Let’s have a chat about your Google reviews, why they’re so brilliant for local SEO (increasing your visibility and attracting new customers) and how you can start collecting them. We’ll also unpack some common issues our clients face when collecting reviews.

Why are Google Reviews Vital for Marketing?

Google reviews are the #1 underutilised marketing resource for your business’s local SEO.

Let me explain why.

Google Business Profiles is a free tool that lets you list your business in local search results. These are the ones that usually appear under the title ‘Businesses’ above the Google search results. (Sometimes there are ads that appear first, though.)

For example, in the screenshot below, the user searched for “Adelaide Car Locksmith,” and these businesses appeared before the rest of the organic search results.

Notice how the businesses with the most reviews appear in the top 2 spots? That’s not by chance. The number of reviews is a ranking factor, and ranking factors increase (but don’t guarantee) the chances of your profile becoming more visible.

And the more visible you are, the more new customers you can reach.

This is why getting reviews is one of the best ways for your business to reach more people without spending valuable money on SEO or Google Ads campaigns. Although it must be said that this task works very well as part of a broader marketing campaign.

Why Businesses Don’t Get More Reviews

I often talk to my business owner clients about the importance of reviews. Because again, it’s one of the most effective ways to increase your business’s visibility and attract new customers without spending a single cent.

The conversation tends to go in one of the following ways:

1. They’re scared of collecting reviews as they don’t want a negative one
2. They find it wrong or ‘too hard’ to collect reviews, so they do nothing
3. They get on board, start collecting reviews, and huzzah – they outrank the competition.

So let’s unpack numbers #1 and #2. (#3 gets a gold star.)

What if I get a negative review?

This is a major concern for every business owner as no one wants to get negative reviews and lose their 5-star rating on Google. But keep in mind that it’s impossible for any business to keep 100 % of its customers happy, especially if you deal with a high volume of customers. From time to time, someone will think your product or service isn’t wonderful and will give you a less-than-perfect ranking. This is okay.

Every successful business has them.

Also, keep in mind that if the review was outrageously terrible, most people will see it as reflecting more on the reviewer than on the reviewee.

Plus, if you have enough reviews, one lousy review will not destroy your five-star ranking.

Bottom line: It’s more important to get more reviews in than to avoid getting a bad review.

It feels wrong to ask my customers for a review.

This is normal, and it’s likely because you haven’t done it before. Look, if a customer is satisfied with a product or service you’ve provided, most of the time, they’ll be more than happy to leave your review. Just ask. Try it. Better still, if you implement some of the methods I’ve recommended below, seeking reviews will become a more automated process anyway.

So, how can you get more reviews?

The best way to get reviews depends on your type of business and how you interact with your customers.

For example, there’s no point for a tradie to ask for a review by typing it at the bottom of the invoice. Too much time has passed. The moment has gone. The best way to get a review is immediately after the job is completed. At this point, the customer is (hopefully) thankful and excited that the job has been completed.

Just after the job is completed, show them a QR code that links to your review panel. Say to the customer, “Thank you for hiring us today. We loved working on your project. Would you mind taking 60 seconds to leave us a review on Google?”

Simple.

Alternatively, or additionally, you can try the following.

Google Review NFC & QR Cards

Google review cards are a fantastic way to collect reviews for trade or in-person services where you visit the customer on-site. As discussed above, it’s easy to pull out a card that lets the customer tap or scan the QR code to leave a review immediately.

Google Review Signs

These are fantastic when customers visit your premises. Put a Google Review sign at the reception desk or front counter. Once the customer has paid their bill, your staff can thank the customer and ask them to leave a review.

Add it to your Email Signature

It doesn’t matter how you ask for reviews; you just need to ask! I shamelessly have a “Leave us a Review” button in my email signature. I also include it at the end of the project delivery. 

Automated Follow-up in your CRM

More business owners are starting to use a CRM to manage their business. It’s very easy to set up an automation in your CRM so that after a job is completed, an automated email and/or SMS is sent to your customer requesting feedback and a review.

This is a great option for businesses where customer satisfaction peaks in the weeks after service delivery, for example, in industries such as mortgage broking, the medical sector, and legal services.

But my staff don’t want to ask for reviews.

No, they won’t. Unless their training made it abundantly clear that seeking feedback and reviews is a part of the job. I understand, though, that some staff members are introverted and find it hard to reach out. So in these instances, you need to provide an incentive.

Consider giving your staff a small financial bonus for each review they collect for your business. This has the amplified benefit of instilling the importance of customer service in your staff.

Understandably, you may not like the idea of parting with extra cash, but think about the return on investment. It may be far greater than what you’ll pay your employee.

NB: If your customer-facing staff are seriously introverted, no bonus will work. You’ll be better off focusing on the automated options we’ve explained further above. However, you may want to consider why these employees are in customer-facing roles.

What to do if you get a bad review

First up, breathe. Let the panic pass. And DO NOT immediately reply. Give it 24 hours, so you have the chance to calm down.

Next, remind yourself that a bad review is not the end of the world. Of course, we’d all prefer not to have them, and there’s no doubt they can be quite stressful. So if you are stressed and unable to remain objective, call a friend or colleague. They can help you think things through and draft a response.

Keep your response short and polite. And where appropriate, consider the following steps:

• Acknowledge and apologise – Thank them for their feedback and express empathy for their concern.
• Take it off-line – It’s always best to resolve any dramas out of public view. Tell them how to seek the appropriate contact information so you can resolve things off-line.
• Write with future customers in mind – Remember that potential customers are reading your response.
• Flag violations – If you can determine that the review contains profanity spam or has been left by a competitor, flag it to Google for removal.

Once you have replied (or flagged the review to Google), it’s time to move on. The best thing you can do to minimise visibility of your poor review is to push it down with new, positive reviews. So use this as an incentive to go out there and get even more.

And it’s over to you…

There are so many ways you can get reviews; you just need to work out what’s best for your business. So put it into practice over the next 30 days, and see how many reviews you can generate. You might be very pleasantly surprised. Besides, you may not just get more reviews; you may have a string of fresh leads and brand-new customers that you didn’t even have to pay for. And won’t you be happy with that?