How To Get More Google Reviews

Whether you operate a brick-or-mortar business or an eCommerce store, I think we agree that sales achieved through word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. New customers will listen, look for information, and eventually hop onboard when you have people raving about your products or services.

Word-of-mouth marketing essentially translates to online reviews in the digital world, which is critical to boosting sales and revenue.

In fact, more than 80% of consumers trust online reviews more than peer recommendations. Moreover, 9 out of 10 people will engage in a brand that responds to online reviews, implying the relationship between reviewers and businesses.

Earning tons of high-quality Google reviews is vital to your business’s success. This post will discuss how you can get more customer reviews in 2023 and start a feedback loop of sales and positive reviews.

Get More Google Reviews By Asking Your Customers Directly

The most proactive way of earning Google reviews is asking your customers at the right time.

Ask them to fill out a quick survey or review form after they reach the end of your blog post, check out their cart, or finish a conversation with your customer service representatives.

In other words, if you just helped make a customer’s day, they will gladly leave a review if you ask them.

Customise a Google Review Link For Your Customers

By directly adding a Google review link to your site, you’re creating a smooth and seamless user experience where people can engage with your page and give feedback without leaving. 

A custom link appears as a simple pop-up box that lets visitors leave a review without logging in or clicking through questions or obstacles.

To customise a Google review link:

• Locate your business and place ID on Google’s Maps Guide page.

• Copy your Google Maps Place ID. It should look like a string of alphanumeric characters, which Google uses to distinguish your place from others.

• Paste your business’s Place ID in this custom URL:
  http://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<YOUR PLACE ID>

Use a Google Review QR Code Generator 

Another alternative to providing ease of access for your customers to leave a Google review is to provide your customers with a QR code.

QR codes have risen the popularity, with many businesses adopting them for their convenience for mobile users. 

Many online QR code generators enable you to generate a QR code you can provide to your customers to quickly access your Google Business Profile and leave a review. 

Remember, the key to getting more Google reviews is to make the process as easy and frictionless as possible for your customers!

Actively Respond to Google Reviews

People will trust a business that quickly responds to Google reviews, especially if each reply is bespoke and taken to be genuinely sincere. 

If you reply to good and bad reviews with the same promptness and respect, you’re building confidence in your brand, even if some customers had a previous negative experience.

Furthermore, you can keep disappointed consumers from switching to your competitors just by responding to their reviews with an apology and resolving the complaint privately.

Resist from Responding Negatively to Google Reviews

When dealing with negative reviews, you must avoid:

• Responding negatively to a bad customer review
• Review-gating or curating only five-star reviews

Google frowns upon review-gating as this unethical practice manipulates reviews and may risk Google removing all reviews on your listing.

Review-gating is a deceptive tactic where a website asks users about their browsing or shopping experience.

If a user ticks the positive button, they are then asked to leave a Google review which is published publicly. However, ticking the negative button will redirect them to a private website review without impacting Google’s review star ratings.

It’s important to note that responding to one-star reviews respectfully and providing a reasonable resolution will boost your brand’s image and display excellent customer service. 

Getting more Google reviews means accepting good and bad reviews and turning each review into a win-win situation.

Getting Feedback Through Email

Email campaigns are great for helping customers complete their buying journey. That includes product recommendations, newsletters, cart reminders, and asking for their feedback. Additionally, we recommend using an email verifier to ensure clean and accurate contact lists; this can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

Executing an effective email marketing campaign shows your customers how much you value their satisfaction and your brand. Explain how their product and experience feedback helps your business, and include a Google review link to wrap up your message.

Additionally, always take your time before replying to emails. If you are in a confrontation with a customer, consult with your team members to send a response that can shift the argument into a win-win situation.

Include Leave-Behinds and Freebies For New Google Reviews

Leave-behinds are excellent marketing/promotional items such as pens, gift cards, or cups with your company logo and contact details. You can even include documentation slips with tips on how customers can make the most of their products.

Product freebies such as fridge magnets, keychains, and bottle openers are excellent in reminding customers about your brand. You can get more Google My Business reviews by complementing your Google review request with a leave-behind.

Request For a Google Review More Than Once

There is a fine line between reminding your customers to leave a review when it’s convenient and outright annoying them. Sending emails and calling several times daily to ask for feedback may lead to a terrible one-star review.

We recommend sending a feedback reminder one to three days after they complete a transaction and sending weekly reminders for up to three requests only. Anywhere above that frequency may irritate most customers and ruin your hard-earned customer satisfaction.

Focus on improving your email engagement strategy through a data-driven approach to finding the sweet spot of frequency and number of requests leading to a great user experience.

Automate Google Review Generation

Many excellent Google review generation platforms automatically ask your customers to leave a review. Some of them include NiceJob, Broadly, BirdEye, and Nearby Now.

By using review generation platforms, you don’t have to ask each customer to provide feedback. Without automating the process, you’ll miss out on late-night and weekend transactions – which typically take a significant portion of your sales and engagements.

Regardless of your business scale, operations, products, or niche, automating the review process takes massive work off your shoulders. Partner with an SEO agency that offers online reputation management and you will have more time to focus on growing your business.

Besides, you can also customise review generation tools to notify you of negative feedback, so you can take action and discuss with your team as soon as a bad review appears.

Exhibit Outstanding Customer Service To Increase Chances of Getting More Google Reviews

If you want to get as many Google reviews as possible, you need to provide something that lasts for your customers. Aside from the product itself, we’re talking about customer service.

Here’s how you can ramp up customer service and encourage customers to leave a review:

• Minimise customer hold times between contacting your business and getting a response from your representatives.

• Attention to detail is crucial for your customer service representatives in listening to complaints and providing effective solutions.

• Keep a professional yet friendly tone so your customers feel a human and natural interaction.

• Educate and train your customer representatives to resolve technical issues, significantly cutting resolution time, and encourage consumers to leave a review.

Make it Easy for Consumers to Leave a Google Review

Regardless of your method to acquire Google reviews, the end goal is to establish positive customer experiences and make it convenient for your customers to provide feedback. Logging in and navigating through pages is pestering enough for users who want to give short feedback.

Remember that your customers are busy people giving you a favour by leaving a review, so keep the experience seamless and simple. You can get tons of Google reviews in a day if users can complete the endeavour within a few minutes.

If you want to know how to make the most of Google reviews and ultimately have them contribute to boosting your website’s SEO, contact our SEO experts today!