If a company has good Google reviews on its Google account, its online presence can soar to new heights. Of course, nobody cares what you say about your business, but customers will always check what your previous customers say about your goods and services.
You also look for reviews and star ratings in the reviews section when you shop for anything. Right? We all do. If reviews hold this much importance in the customer's purchasing process, why shouldn't you, as a business, choose what they see?
In this blog, we tell you the following things about Google reviews.
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How do more Google reviews get you more business?
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How to get more Google reviews for your business?
How do more Google reviews get you more business?
What is the exact impact that Google reviews have on a business? This article section answers this question by using statistics to prove the point.
1. More Reviews Mean More Leads.
More Google reviews promise higher search rankings, more leads, more sales, and, consequently, more revenue. In addition, people will be interested in your business after reading the exciting testimonials.
Nobody can ignore that much appreciation for a brand. Therefore, the three factors are critical in reviews.
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Diversity – The various sources and views coming from.
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Velocity – The frequency of reviews.
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Quantity – The number of reviews
#2. More Reviews Mean More Purchases.
In 2020, 60% of people read online google reviews before purchasing. This percentage rose to 77% in 2022.
Everybody looks for reviews before browsing for local businesses. Depending on the existing reviews, people decide if they want to spend their money on something. More excellent reviews directly translate into more sales.
#3. Helps In Advertising
Advertising costs a lot these days. It takes a good part of the budget of any business to improve its online reputation. However, you can save time by having Google reviews on your business profile. If your happy customers say good things and leave reviews about your business name, it is as real as possible.
Creating brand awareness will become more accessible with the correct Google customer reviews. Brand recall and brand recognition are the two primary components of Brand awareness. Reading the same name repeatedly with positive reviews will help boost both.
#4. Improves Local SEO Ranking Factor
Gaining more Google business reviews on the business listings of Google My Business is one of the best ways to make your business website SEO-friendly. But, you must wonder, how does that work?
When a user does local searches for something related to your business on Google, Google crawls through the text of the website. If the text in the query matches the text on your website, then your website will rank on Google SERP.
Google reviews with specific keywords like the city's name or business location help enhance your website’s ranking.
It’s not just what is written in the review matter but also the number of reviews. So you should also welcome a negative review that comes from the negative experiences of a consumer as well. You can gain feedback by considering negative reviews.
This improves your website's CTR (Click-Through Rate), which increases traffic on your website and turns the algorithm in your favor.
#5. Builds Brand Trust
91% of people read reviews, and 84% of customers are likely to trust a brand with good reviews as if it were their friend suggesting something.
Reviews hold this much power in customers' decision-making, so learn how to showcase them.
Customers may feel they are dealing with bots and business logos in the online world, but reviews change that. When they read human names and see real human pictures with the Google review saying good things about your business, they trust your brand much more.
#6. Creates a customer feedback loop
Statistics show that 89% of customers would like to buy from a business with a reasonable response rate.
As everything is on the internet, creating a conversation is difficult. No business can survive without the feedback of its customers. That’s how any business improves.
Google reviews help business owners understand what customers like about their goods and services and where they can improve.
There should always be a designated place where customers can say whatever they want about your business, and Google reviews can be the right place.
How To Get More Google Reviews For Your Business?
After understanding what role Google reviews play in the growth of a business, you must now know the different ways big and small businesses can seek Google reviews. Follow the various ways we have mentioned below, and you will have tons of them.
#1. Understand the process
Customers dislike writing reviews when many steps are required before they can do so. So, how to leave a review? What are the steps?
Step 1: Open Google Maps App
Step 2: Search your business’ name
Step 3: Tap on it, and your Google My Business profile will pop up
Step 4: Scroll to find the option and click Write a review.
Step 5: Click on it and write the review.
These are the five steps that a customer will have to follow to write a Google review. Now tell us honestly, would you have followed these steps if you were in their shoes?
The answer for most of us is a NO. But, unfortunately, it is true.
As a business, focus on how to reduce friction in the review response.. Focus on reducing the number of steps they would take to write a review.
#2. Get A Google Review Link Shortcut
The first step towards making it easier for your customers to write a review is getting a Google review link shortcut. You can get this shortcut in a few easy steps.
Step 1: Go to the Google My Business profile
Step 2: Select the “Home” tab
Step 3: Select the “Get your first review” or “Get more reviews” option
Step 4: Tap on the “Share review form”
Step 5: A link will appear; copy it
Step 6: Apply the link on your business website
One little tip: Before you use this original link, which just looks like a long list of random alphabets, make it shorter, or hell, even customize it.
