It’s no secret that online reviews, especially on Google, are important for businesses. We all consult online reviews before we buy something, eat at a new restaurant, or even go to a new dentist. In addition to being powerful social proof, Google reviews are great for SEO. For local businesses, reviews that include keywords can actually help you rank in the local pack (often known as the three-pack).
For example, if you own a sushi restaurant and people mention your delicious California rolls in their reviews, you’ll start to show up when people search for California rolls in your city.
You know you need them, but how do you actually get them? Simple—you just ask!
Our 5 Go-To Strategies for Asking Customers for Reviews
The reality is that many satisfied consumers keep quiet because they aren’t prompted to share their thoughts in the right way. If your business had a strategy in place to request feedback from happy customers in a way that made it easier than ever for them to leave a review, you could generate more reviews, spread more positive feedback about your brand, and give your local listing the edge it needs to rank in the top 3 spots
Read on for a few of our tried and true ways to generate reviews.
1. Create a Google Review link.
Creating your Google review link will make the rest of this process much easier. This is a short link that takes people right where they need to be to leave you a review.
It’s a lot easier to give people this link than telling them to search for your business, look for the “write a review” button in your Google My Business listing, and leave a review. Let’s face it, if they’re not already familiar with leaving reviews on Google, they’re not likely to understand or follow those instructions.
You can use this tool to create your link. Just type in your business name and click “Generate”. It will create three short, easy to type links for your business. Bonus: it also generates QR codes that function like the URLs that you can put on your marketing materials!
2. Explain what reviews do for your business.
Most people don’t understand how valuable Google reviews are to businesses so it’s important to explain why you’re asking for one. You don’t need to go in-depth in your explanation, though. Simply saying that reviews help you know how you’re doing and help others find your business is enough explanation for most people.
3. Create a “leave behind” requesting reviews.
A leave behind is something you, well, leave behind. In this case, it’s going to be a card with your Google review link on it. You can put it on the back of your business card (valuable real estate!), a thank you card, or on a separate card just for review purposes. This ensures that whoever gets your card has what they need to leave a review!
4. Include your review link in email and text messaging communications.
These can be two of the most effective platforms for asking for reviews. Add your review link and a short sentence about leaving a review in your post-service/post-purchase email or text. Something as simple as, “Thanks for visiting us today! Tell us how we did: [link]” will get the job done.
Adding your link to these messages catches people while you’re still at the forefront of their mind and makes it virtually effortless for your customers.
5. Ask your social media followers.
Your social media followers are essentially your brand ambassadors on the front lines—supportive, engaged users who’ve already publicly shown interest in your business. This makes them the ideal audience to provide feedback about your company.
One post asking for reviews may not make a big difference, but putting your review link in your linktr.ee/Link-in profile/ContactInBio links means it’s always there for anyone who wants it. Remind your followers periodically (Instagram and Facebook stories are the perfect place to do this) and just let your link live in your bio.
You can also pin a post asking for reviews to the top of your Facebook page or Twitter feed so it’s the first thing people see when they visit!
The Bottom Line on Google Reviews
There are two keys to getting more Google reviews: just asking and making it easy for your customers to follow through. Hopefully these tips will help you get more reviews. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter and let us know how you get more reviews for your business!
