversions further still.
It's important to always bear in mind that a customer usually has to go out of their way to leave a business feedback. Your job is to make the process as easy as possible.
Some people may be well-versed in leaving Google reviews, others may never have left one before. To reduce friction and increase conversion rate, try to cover all bases and break the process down for your customers.
With screenshots and a few lines of text, you can easily show customers how to leave you a review on Google. Just to recap, the process is as follows:
A more complex way to encourage more Google reviews is to do a bit of social listening. We encourage all brands to keep tabs on what people are saying about them online, but it can be particularly useful for generating new reviews.
If you find someone singing your praises online, don't just 'like' their post or tweet, reply to them and ask if they'll be kind enough to leave you a review on Google - just don't forget to include a link to your My Business profile to make the process easy!
Collecting more Google reviews could be the difference between a 3.5 and 4.5-star rating online, so it's certainly worth a bit of extra effort. Remember that if you want customers to even consider leaving you feedback, it's your job to put it at the front of their mind and make the process as easy as possible.
Do all you can to increase your Google reviews awareness and reduce friction and you should be on to a winner.
Want to try getting more Google reviews with our Review Booster? Head over to our website or jump on live chat with one of our advisors and we'll get you started for FREE!
