You probably already know this, but Google reviews are pretty important if you’ve got your business online.
The vast majority of consumers trust online reviews, just as much as real life personal recommendations, and 90% of customers read views online before they visit a business.
Obviously, this means that you need to be able to come up with the right growth strategy for your brand, so that you can receive Google reviews from legitimate people, who actually care about your company, and actually want to give you good feedback, so that you can grow even more.
In this article, we are going to discuss how to get more reviews on Google, so that you can make the process effortless, and eventually at some point, you won’t even have to think about it.
1. Make the Most of a Third Party
One of the most straightforward ways to get more Google reviews without having to convince people to do it, because this isn’t really the best way to approach things, is to make the most of a third party.
Our best recommendation when it comes to using a third party as UseViral.
UseViral has a long list of accolades under their belt, which is why you can trust them with your business, and you can do so for a long time.
There are a lot of companies out there that are going to push their engagement on you, only to disappear once you have paid for their services. Not UseViral.
Not only are they going to be able to help you buy Google reviews that are going to be customized, and tailored to your brand’s needs, but they are going to deliver them in a timely manner.
They’re going to opt for a gradual delivery, so that instead of getting all of your Google reviews at once, you are going to get them over the course of a few days.
This way, you are able to make sure that your Google reviews look as natural and authentic as possible.
They have a range of options to choose from including Female reviews, Male reviews and Negative reviews.
With customer support that is unbeatable, and pricing that is incredibly affordable, these guys are definitely your best option.
2. Ask Clients for a Google Review
A slightly less ideal way to get more Google reviews, but one of the easiest ways is to ask your clients for feedback, as far as your product or service goes.
This is one of the most effective ways to make sure that your clients are satisfied, so that you can successfully build your reputation online.
If you are talking with a client on the phone, perhaps remind them that you are on Google, and you appreciate their feedback, if they have the time to leave it.
This isn’t going to work with all customers, but it’s worth a go, especially since you’ve got nothing to lose.
When your clients have a good experience with your product or service, they will be more than willing to leave a good review about it.
3. Send out a Follow-Up Email
One of the best ways to ensure that you’re going to be able to get more Google reviews for your brand online is to send a follow up e-mail.
E-mail is a powerful tool when it comes to connecting with your clients, and making sure that they are plugged into your business for the foreseeable future.
Once you have helped a client out successfully, and they have had a good experience with you, make sure to follow up with them through e-mail, and remind them that you are on Google, and you appreciate their feedback.
You need to make sure the e-mail is personable, and you also need to make sure that you thank your client for choosing your business.
Tell them that you appreciate and read all feedback both positive and negative and explain to your client why feedback is really important.
Lastly, you will need to include a direct link, so that they can easily leave a Google review, without having to do too much of the work on their end.
The more work they have to do, the less likely they are to want to leave your Google review.
4. Leave a Leave-Behind
if you’re not sure what a leave behind is, this is a piece of marketing collateral, that you can leave at the property of your customer. Of course, this is only going to be relevant if you are a local service company.
For example, if you are a builder, and you have just installed a new roof for a client, then you might want to leave a folder with them, that includes your business card, a feedback card, as well as a phone number, in case they have any questions about the service.
When it comes to the review and feedback card, you will not need to make sure that you leave detailed instructions on how they can leave a review. Remember, if it’s too complicated, the client is a lot less likely to do so, unless they’ve had a fantastic experience with you.
If you’re somebody who doesn’t have the time to print out thousands of leave behinds to leave wherever you go, then you can also create a digital version as well.
5. Include a Review Link on Your Website
Another incredibly easy way to get more Google reviews is to leave a link on your website, which makes it incredibly easy for people who visit your website and who have used your brand already to leave a positive review.
A custom Google review link is a custom link that you can create, where your clients are easily going to be able to leave a review.
When somebody selects your custom Google review link, a box is going to pop up, and they’re going to be able to quickly leave their message, and go on about their day.
Again, convenience is key here, so the more convenient you make this process, the more likely people are to leave a review of your business.
6. Follow up More Than Once
Another way to ensure that you get more Google reviews is to be proactive about asking for them.
We’ve talked about how you can e-mail an existing client, and ask them if they would be willing to leave you a positive review, but you can’t just leave things there.
You’ve got to follow up with them again, in case they have forgotten about leaving you a review or got distracted with something else. Just because the client doesn’t immediately respond to your request to leave a review, doesn’t mean that they are never going to leave you one.
Maybe you caught them at a bad time or maybe they forgot. The general rule of thumb is to send two follow-up emails around your feedback request, to jog your client’s memory, and to encourage them to leave that feedback.
As far as timing goes, we recommend that you send a follow up e-mail once a week, until you have done this three times. Any more than this and it is going to be annoying, and your client is going to be put off the idea of leaving feedback.
7. Be Pragmatic About Bad Reviews
Of course, nobody wants negative feedback when it comes to their brand, but the reality is that you can’t be a brand online, and not receive a few negative reviews.
In fact, this is completely normal, and it’s not necessarily a
bout the fact that you have received bad reviews, it’s more about how you respond to them.
The last thing that you want to do when cleaning up the mess of a bad Google review is to be on the defense and deliver excuses that justify the experience that your client has had.
The best way to go about receiving a bad review is to accept accountability and responsibility, and promise that you are going to correct the issue.
This is your best chance of turning that negative review into a positive review.
Also, when other customers see that you stay on top of and respond to negative reviews, they are much more likely to see you as a company that is prepared to take accountability, and as a result, they will choose you to work with.
The more accountable you can be with those negative reviews, the more likely you are to receive positive ones.
8. Respond to Good Reviews
We’ve talked about how important it is to be accountable to those clients that have posted a negative review of your business on Google, but you’ve also got to think about how you’re going to respond to the good ones as well.
You might think that there’s nothing you need to do when somebody has left a good review, but the reality is that the more you interact with your clientele, the more likely people are going to trust you as a company.
They’re going to see you as trustworthy transparent and accountable, and they are going to see the effort that you put in, both with positive and negative reviews. It is important to always respond to online reviews whether they are positive or negative.
If somebody has left a positive review of your business, remember to thank them. People are going to receive your response to their review, and they will feel like you are able to offer a much more personable experience than other companies out there.
9. Provide Good Customer Support
It doesn’t matter how many good reviews you get on Google, a lot of the time, it’s only the bad reviews that get the press.
To try and combat this issue, there are a lot of companies out there that focus on the level of customer service that they are able to provide their clients.
One of the easiest ways to get good Google reviews is to offer really good customer support, to every client that you interact with.
If a client has an excellent experience with your company and is so impressed that they need to tell somebody else, then they are much more likely to leave a good review, and you’re much more likely to receive an influx of clientele.
The reality is that you can’t just sit back and wait for people to say good things about your brand, you’ve got to prove to potential clients and existing clients that your brand is worth saying good things about, and the positive reviews will follow.
Finally..
When thinking about how to get more Google reviews for your brand online, it is really important that you take a holistic approach and think about it from all different kinds of angles.
Yes, you could focus just on responding to negative reviews, but if you don’t take into account the fact that people like to hear a response on positive reviews as well, you are missing an opportunity to connect with more of your clientele, and encourage more people to use your product or service.
The more ways you approach this part of your business being online, the more likely you are to receive good feedback from your clients. Also, if you have a really tight schedule, and you’re putting all of your time and effort into your business right now, then you might want to consider using a third party like UseViral to help with your Google reviews.
This way, you don’t even have to think about them, and this can take a little bit of the pressure off trying to build a really good image through Google reviews.