Getting reviews on Google is a very important part of your SEO strategy and to get more sales, so if you are wondering how to get reviews on Google, this post is for you because we are going to give you the best tips to get positive reviews, plus we are going to teach you why they are important.
Having positive reviews on the Internet is an excellent way to gain the trust of your visitors. In this blog we have always emphasized the value of comments and reviews from your audience, so in this post we want to teach you how to get these comments in a place outside your website.. Today we will learn how to have positive comments on Google.
What are Google reviews and why are they so important?
It is natural for us to rely more on the opinion of a community or others to help form our criteria or make a decision. Google is well aware of this and that’s why for several years now it has included external reviews in your Google My Business profile.
In a few words, the Google reviews we are referring to are the ones that appear when we search for a business along with the general information about it, these same reviews are the ones that appear in the Google Maps results. Surely, as a user you already know them and you know that even physical businesses that do not have a website can enjoy this benefit.
Internet consumers value Internet reviews as much as recommendations from friends and acquaintances, we could say that they are the word of mouth of this century. In fact, 90% of users say they read reviews before subscribing to a website or before buying a product or service. So, they can help you convert Google searches into sales.
Another important aspect about the reviews, and that sometimes we forget, is that they are an excellent opportunity to know the image that customers have of you. It is also a good option as a customer service channel, so you can solve some questions or correct errors and problems that they detect.
Another of the great advantages of positive reviews in Google is that they help in the positioning with the algorithm, remember that it gives a better positioning to the pages that offer an excellent user experience and this rule extends to Google My Business profiles, in other words Google prioritizes businesses with better references in a local search.
Now that you know the importance and all that Google reviews can do for your business, you will surely wonder what you have to do to make your customers’ reviews appear on Google, so here are some tips for you.
1. Create your profile on Google My Business
It seems obvious but many do not have it very clear, for your business to appear in local search results on Google Maps you must have a profile on Google My Business, Google’s free tool to manage the online presence of businesses. We had already made a more complete tutorial to register and set up your account on this platform, but here is a quick guide.
To register your account you just have to go to the Google My Business registration page. Then you have to detail specific data about your business, pay special attention when you describe your “Business category”, so that Google can recommend you in more detail and to a more specific sector.
To verify your account you have to wait for the verification code to arrive by conventional mail a few days after registration. Once verified you can add your business listing data such as:
- Closing and opening hours
- Logo or profile picture
- Pictures and videos of your store, products and equipment (remember to upload them with your business name as the file name to help you with SEO)
- General information about your business
The best thing about this tool is that once you have enabled your profile, customers and visitors will be able to rate you by giving you up to 5 stars and leave their comments.
2. Ask for reviews
Asking for reviews is one of the simplest, but sometimes forgotten, ways to get feedback. To do this there are several strategies, the easiest one is that if you are already in contact with the customer through email you can ask them to write a review after a purchase is finalized. Remember to add the link to your My Business profile so that the customer can write a review without further complications, following the link in the email. To motivate frequent customers who have not left a review you can offer them a coupon or discount for leaving a review or a certain number of reviews.
If you do not have a website and only have a physical business you can also ask for recommendations, for this place a QR Code in a visible place of your local or locals, plus a striking and friendly invitation to leave a comment on Google. Another excellent strategy is that after the purchase you deliver a thank you card and in it you publish your profile for them to leave their opinions. Remember that even physical businesses benefit from positive reviews on Google.
3. Offer free samples
Another great way to create buzz about your products, especially those you are about to launch, is to offer a free sample of the product in question and then ask them to write the review on your profile. This is especially useful if you offer it to frequent customers because in addition to introducing your product to potential buyers you will have real opinions about how it works or how much they like it.
4. Take your collaborators into account
Having reviews from your customers is ideal, but it can also be very helpful to have reviews written by your collaborators or workers. They don’t have to lie or pretend to be customers to give their opinion about what you sell or offer; they can simply comment on the work environment or the conditions of the company, for example if it is a restaurant or grocery store they can write about the hygiene and sanitation conditions.
So, ask your workers or collaborators to write recommendations of your business that are also well valued by users and by Google itself.
5. Pay attention to all comments
Undoubtedly the most important advice we can give you is to pay attention to all the reviews. With positive comments you can generate feedback, with a simple message of thanks to customers, this is also highly valued by them, because you show them that you are attentive to their opinions.
Having negative comments makes us a little scared and our first instinct is to delete them, but the best thing is not to delete them, see them as an opportunity to improve, try to get in touch with dissatisfied customers to see how you can improve their experience or correct any errors they are detecting.
Keep an open and constant communication with the customer is a fundamental part to gain their trust, so the more satisfied customers the more positive reviews on your profile.
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6. Do not buy reviews
The last tip we want to give you is not to buy reviews. Many businesses by the need to have comments decide to buy reviews or publish them from alternate accounts or acquaintances, however this practice can be contradictory and it is best to avoid it, because for many users it is very easy to recognize fake reviews with very similar wording and this, ultimately, gives you a very bad image. So, the best thing to do is always opt for getting reviews organically.
It seems a difficult task, but putting these tips into practice will help you to increase your reviews, however you should not forget that behind a good review there is an excellent service and great customer service, so you should never neglect to put your customer at the center of your company. Let us know if you know another strategy to get more reviews on Google.
