Here’s how to get more Google reviews: market the reviews you already have, improve the customer experience so customers actually want to leave reviews and promote your review link.
Reviews give power back to consumers, allowing them to share opinions about and experiences they’ve had with businesses they’ve purchased from.
Google reviews are the most important types of reviews your business can receive. In this post, I’m going to focus on ways you can get more of them.
How to Get More Google Reviews: Overview
Use these strategies to get more reviews on Google:
- Reply to your reviews
- Display your reviews on your website
- Promote reviews on social media
- Improve the customer experience overall
- Create a Google review link to share
- Build a review funnel designed to generate a review from each sale you make
- Ask customers to leave reviews directly
- Add your review link to physical items (product packaging and handouts)
- Add your review link to your website
- Add your review link to your email signature
- Advertise your Google reviews in your place of business
- Launch a marketing campaign to boost sales
And in case you’re wondering why this post is exclusively about Google reviews and not online reviews in general, know that Google reviews are, without a shadow of a doubt, the most important review type you can receive for your business.
83% of consumers read online reviews on Google, according to data from BrightLocal. Yelp comes in second place at 44%.
Furthermore, businesses that rank in one of the top three positions in the local pack have around 240 Google reviews on average, according to Localo.
Finally, according to data from Whitespark, review signals are important for ranking in the local pack.
Review signals that count as local ranking factors include your overall review score, the number of reviews you have, how recent your latest reviews are and how often you receive reviews.
This means that it’s not only important that you receive Google reviews, it’s also important that you receive them on a regular basis.
1. Turn Existing Reviews into Marketing Opportunities
The way you handle reviews you’ve already received can do a lot to influence other customers to review your business (or purchase from you in the first place).
Start by replying to your reviews. Share insights with customers when you respond to positive reviews, and own up to mistakes when you respond to negative reviews.
Try to respond to reviews as quickly as possible. Have the business owner respond if possible.
You should also display your best reviews on your website. This is something our plugin Starfish Reviews can help you with.
It lets you create a review collection (with filter options) that displays reviews from multiple platforms in a slider.
Finally, promote your best reviews on social media. This might encourage curious customers to take the plunge and make a purchase from your business.
2. Improve the Customer Experience
According to a survey conducted by BrightLocal, the most common reason why consumers choose not to leave reviews is because the experiences they had with businesses weren’t noteworthy enough to share.
You might have good products and services, but if your customer experience isn’t unique or exciting enough, you don’t give customers very many reasons to share their experiences online.
Analyze your business to determine areas you can improve on that will make customers go “wow!”
This could be a unique attraction or even customer service that goes above and beyond.
Check out your competitors for inspiration.
3. Create a Google Review Link
A Google review link is a link that takes customers directly to your review page. You can create it in Google Business Profile.
To find your review link, open Google Business Profile, click Read Reviews, and then Get More Reviews. You’ll find your review link here.
You can generate a link with your Place ID as well.
Google’s review links are pretty long. Use a link shortener to simplify them and make them “prettier.”
Consider using a branded shortlink rather than a generic Bitly link.
If you use WordPress, Pretty Links is a useful plugin that allows you to create short links using your domain.
4. Build a Review Funnel
A review funnel is a marketing funnel that’s designed to increase your reviews (as opposed to marketing funnels that generate sales).
Review funnels aren’t as sophisticated as sales funnels, but they do require you to have a way to get in touch with a customer post sale (through email or SMS).
Here’s a simple review funnel:
- Share a helpful email/SMS message with your customer two or three days after they make a purchase with you.
- On Day 5, Day 6 or Day 7, send an email/SMS message that asks your customer to leave feedback for your business.
- This message should contain a link that leads to a feedback page on your website.
- Ask your customer a simple question, such as “How was your experience with [business name]?”
- Present your customer with two options: one for a positive response and another for a negative one.
- Customize the message that gets shown when customers click one option or the other. This message should contain your Google review link.
This is something our plugin Starfish Reviews can help you create as well.
Just be sure to not engage in a technique called “review gating” as it goes against Google’s guidelines as well as rules and regulations mandated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Review gating is when you deliberately exclude a review link when customers say they had a negative experience.
Sources
5. Ask Customers Directly
It’s bold and a little pushy, but an effective way to generate more reviews for your business is to simply ask customers to leave them.
Send them an email or SMS message that includes your review link, and be sure to emphasize how important receiving Google reviews is for your business.
You can also ask them in person at checkout. This is where a branded shortlink comes in handy. Instead of saying “review us on Google,” you can say “visit domain.com/google to leave us a review.”
6. Add Your Review Link to Physical Items
“Physical items” are your product packaging, handouts you give to customers in store and inserts you include with shipped items.
You can turn any link into a QR code these days with a QR code generator.
If you turn your review link into a QR code, add it to physical items, then use a heading that says “Review us on Google,” “We have a 5-star rating on Google,” or something similar.
Canva has a QR code generator that allows you to add QR codes to designs you create with the app.
7. Add Review Links to Your Website
Add your review links in a few key places on your website, including:
- Dedicated page for Google reviews – Create a dedicated landing page for your Google reviews. Add a call to action using your Google review link, and display your best reviews
- About Page – Advertise your Google review rating on your About page, and add your review link to it
- Footer – Add a small section to your footer that advertises your review page on Google. Include your review rating, and quote a small part of one of your reviews
8. Add a Review Link to Your Email Signature
If you communicate with your customers via email, you can try to generate reviews from emails you send to customers, especially customer service emails.
Create an email signature, and add a little “Rate us on Google” message to it that’s hyperlinked with your Google review link.
9. Advertise Your Google Reviews in Person
Similar to promoting your Google reviews on handouts you give customers for them to look at later, you can also advertise your review page casually within your place of business.
If your business seats customers at tables or you conduct consultations at a desk, create table signs that advertise your review page using the same styles (QR code, review rating, quote from one of your reviews, etc.).
Small posters and plaques work as well.
10. Launch a Marketing Campaign
Finally, while Google prefers that you receive reviews on a consistent basis rather than short bursts here and there, you can always increase the number of reviews you have by launching a marketing campaign that generates new sales.
If you also create a review marketing funnel, you can potentially generate a review from every new sale you receive from your campaign.
Be sure to promote your campaign using graphics that include your review rating, QR code and quotes from past reviews.
Canva, Visme and VistaCreate all have templates for testimonials.
Frequently Asked Questions About Google Reviews
How can I increase my Google reviews fast?
Use a marketing segment to send out an email to all past customers asking them to leave a review for your business on Google.
Is it legal to buy Google reviews?
No. Not only does buying Google reviews go against Google’s guidelines, the Federal Trade Commission may charge a business a fee of up to $51,744 per violation (per paid or fake review) if it’s found to be in violation of Notice 16 CFR Part 465.
Related: Should You Buy Google Reviews?
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