Review Assistant Blog
How to Get More
Google Reviews?
September 12, 2023
Reviews play a pivotal role in shaping the online reputation of businesses today. When potential customers search for a product or service, they often turn to Google reviews to gauge the quality and credibility of a business. In this article, we’ll explore effective strategies for getting more Google reviews to boost your online presence and reputation.
The Importance of Online Reviews for Your Business
Google reviews are user-generated assessments of your businesses that appear on your Google Business Profile (GBP). These reviews not only influence the public perception of your business but also significantly impact your ranking in any search results undertaken by anyone local to your business.
Activeley responding businesses, with a high number of reviews coming in regularly and a positive 4-5 star rating are proven to rank the highest verses their competitors. And over 70% of customers only make a decision on a product or service purchase after reading online reviews.
Google Reviews then are by far the most influential to your business performance, with over in search rankings and in generating new and repeat business. So how do we get more Google Reviews?
Setting Up Your Google My Business Profile
Before you can start accumulating reviews, it’s crucial to have an optimized GBP profile. Ensure your business information is accurate, complete and naturally includes the keywords you’re looking to rank for. Be sure not to just use your profiles as a box ticking excersise they need to be fluid and well written rather than just packed with keyword lists. Use high-quality images to showcase your products or services, and images of interior and exterior of any phical locations & update regularly, we reccomend at least on a monthly basis.
If you need help optimising or managing your business profile, get in touch we have a number of free tools and guides we’re working on getting to our followers.
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To find out more about Review Assitant and SEO services. Call now or Contact us for a call back at a time suitable for you.
It all starts with your FREE Google Business Profile, be sure to set up an optimised profile that functions to boost your SEO aswell as it informs.
Asking for Reviews
For more ideas on asking for reviews reach out,
or keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming REVIEW GENERATION GUIDE.
One of the simplest yet effective ways to get more Google reviews is by asking your satisfied customers*. Be sure to create “low friction” ways they can leave reviews & encourage them to share their experiences.
Ideas to help:
– Add QR codes to your invoices, linking directly to your review section Google Business Profile.
– Add a review link to your website.
– Email customers with a welcome or thankyou message and request a review on completion of work, service or delivery confirmation.
* Please note you can’t pay for or incentivise positive reviews, doing so can not only lead to account bans and Google blacklisting your company for search results but in many countries is also illegal and may lead to substantial fines or even jail time.
You may however want to pre-screen or otherwise identify who might have had a good experience with your company before requesting they leave a review. This doesn’t stop people from leaving bad reviews but along with your professional handling of feedback, goes a long way to countering any negitivity.
Incorporating Reviews into Marketing
Integrate Google reviews into your marketing campaigns. Highlighting positive feedback boosts brand awareness & authorit, driving more reccomendations & ulitmately conversions.
Showcasing Reviews on Your Website
Displaying Google reviews on your website builds trust with potential customers. It’s like having a stream of live testimonials right on your site.
Many implementations of this allow users to leave a review themselves.
Leveraging Social Media
Share positive reviews on your social media platforms. It not only showcases your credibility but also encourages more reviews.
Encouraging User-Generated Content
Suggest that customers share photos and videos with their reviews. Google Reviews only support uploading images but it’s often an overlooked feature. Visual content tends to be alot more persuasive and adds to legitmacy of the review.
Case Studies & Success Stories
Showcase and explore real-world examples of your customer success stories, suggest that leaving a review will help your business help more people or deliver more similar experiences.
Responding to Reviews
Engage with your customers by responding to reviews promptly and professionally.
Or Free up your time from continually managing reviews by leveraging Review Assistant’s team to professionally manage your reviews.
By addressing both positive and negative feedback consistently & professionally demonstrates your commitment to customer satisfaction, which inturn promotes more new & repeat customers and more positive reviews.
Dealing with Negative Reviews
Handle negative reviews professionally and constructively. Mistakes and problems happen in any businesses, but many owners shy away from dealing with negative reviews attempting instead to hide or remove them or worse still.. take the comments as an attack on their rating. Turning a negative experience into a positive can actually be the best review you recieve!
A well handled complaint, despite your feelings on its legitimacy, will always impress potential customers. Turning negatives into a positive is certainly a skill, especially when you disagree with the review, repsonding promtly and professionally is often easier for an impartial third party.
Frequently Asked Questions
While it may seem tempting, paid reviews violate Google guidelines and can lead to your business being blacklisted from the search engine and in some countries incentivisng reviews in anyway is illegal, facing high fines and even jail time. It’s best to focus on generating and responding to genuine feedback.
Responding to negative reviews can improve a business’s reputation by showing that they care about their customers and are willing to address concerns. This can lead to increased customer trust and loyalty, ultimately benefiting the business’s overall reputation.
Report them to Google and respond professionally. Maintaining transparency can help address such issues.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your business However we woudl encourage you to avoid overwhelming customers with constant requests. It might be best to set some guidelines on how often a customer should be asked for a review, especially if they’ve providied one in the last 3 months.
Google reviews impact greatly on local SEO, (anyone searching your business locally) by enhancing your online reputation and trustworthiness. Google reccomends local businesses with large numbers of reviews and responses with high star ratings
Businesses should be aware of legal considerations when responding to reviews. It’s important to avoid making false statements or defaming the reviewer. Google’s guidelines also prohibit incentivizing reviews or posting fake ones.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, getting more Google reviews is a crucial aspect of online reputation management. It’s not just about accumulating positive feedback; it’s about building trust, improving search rankings, and demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction.
If you’d like more help in generating more Google Reviews and help managing your responses speak to our team.
Gregory Hudak / About Author
SEO technician & Response Specialist