5 Tactics to Increase Your Google Business Reviews

As the buyer experience has evolved over the years, customers trust ads less and less—unless those ads are backed by social proof. That is, real customer reviews.

Reviews have become more important than ever, as 98% of consumers believe reviews are essential to making purchasing decisions.

In addition:

• According to Statista, 53% of consumers cite product ratings and reviews as the most important factor when online shopping.
• Businesses with a 4-4.5 star rating see an additional 28% annual revenue. 
• Customers expect 112 reviews to confirm the authenticity of a rating.

For businesses, Google reviews are a huge priority, as Google holds 73% of all online reviews and 64% of consumers check reviews on Google before visiting a business. 

Google reviews are also vital for searchability. With the popularity of Google and Google Maps, your business must be easy to find and well-rated in order to appeal to more customers. 

Reviews can help with search engine optimization (SEO) by including keywords that customers may be searching for related to your product or service.

Research also shows that even an increase of 1 to 8 reviews can lead to significant improvements in conversion rates. 

How to get more Google Business reviews

While Google reviews help customers easily find your business, they also help you build up your brand reputation. A long list of great reviews represents proof that you deliver excellent customer experiences and service.

Here are 5 proven strategies to increase your Google Business reviews:

Ask customers to leave a Google review

This tip might seem obvious, but it can’t be understated. Ask and you shall receive!

70% of customers will leave a review if asked. 

Research shows that businesses that proactively ask for reviews have a higher average rating than those who do not. 

While working with a customer, or after they’ve had a great experience with your business, ask them to leave a review. 

It’s best to ask questions first to help address any issues before they go to write a review. 

For example, ask how their experience was, if they have feedback, or if your company met expectations. If they have any complaints, be sure to address them first. 

When asking, include how to leave a review and give them the link to your Google profile.

Also, if you provide customer follow-up, this is also a great time to ask for a review.

• If calling a customer, be sure to ask for feedback just as you would in person.
• If sending a quick email or text, you can thank the customer and prompt them to leave a review at your link. 

Share your Google reviews link

Let your customers know that you want their feedback! 

Here are a few ways to share your Google Business reviews link:

• Create a QR code

A QR code makes it easy for you to share your Google review link everywhere, and makes it easy for customers to use it. 

You’ll find many free QR code generators with a quick Google search—all you’ll need is your Google review link. Once you’ve created the code, you can display it in your storefront or office, and/or put it on print materials.

• Share in your communications

If you often communicate with customers via email or text, be sure to share your Google reviews link there. You can even add the link to your email signature.

• Share on social media

It’s also a good idea to get your social media following engaged with your Google reviews by sharing the link as well as shouting out people who have left glowing reviews.

• Share on your website

Lastly, you can embed your Google reviews link on your website. The footer is a great place for this. 

If you already have a review presence going, consider devoting a full page to reviews. This is a great way to provide social proof to your website visitors.

Respond to Google reviews

53% of customers expect a response to their review within a week. However, 75% of businesses don’t respond to their online reviews.

Customers always want to be heard; and they want to know that their feedback is valued by your business.

Not only are responses expected, they can also help improve your brand’s image. When you respond, it shows everyone reading the review that you do care about your customers and their feedback.

A study by ReviewTrackers also showed that businesses who respond quicker to reviews tend to get higher ratings overall. 

Deliver a great customer experience

The best and most effective way to get more Google reviews is to impress your customers—or at least meet their expectations.

Be sure you are providing excellent customer service, quality product or service, and a great experience overall. If you see a customer that is not satisfied, address it right away. 

Never incentivize Google reviews

It’s in violation of Google’s policy and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to buy or incentivize Google reviews. 

Not only can this result in fines, it can also lead to your Google business profile being shut down. Not to mention, this can certainly erode customer trust in your business.

Stick to the methods listed above, and stay away from incentivizing reviews.

Automate the Google review process

Want to get more genuine reviews without any effort?

At Verse, we help companies automate SMS, including review campaigns. 

We identify satisfied customers through their activity and feedback, and then send an SMS prompting them to leave a review. 

Our review campaigns are highly-customizable in terms of message content, campaign run time, and review platform.

With our review campaigns, we helped Maverick Windows gain over 300 reviews and become one of the most prominent replacement window companies in Texas.

At our core, we are a fully-managed, AI-enabled SMS platform that handles texting your leads and prospects for you—so you can focus on delivering a five-star ⭐️ customer experience.