How Do I Get Google Reviews That Are Amazing?
Online review platforms can have a dramatic effect on your business. Overwhelmingly, the power of Google Reviews, Yelp, and Facebook, among other platforms, can end up determining whether or not someone chooses your business.
Customer Reviews Are Basically Word-of-Mouth Advertising
Another term for online reviews is “social proof.” This means that when a consumer is making a decision to purchase your product or service, they are effectively looking at reviews to determine whether or not your business will do what it says.
This is a blessing and a curse because a person is much more likely to take the time to write a review if they’re upset. And they know that most people will absolutely look at Google first before making a decision.
When it comes to Google Search and most search engines, your business profile will include reviews. Even if you haven’t claimed your business from the Google My Business listing, there is still sometimes the ability to leave reviews.
So if you haven’t set up Google My Business, you might still have reviews that you’re unaware of. But how can a responsible business put together a process for turning business reviews into a powerful driver for your product or service?
It Starts With A Plan
Online, 63.6 percent of consumers say that they check Google before deciding to even visit a local business.
This means that your absence on the platform will also be noticed. If you aren’t willing to link to your Google Reviews page from your website, then you need to figure out why. If the reviews are bad, there’s a way to fix them.
But what if you’re starting at zero? How do you get happy customers to leave positive reviews about your company? This is how we do this for our own clients:
1. Have a system in place for asking how you did.
- Business owners ought to care about the experience that their customers had on their websites. As part of this, your company should have some sort of internal way of asking how your service and experience were. This could be as simple as a question on the automated receipt after paying, or it could be asking them to fill out a survey on your website once they’ve used your product or service. This will do several things. For one, if someone’s unhappy, you will know by this before they have a chance to post it to Google. Then, you can get to them and fix the problem.Or, if they’re a satisfied customer, you can move on to the next step.
2. Send the right people to your Google My Business listing.
- Once you know who is happy with your work, you can start directing them to the right place. Don’t be over-the-top. Rather, just say something like, “Hey, thank you for your kind words about our company. Would you mind letting others know?” Then, include a link or button to click which will take them right to your listing. This way, it’s stupid simple, and they can rave about you. Not everyone will, but this process will ensure that you capture a much higher percentage of customers willing to review you positively.Just make sure that you’re positive yourself about your review request before sending it.
3. Respond to every review, regardless of what was posted.
- If you have a problem with negative reviews, there is a playbook for dealing with those. But, even if your reviews are positive, you should still be responding to them. When they post a positive review, make sure to thank them! This shows that you are appreciative of kind words about your brand and that you really do, in fact, care that they had a good experience. Responding to your reviews will help your ads, your SEO, and everything else, as it shows Google that you’re involved in the process and care about your customer feedback.