Many free tools work as link shorteners, letting you shorten the link and even customize it. You can opt for tools like Bitly.com to shorten the link.
#3. Give A Clear Call To Action On Your Website
Your website is the first place your client will visit to leave a review. So give a clear call to action on your website. Paste the customized Google review link in a button or hyperlink. Make the call to action visible to everybody visiting your website.
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Designate A Whole Page To It
It works well if the customer sees a clear call to action on your website, but it works best when they see a page designated for online reviews. Add this page to the main menu of the website so that it becomes easier for visitors to navigate.
Add the reviews left by previous clients to prompt the visitors to write one.
Many businesses are sharing appreciative chat screenshots sent by their previous clients, but we don’t advise you to do so. Instead, stick to the text format as google crawls through the keywords in the reviews and use that for showing results for Google searches.
So take advantage of text format reviews to make your website SEO-friendly in the search engines.
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Include A Google Review CTA In The Footer
The footer of your website is where all the critical business information about your website is. Many people would skim through the content of your website and scroll down to the website's footer. So it is wise to put a button or anchor text asking for Google reviews on the website's footer.
#4. Ask For Reviews In Person
If you have a restaurant, a clothing outlet, or any place where customers visit you in person, ask for reviews with a genuine smile.
Don’t just ask your customers; ask the vendors and partners that help you run the business. They might not be your customers, but they deal with you daily and must have something to say about your communication ethics. You can also leave a Google review on their business profile in return, so it’s a win-win for both of you.
Also, emphasize more and more how easy the entire process of leaving a review is. This further instills in a customer's brain that it's just a matter of seconds.
Add A “Leave A Review” Card
When everything is online, add a real personal touch to the customer experience. For example, get physical Google review cards printed and hand them to your customers the next time they visit. When you say it more than once, the person is more likely to add a review.
#5. Use Different Platforms
Many platforms can be used creatively to ask for Google reviews.
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Run A Google Review Email Campaign
Every business is using email marketing. So you might as well also reap its benefits. Create an automated email list and ask your customers about their experience with a Google review link. Make the email crisp, clear, and to the point. Almost all customers will leave a review if you keep the process easy and fast.
Add a Google review link to your email signature, which makes the email much more enjoyable.
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Include Them In Surveys
Many businesses form surveys and polls to know what their customers like and dislike. Include a Google review space in the surveys and polls with the help of review sites. Then, if loyal customers are ready to answer the survey questions, they wouldn’t mind leaving a Google review.
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Ask on social media
There was a time when people shared their lives on social media. Now everybody is taking advantage of social media for their professional lives too.
So, ask your followers to leave a Google review for your business or send them a review request; this way, the reviews will not be fake reviews.
#6. Reply To Existing Google Reviews
One way to get more reviews is by replying to existing and new reviews. Be responsible and accountable if a customer isn’t happy with their experience.
#7. Create A Tutorial Video
Some people who are not so into tech would probably find it difficult to leave a Google review. So instead, make a brief tutorial video in which you demonstrate the steps quickly so that they understand it is easy and convenient.
Summing it up
This was all the information about the importance of Google reviews for a business and ways to get more Google reviews. We expect you to use this knowledge to build an online presence for your company name and make significant changes. So take the power of reviews seriously in the overall rating and these tips in your review policy. They have the potential to be game-changers.
Frequently Asked Questions FAQs
#1. What are the benefits of Google reviews for business?
More Google reviews improve a website's local SEO (search engine optimization) while solving half of the marketing problem. They make potential customers trust the brand by keeping a feedback loop open where customers can speak their minds. All of this eventually leads to more sales and higher revenue.
#2. How to create a Google review link for my business?
Follow the six easy-peasy steps to create a Google business review link for my business.
Step 1: Go to the Google My Business account
Step 2: Select the “Home” tab
Step 3: Select the “Get your first review” or “Get more reviews” option
Step 4: Tap on the “Share review form”
Step 5: A link will appear; copy it
Step 6: Apply the link on your business website
#3. How to get more Google reviews from a Google Business profile?
First and foremost, just ask for it through email, SMS, or in person. Besides this, create a Google review link and put it on your website as a clear call-to-action button or anchor text. Whenever anyone visits your website, they can submit a Google review by following a few easy steps. You can also ask someone who left reviews on Yelp also to review you on Google.