How To Get Google Reviews: The Ultimate Guide

Most people only wish to work and associate with businesses they can fully rely upon. Thus, people usually reach out to their friends and family to request referrals when searching for a specific service, company, or product.

And when they cannot get a good referral, they often seek online reviews as the next most suitable alternative.

Google reviews have now become an essential component of the buyer’s journey. Nowadays, 77% or more of customers state they habitually and daily read online Google reviews while skimming for a service, product, or local business.

Moreover, it is a fact that the more expensive or dicey a service or product is, the more attention people will pay to online google reviews. Your Google Business Profile aids consumers in finding you on Google Search and Google Maps. It further shows Google reviews given by your buyers and clients. These reviews furnish your business trustworthiness and are helpful to prospects and future buyers.

Therefore, you would wish to make a group and get many of them. This comprehensive guide will provide several concrete tactics to gain additional positive Google customer reviews and avoid a negative review. Keep on reading to know more!

What Are Google Reviews?

A Google review is an unforced, outstanding online review that people, consumers, or clients write about businesses, places, services, or products they have used. Google reviews are connected to Google Maps, Google Search, and your Google Business listing.

Google reviews make it simple for people to drop feedback, use/include photos, and inform others about their good or bad experiences with certain businesses, places, services, or products they have used.

A study demonstrates that 70 % of people rely on online reviews more than they rely on ads. Hence, you should make review requests and collect more google reviews from your buyers can be the most useful thing you can do for your business. And Google has made that straightforward with Google Customer Reviews.

Why Do Google Reviews Matter To Local Businesses?

Online reviews are essential to local businesses for a lot of reasons. The first reason is that customers or clients count on online reviews to determine which local business they should choose when choosing the right products and services.

BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Study shows that 92 Percent of customers stating unfavourable or negative reviews make them not use a specific business.

Moreover, 79 Percent of people stated they rely as much on reviews as individual suggestions from family and friends. Thus, those tiny stars on your Google Business Profile Knowledge Panel influence what people presume about your business and how they decide to buy from your local business.

Furthermore, Google reviews influence algorithms and local SEO rankings. Whitespark’s 2021 Local Search Ranking Factors study shows that Google reviews can impact the Local Finder, Google Local Pack, and local SEO rankings.

Google Reviews For Business Profiles Are Essential

There are a bunch of websites that have reviews, such as Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Facebook, etc. However, since most people begin by surfing on Google, they usually come across Google Reviews for Google Business Profiles front and centre at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages. Local businesses must have Google Business Profiles with an acceptable stature and concrete 5-star positive review from happy customers.

Quick Tips To Optimise Your Google My Business Page (GMB) To Gather Additional Reviews:

Include appropriate business information
Use appropriate keywords
Maintain your operation hours up-to-the-minute
Upload pictures and other tip-top visuals.

What Are The Prerequisites For Acquiring Google Reviews?

A crucial thing to cite here is that to obtain Google reviews and reach google business listing; some things should essentially be in place:

You must be familiar with the policies of Google.
You have to obey Google's Terms of Service when requesting reviews. It implies you must refrain from proposing any rewards and question your consumers whether they had a favourable or unfavourable experience.
Your business ought to be a "Place" on Google Maps.
It will help you lend a Google Business Profile, on which people can drop reviews.
It would be best if your Google Business Profile is verified.
The listing you create on Google Maps does not give you authority over it. In order to verify the licence of your Business Profile, you must create a Google My Business account and Google Business Page.

These phases are essential because they are not merely provisions to the methods below; however, they permit you to answer and handle the inflow of reviews you will obtain once you execute the strategies.

Do You Know: Google Reviews Help In Enhancing Local Search Ranking

Online Reviews are the most significant google search engine ranking determinants for local businesses. They are likewise an exceptionally affordable digital marketing technique.

Are you trying to boost your ranking and visibility on Google?

This can be done by asking for more reviews through emails, text messages, and calls. Google also employs your reviews and business information to decide the role of your business. It enables them to evaluate the quality of your services and products

Proven Ways To Fetch Extra Google Reviews

1. Ask For Reviews

One of the most straightforward alternatives to gain more reviews is to request review. You must ask all your consumers for customer feedback about the product or service you have delivered.

Requesting feedback is the most straightforward method to assure customers are happy and build your online reputation. If you are on a call with a customer, bring to their mind that you are on Google and you value feedback. You can also automatically send review requests to your new customers as a follow-up email.

But make sure while writing a mail:

Be personal
Express gratitude to your customers for preferring you
Let them know you value them and read all their feedback
Let them know why feedback is essential
Ensure you include a direct link for other visitors, so they can also leave reviews.

One more straightforward alternative to obtaining more Google reviews is adding a link to your website or preparing a customised review request link. Furthermore, constant follow-up helps keep your business mint in the customers’ minds. You can also encourage procrastinators by having a bunch of CTAs on your website and a little popup prompting the users to leave positive google reviews.

