Even the smallest local business can have the biggest impact. That’s why it’s important to find new and creative ways to reach potential customers. One of the easiest ways to do this is by enabling your Google My Business page and encouraging customers to leave you reviews.
Google reviews are an essential part of growing your business with Google My Business. They give potential customers insight into what other people think about your business before they visit.
In this blog post, we’ll explain why a strong Google review presence is so important, explore how you can encourage customers to leave you reviews on Google, and share some tips for increasing the number of positive reviews you receive.
What Is A Google Review?
A Google review is an online review left by a customer who has used your business. They can be positive or negative, and they’re published on your business’s Google My Business page.
To leave a review, customers need to log into their Google account and go to your business’ page, then click “Write a review”. From there, they can choose from 1 to 5 stars and write a text-based review of your business. Customers can also upload photos, but this feature is not available to all companies.
If a customer leaves a 1-star review, Google will hide that review from the public. You may still see it on your My Business dashboard, but it won’t show up when people are searching for your business online. Google will only hide 1-star reviews if they include hate speech or threats, or violate copyright laws.
How Google Review Works
As customers leave reviews for your business, Google will use their language to create a summary of their review. That summary will then show up in search results whenever someone is looking for your business.
If a customer has a positive review to leave, it will show up as a “verified review” on the first page of Google search results. If the review includes a photo, it will show a “thumbs-up” icon.
If a customer leaves a negative review, it will show up below the summary as “Unsatisfied customers”.
Why Google Reviews Matter
Google reviews are one of the most critical factors in improving your overall SEO rank. According to a study by BrightLocal and BuzzMyVideos, businesses with a 4.5-star rating have a 35% higher click-through rate than those with a 3-star rating.
If you have a strong presence of positive reviews on your Google My Business page, you can use that to your advantage. You can show Google that your business has a positive reputation by including those reviews on your GMB page. That may help you stand out from your competition and get more clicks.
How Google Reviews Help Grow Your Business
In addition to improving your SEO, Google reviews are also an opportunity to engage with your customers and build your brand. You can reply to positive reviews to thank the reviewer for their feedback and build customer loyalty by offering coupons or discounts.
5 Ways How Google Reviews Help Grow Your Business
Strengthen Your Brand Presence
A strong brand presence is essential to growing any business. However, it can be difficult to build brand awareness when you’re selling a product or service in a very specific industry. That’s why it’s important to find ways to reach customers outside of your industry and show them who you are.
Customers who are unfamiliar with your brand are unlikely to purchase unless they see some value in it. Brand awareness helps them see the value in your product or service. One of the easiest ways to build brand awareness is by encouraging customers to leave Google reviews for your products and services.
You can do this by including a Google review button on your website and in your physical store.
Increase Trust
Google reviews are also a great way to increase trust and show customers you’re committed to providing excellent customer service. Google reviews are most effective when they’re honest and balanced. Encouraging your customers to leave reviews can help you create a pattern of trust with customers who have bought your product or used your service in the past.
When customers see that their peers have had a positive experience, they begin to trust your brand more. This is especially important for businesses in highly competitive industries like law and medicine where customers often have no idea which company to choose. By encouraging customers to leave Google reviews, you’re making it clear that you value customer feedback.
You’re also showing that you want to provide exceptional customer service and help your customers succeed. This can help establish trust with potential customers who are deciding whether or not to do business with you.
Increase Traffic
Strong Google reviews can also help boost the number of customers who visit your website. Google My Business allows you to display your Google reviews on your website. When customers see that many other people have already done business with you and have had a positive experience, they’re more likely to visit your website and make a purchase.
One study has shown that more than half of consumers who visit a business’ website leave without purchasing something. Having positive reviews on your website can help reduce the number of people who leave without making a purchase. It can also help you rank higher in Google searches.
Receive More Calls And Emails
In addition to increasing the number of customers who visit your website, strong Google reviews can also help you receive more phone calls and emails from potential customers. When customers see positive reviews on your website, they’re more likely to call or email you to place an order.
Having your reviews directly on your website can increase the number of calls and emails you receive by 33%. This can help you increase sales, decrease your costs, and make more money.
Reduce Costs
Strong Google reviews can also help reduce your costs by reducing the number of returns you receive. Customers who are happy with their purchase are less likely to return the product. At the same time, customers who are happy with their purchase are more likely to recommend your product or service to others.
This can help you increase sales and reduce the number of returns you receive from unhappy customers. Having positive reviews on your website can help you reduce the number of returns you receive by 24%.
Strong Google reviews can also help reduce costs by attracting more customers to your website. More visitors can help you make more sales, which can reduce the amount of money you spend on marketing.
Improve Customer Retention
Finally, strong Google reviews can help improve customer retention by increasing the number of customers who come back to do business with you again. When customers are happy with their purchase, they’re more likely to come back to you for more products or services.
Having positive reviews on your website can help improve customer retention by 16%. This is especially important for businesses that offer recurring subscriptions. Customers who are happy with what you offer are more likely to keep paying you each month. Strong Google reviews can also help increase customer retention by reducing the number of complaints you receive.
Customers who are unhappy with their purchase are more likely to contact you to express their discontent. Strong Google reviews can help reduce the number of complaints you receive by 27%.
5 Tips To Get Customers To Leave You Reviews
There are a few things you can do to encourage customers to leave you reviews. Here are our top five tips for getting more reviews:
Ask
Customers are likely to leave a review after a positive experience at your business, but you may have to ask them to do it. You don’t want customers to leave without realizing the impact their review can have on your business, so make sure to ask at the right time and in the right way.
Encourage
You can encourage customers to leave a review by letting them know exactly where and how to do so. You can do this in your customer service emails or by posting information in your physical store.
Make It Easy
It’s important to make it as easy as possible for customers to leave a review. You can make this even easier by including a QR code that links straight to your Google My Business listing on your receipts and printed materials like menus.
Create a Sense of Urgency
If you want to get reviews as quickly as possible, you need to create a sense of urgency. You can do this by offering a special promotion or discount that’s only available to people who leave a review on Google.
Offer Rewards
Another way to encourage customers to leave reviews is by offering rewards in exchange for reviews. One company, Review Revue, offers a reward of $10 in Google AdWords credit for every review you receive.
3 Reasons Why Google Reviews Aren’t Always Trustworthy
Ratings Are Changing
Rating systems are constantly changing. Reviews that receive a high rating one day might receive a low rating the next. Ratings are also influenced by Google’s algorithm and their secret algorithm changes all the time.
Reviewers Can Be Paid
Third-party companies can pay customers to leave positive reviews. This means that reviews that seem positive may not be as genuine as they appear.
Reviewers Can Be Biased
Reviews can also be biased because the person writing the review was unhappy. They could leave a negative review just because they were in a bad mood.
Bottom line
Google reviews are an essential part of growing your business with Google My Business. If you have a strong presence of positive reviews on your GMB page, you can use them to your advantage by showing Google that your business has a positive reputation.
You can encourage customers to leave reviews by thanking them for their feedback and incentivizing them with discounts. You can also use these tips to ensure you’re receiving legitimate reviews that will help you grow your business.
When someone sees positive reviews, they’re more likely to visit your business. When someone sees negative reviews, they may avoid your business. But the most important thing is that when customers leave reviews for Google, it’s important to respond to them and thank them for their feedback.
Articles You Might Want To Read:
The Different Types Of Online Reviews And How They Can Affect Your Business
Do Consumers Really Use Reviews? Here’s What You Need to Know!
5 Tips To Help You Get More Online Reviews For Your Business
