12 Easy Ways to Score More Google Reviews!

Alright, my tech-savvy friends! 🎉 Let’s spill some tea! What your clients are saying about your business is way more crucial than what you’re bragging about, no matter how awesome your services are or how snazzy your website copy is! Given the weight consumers put on customer reviews, Google is all ears and includes them in its local ranking algorithm. It’s not just about the quantity but the quality of these reviews!

Google reviews are your new besties! They not only shape your reputation but also your ranking. In this piece, we’re diving into 12 actionable steps to ensure a constant flow of positive vibes and reviews on Google about your business or services. Here, you’ll find:

• The impact and significance of Google reviews
• Top-notch and effective ways to score more Google reviews
• Real-life examples of these strategies

So, if you’re ready to jazz up your reputation and ranking, keep scrolling! 🚀

Benefits of More Google Business Reviews

Google reviews can be a breeze, and the benefits are everlasting! The more peeps drop a review about your business on Google, the more you can achieve in terms of business goals. If you haven’t been focusing on Google reviews, it’s high time to prioritize them in your local marketing strategy. Here are some facts and stats to back this up:

• More Reviews, More Leads: Did you know 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations? Generating reviews increases the likelihood of Google showing interest in your business after finding it.
• More Positive Reviews, More Sales: Customers read reviews before making a purchase decision. In fact, they read at least 10 reviews before feeling confident in making a decision. The more customer reviews you have on Google, the more likely a new customer will choose your services.
• Better Reviews, Higher Ranking: Google rewards businesses with frequent and positive reviews. They are definitely a local SEO ranking factor, confirmed by Google itself.

How to Start Collecting Google Reviews?

To get Google reviews, some conditions must be met:

1. Know the rules for collecting Google reviews – in short, you can’t offer any rewards for leaving a review. Read more about Google rules;
2. Your business must be a “Place” on Google Maps – this way, you’ll get a Google business profile where customers can add reviews;
3. You need to verify your Google business profile – creating a “Place” on Google Maps doesn’t give you control over it. You need to create a Google My Business account and verify ownership of your business profile using this account.

Read more how to create your Place on Google Maps here

The above steps are key to managing the influx of reviews you’ll receive after implementing the sample tactics outlined in this article.

How to Score More Google Reviews?

Alright, now that you know the impact of Google reviews on your reputation and ranking and have a verified business profile, it’s time to get more reviews. The following 12 steps will help you do just that.

1. Basic Steps

Writing a Google review takes about a minute for a customer. Easy enough, right? But to do it, the customer must:

• Open Google Maps
• Find your business
• Click on it to display the profile
• Scroll down to the review section
• Click “write a review”

So, it won’t be a quick process when your client asks how they can leave you a review, and you tell them the above 5 steps. Instead, it would be better to say, “Hop onto my website. There’s a button in the footer to leave a review about my business on Google.”

2. Create a Google Review Link

Making it easy for customers to leave a Google review is fundamental. To do this, you need to start by obtaining a Google review link. This link can be placed on your website as a button or hyperlink in the text.

After you click a button Share review form (3) you will see a pop up with your direct link to Leave a review.

Copy that link.

3. Shorten the Google Link

The link to the review can be used to place it on the website as a button or hyperlink in the text. However, the link that Google generated will be an eyesore. So, use a free tool to shorten links, like bitly.com.

4. Link to Google Reviews on Your Website

If a client wants to leave a review about your business, the first place they will look is your website. Provide a clear and clutter-free call to action that is intuitively easy to find.

5. Create a Google Review Page on Your Website

Dedicate an entire page to Google reviews available from the main menu. This page should contain both a call to write a review and existing reviews.

For example, on the WordPress hosting website I use the WP Social Ninja plugin. It works great and has a lot of options that will allow you to aggregate opinions from various sources, not only Google.

WP Social Ninja – Social Feeds, Reviews, & Chat Widgets (Google Reviews, Facebook Feeds, Instagram Feeds, & More)

6. Place a Google Review Link in the Footer

In addition to or instead of having a dedicated page for Google reviews, you can also place it in the website footer.

7. Create “Write a Review” Cards

This works well for brick-and-mortar businesses where customers visit the place or for online stores. These cards can be attached to the bill in a restaurant or to the order from an online store.

8. Emphasize How Quick and Easy It Is

You already know how easy it is to leave a review on Google, but your customers may not know. Encourage reviews by telling them they can rate with stars without writing anything.

9. Ask for Reviews on Social Media

Social media platforms are great for conversational marketing. Publish a screenshot of your best review and ask customers to leave their own reviews.

10. Get Google Reviews from Partners and Suppliers

They may not be customers, but they can attest to what regular cooperation with you looks like. They may also be more willing to leave a business review on Google if you first write one for their company.

11. Respond to Received Google Reviews

Responding to customer reviews on Google informs new potential reviewers that you listen to customer opinions and that it is worth their time to write their own review.

• Positive feedback – specific, timely and grateful responses to positive reviews will result in more positive reviews
• Negative Feedback – responding to negative reviews promptly and politely and actually resolving the issue can often result in turning a negative review into a positive one

12. Include a Google Review Link in Email Signature

Adding a link to your company’s Google reviews in your email signature is a great way to ask for more Google reviews without asking!

This method will be especially useful if you communicate with customers via email on a daily basis. Especially when it comes to consumer support.

Will this work for everyone? Maybe yes. It wouldn’t hurt to add a short line of text to the email footer like “Share your opinion about [company name] with others” (of course, this line is a link to the opinion on Google)

Make Google Business Reviews a Habit

The fact is, consumers trust what other consumers have to say. Many people believe that reviews posted by strangers are as credible as personal recommendations. Use this to your advantage. Make it a habit to ask customers to review your business on Google. As long as you make it as simple as possible, you’ll likely have more Google business reviews displayed on your business card. More reviews mean you’ll reap the benefits of ranking, reputation, and revenue that the “Google business card” has to offer.

To Sum Up

• Verify your business on Google
• Tell customers how to leave a review
• Create a simple link to Google reviews
• Place the review link on your website
• Create a review page
• Add the review link to the website footer
• Print “write a review” cards
• Emphasize the ease of writing a review
• Leverage social media
• Get reviews from partners, suppliers, and social media followers
• Respond to reviews
• Add a Google review link to emails

So, let’s get those reviews rolling and let the world know how