2. Try Creating A Google Reviews Page On Your Website

It can be even more beneficial to reserve a whole website page for Google reviews which will be accessible from your navigation menu. The page must have a CTA to write and retain existing reviews. It'll motivate potential customers to turn into buyers and encourage your current consumers to leave reviews.

You can overrun your reviews page with the help of screenshots, but make sure you do it perfectly and keep them in text format. This is because reviews are usually full of keywords, so incorporating them on your website in a manner that Google's crawlers can easily read them results in a fantastic small business local Search engine optimization technique.

Start by copying and pasting the text into a template. Some platforms and plug-ins allow you to integrate Google reviews into your website automatically.

3. Create And Add A Google Review Link Shortcut On Your Website

To write a review, your customers must go online first, so make sure you create and add a review shortcut link and add it to your website. Then to manage google reviews, go to your Google My Business account, click on the Home tab, and find the "Get your first review" card. Click on "Share review form" and copy the link.

Trim Your Review Shortcut

Including this link in a button on your website or hyperlinking it via more concise anchor text is simple. However, there are many offline ways of obtaining Google reviews for which this complex technique may fail to work. But luckily, there are some free link shorteners available, such as bitly, which you can use to trim and personalise your review link.

Alright, now that you have an excellent and neat review shortcut link, the next step is to peek at different methods to introduce this link to your prospects to gain more additional Google reviews for your local business.

4. Take advantage of social media to seek reviews

Regarding conversational marketing and clarity, social media platforms are an excellent way to collect reviews. Post a screenshot of your best review and encourage your customers to leave feedback (with a simple Google review shortcut link). Bring to your follower's minds that it is a chance for them to introduce others to the same advantages they will get while associating with your business. Social media platforms such as Facebook come with their review option; therefore, make sure you reflect this while reaching out this way.

5. Answer Your Previous Google Reviews

When you reply to your old customers' reviews, you enable new possible reviewers to realise that you go through your customer's feedback and value their time.

Moreover, there are two methods in which answering reviews can help you get extra reviews.

Positive Reviews: Being straightforward, detailed, punctual, and thankful in your replies to positive reviews will generate more positive reviews.
Negative Reviews: Answering quickly and respectfully negative reviews and fixing the problem can usually lead to converting bad reviews into favourable ones.

Among customers who skim through reviews, 97 percent of them read businesses' replies to reviews.

6. Gain Google Reviews From Partners And Vendors

Partners and vendors might not be your clients. However, they can testify to their experience of working with you regularly. The more reviews you create for their business, the more likely they are to leave a Google business review on your website.

Google Reviews Help In Building Credibility For Your Business

Good reviews are essential. However, the amount of Google reviews is likewise a significant google search ranking factor. It is something your audience and prospects will deem while assessing your business. However, remember that the amount of Google Reviews you require will differ based on your brand and competitive landscape. If your contenders have countless reviews, you should try to get more google reviews to match the numbers. You can avoid it if your reviews are more genuine, honest, and detailed.

7. Incorporate Google Review Opportunities In Surveys

Requesting your buyers and clients for feedback lets them realise that you respect their opinions and keep their preferences in mind. If you have somebody to fill out a survey or poll, they are in the right mood. Weigh if you can benefit from their impetus by requesting them to review your business on Google.

8. Run Google Review Email Campaigns

Email marketing is one of the practical ways to gain more additional Google business reviews, through personalised messages or a more extensive blanket campaign. It's also the best method to gain more conversions.

You will only have to be precise in your demand, avoid sugar-coating things, or force buyers to get google reviews. There’s nothing bad in requesting them to do something that may benefit other prospective shoppers to make good decisions.

Moreover, when you have satisfied consumers, you will be amazed at how keen they are to leave a review. As long as the approach is straightforward and you make it quick and manageable, you may receive courteous replies to your proposal.

9. Request Google Reviews In Person

Had a pleasing discussion with a buyer in your store? Or you finalised a stable support call in which the patron always felt thankful? During your dealings with clients, you can request Google reviews.

Given below are a few strategies and instances of requesting reviews:

“I’m so happy to know how satisfied you are with our company. Hey, if you want to express that in a Google review, you would be helping plenty of people like yourself who may discover us.”
“This feedback is awesome and valuable. You know what would be great if you just posted that feedback online for other consumers to read.”
Thank you so much for allowing us to assist you. If you wouldn’t mind sharing a word in a Google review, that would benefit us greatly.”

Last but not least, you have the small card with the link on it or a link back to your review page on your website, which should make it easy for them to do reviews.

10. Design “Leave Us A Review” Cards

It is an offline way of obtaining more additional Google reviews, for which your shortcut link will be helpful.

