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November 3, 2024
In this short guide, we discuss three important things to help you get more Google reviews.
First, we'll talk about how more reviews improve SEO and lead to higher web visitor conversion which in turn results in even more Google reviews.
Secondly, how to optimize your Google Business Profile to get more reviews.
And lastly, strategies to generate more Google reviews with the latest software tools and Google review cards.
Google reviews play a crucial role in SEO and conversion, creating a feedback loop that builds credibility and visibility over time:
Improved local SEO
Google reviews are a major factor in local SEO, signalling relevance and trustworthiness to search engines. More reviews improve local search ranking, helping businesses appear higher in results and on Google Maps.
Higher conversion rates
Reviews provide social proof. Potential customers are more likely to trust and choose a business with positive, recent reviews. This trust can significantly boost conversion rates, as visitors feel more confident engaging with or purchasing from highly-reviewed businesses.
More visitors lead to higher probability of more reviews
As SEO improves and more visitors come to your site, more customers are likely to leave reviews as it starts a feedback loop. Positive experiences help drive organic reviews and fuel a never ending cycle of better rankings and more conversions.
To encourage more reviews, an optimized GBP profile is essential. Follow these steps for optimization:
Complete every section
Ensure all business information is filled out accurately—address, phone number, website, and business hours. Incomplete profiles are less likely to rank highly.
Use high-quality images
High-quality photos make profiles visually appealing and convey professionalism. Images increase engagement and often lead visitors to leave reviews.
Select relevant categories and attributes
Ensure your business category is relevant and use specific attributes (like “wheelchair accessible” or "online booking") to give customers a clear sense of your offerings.
Post regular updates
Keep your GBP profile updated with new posts, promotions, and events. Regularly updating shows that the business is active, encouraging more interactions and reviews. Another way to achieve this is to have a feedback loop of new reviews.
You can achieve this by regularly asking for reviews. Reputigo's Google review cards can really help with this as it makes it really easy for your customers to leave reviews in one tap.
Respond to reviews
Respond to both positive and negative reviews professionally. Be yourself! Engaging with reviews shows customers you value feedback and builds trust, which encourages others to leave their own reviews. Customers really love it when their concerns are heard.
Here are the tools to help you streamline the process of getting more Google reviews:
Automated review requests
Tools like Reputigo automate review requests by sending follow-up messages to recent customers. These tools can be linked with to your favorite apps to send review requests via SMS or email, making it easy for customers to leave feedback.
Google review cards
NFC enabled review cards make it easier to collect reviews with a single tap. It works like tap to pay, but for reviews and these can be displayed at your physical location or behind name tags. These cards link directly to your review page, making the process very convenient after the initial tap.
SMS and email drip campaigns
Create automated drip campaigns to send gentle reminders to leave a review. For instance, an initial request could be sent a few days after a service, followed by a reminder a week later if they haven’t responded. For Reputigo, we do four follow ups in a two week time span.
Integrate review widgets on your website
Displaying a widget with recent Google reviews on your site can encourage more visitors to leave their own review. It reminds them of the positive experiences others have had and invites them to share their own.
A vicious cycle of Google reviews can boost SEO, drive conversion, and create continuous growth for your business. By optimizing your Google Business Profile, leveraging review automation tools, and encouraging customer feedback you can significantly get more reviews.