Keep physical cards designed in a way that states something to the result of:

“Review Us on Google! Your Google review enables others who require our services to discover our brand. Moreover, your feedback helps us to persist delivering you the most suitable aids. Take a minute to rate and review us at (insert link). Thank you!”

11. Add a Google Review CTA to your footer

Additionally, you may want to incorporate Google reviews into your website's footer in addition to having a separate Google reviews page. As a result, you will not have difficulty determining where the call-to-action should be placed.

The example below employs pictures; however, the anchor text will also be enough.

12. Highlight To Your Customers How Simple And Quick It Is

Long-term or ebullient customers might face difficulty filtering everything they liked about your brand in a single review. Plus, there will be those who face difficulty communicating what they have to say.

Thus, while you promote a review, it would be good to:

Inform them they can give a star rating without penning anything (if suitable).
Let them know if they do leave a review, it must be in just one or two sentences.
Employ language such as “drop a quick review” or “leave a review” rather than “write a review,” as it will look less clumsy.

You Can Also Make A Quick Video On How To Write Google Review

Even though you are using a shortcut link, some people may drop a quick review after understanding how it is done quickly. You can help your business by creating a short video showing how to leave a Google review.

Moreover, modern technology, DIY at-home marketing videos, and tools are a more straightforward and convenient option.

13. Incorporate Your Google Review Link With Your Email Signature

Including a Google review link to your email signature is an excellent alternative to request extra Google reviews without soliciting!

For example:

Have we assisted you? Assist others in discovering us by writing a Google Review!
Content with [Business Name]? Drop a review here.
Inform others about [Business Name].

It can be quite useful to speak to your clients daily via email.

Stay Cool If You Receive Bad Reviews!

Received a bad review? Don’t panic, nor give any justifications; simply bear the accountability and promise that you will fix the issue. Those unsatisfied Clients can actually turn a bad one-star review into 5-star and happy customers if you can keep your cool and be good and handle things appropriately. When your buyers notice that you watch and answer reviews, even unfavourable ones, they will deem you as a responsible business and pick your services even more.

Wrapping Up: Make Google Business Reviews Your Routine

Here's a fact: your potential customers rely on what other customers have to express. In short, customer experience and reviews matter. In actuality, numerous people believe that testimonials shared by random people are as trustworthy as individual suggestions.

You can utilise that for your own benefit.

Make a routine of requesting your buyers to review your business on Google. If you can simplify it, you will probably gain more additional Google business reviews displayed on your business listing, receiving all the ranking, prestige, and remuneration perks it delivers. And the bonus is you get loyal customers to buy from BuyReviewz.

Let's put it in a nutshell, look at some of the finest methods that can help business owners gain more Google reviews:

Design "leave us a review" cards
Request in person
Highlight how straightforward it is
Let your customers know how it can be done
Seek reviews through social media posts to create wider online presence and increase trust.
Incorporate the review link in your email signature
Reply to old and negative reviews
Make a brief and neat Google review link shortcut
Keep a reviews page on your website
Run Google review email campaigns
Incorporate review opportunities in surveys
Ensure your Google Business Profile is verified
Incorporate a Google review CTA in your footer
Request your social media friends and followers to review your business
Make an instruction video.
Last but not least, make review management a habit.

FAQs

Q1. How can I boost my Google reviews?

Ans. Motivate your customers to write reviews.

Request them for reviews after good interactions or through different marketing strategies.
Test the Marketing kit to create custom posters and social posts soliciting reviews.

Make a brief URL for your customers to leave a review using a one-click option.

Q2. Can we create fake Google reviews?

Ans. Reviews are the best way to create social proof. However, understand that anyone can create fake reviews from random Google accounts that go live in public immediately right after submission.

Moreover, since Google is a third-party review site, businesses won't be able to delete google reviews. They will have to go through Google's reviewal procedure to make a plea for the fake reviews.

Q3. Can I Purchase Fake Google reviews?

Ans. No, it's not permitted to purchase fake Google reviews. The FTC believes unknown paid endorsements are unlawful. If you are snagged purchasing fake reviews, you will be charged, and it's not beneficial either.

Q.4 What will happen if I gain more Google reviews instantly and does it withdraw reviews?

Ans. Yes, Google sometimes removes reviews, but not frequently. Dissimilar to Yelp, Google immediately recognizes that withdrawing a bunch of reviews might estrange their users and dissuade them from publishing more reviews.

Q.5 Do Google reviews affect businesses?

Ans. If many customers are pushed away by poor reviews, less money will be generated. Based on an analysis by Womply Research, small businesses that have a one-star to 1.5-star rating make 33% less than intermediate businesses.

Q.6 Can I purchase positive reviews?

Ans. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act was made to safeguard customers and penalise those who desire to purchase positive Google reviews or phoney reviews. If you get detected employing fake or bought reviews, you will undergo the outcomes from the FTC.