How To Ask For A Google Review

Wondering how to ask for a Google review? You must be a smart business owner because you're here reading this article, and you understand how important reviews are for your online visibility and reputation.

Have you noticed that when you search for a business online, the top businesses have a lot of reviews on their Google My Business listings? Google reviews are an important signal that tells Google your customers enjoy your services and your business should show up higher in search results and on Google maps. So if you’re not regularly getting reviews now, you need to begin asking for Google reviews from your local customers.

Here’s how! 

Why Ask for Google Reviews

Google is probably the most important platform for customers to leave reviews for your small business. Getting reviews on your Google business profile means that you’ll improve your local SEO, look great to potential customers who have found your profile, and stand out above competitors.

“According to online reviews statistics and ReviewTrackers data, 63.6% of consumers say they are likely to check Google reviews (through Google Maps and Search) before visiting a business location — more than any other review site.”

https://www.reviewtrackers.com/reports/online-reviews-survey/

That means that Google search is even more important than Yelp, Facebook, Angieslist, (the list goes on) for a local business.

One review won’t help you, but when you have multiple reviews from multiple customers, you’ll show up higher in search results and gain trust with potential local customers who are researching businesses in your area.

Additionally, the people who are most likely to have the motivation to leave a review without being asked are those who will leave a negative review. So it's more important than ever to ask your happy customers for feedback.

Lastly, getting customer feedback helps you understand how your business is doing. Honest reviews not only reward for good service, but they reveal areas for improvement, so you can continue to grow and improve your business.

How To Ask Your Customers for Google Reviews

Asking for reviews can be a little awkward. But this part of your marketing is essential, and awkwardness never killed anyone, so it’s time to train your staff give every customer you service a review request! This will help you get more positive reviews over time.

Here are a number of ways you can begin asking for reviews:

Ask At The Time of Service

Ask Via Automated Text/Email Right After Service

Add A Review Link To Your Email Signatures

Add A Review Link To Your Customer Area Online

How to Get Reviews Successfully

• Ask soon after a successful service - within a week is best
• Remove friction and make it easy for your customers - provide a direct Google review link for them.
• Send followup reminders, if you’re using an automated email or text sequence and can track whether your contacts have clicked the review or profile link
• Make sure to explain that it will help your business, and request that they detail what service they received in their review - this will encourage them to actually leave the review, and to use keywords that discuss your services, which is another factor that helps your SEO.

What to Avoid When Getting Google Reviews

There are a few mistakes that some business owners can make when asking for reviews.

First and foremost is forgetting to ask every customer for a review. This is covered above.

Next is dabbling in fake reviews. It can be temping to pay for reviews, or ask friends and family to leave reviews.

If they aren't actually customers of your business, you shouldn't be asking them for reviews. Google doesn't take fake reviews lightly, and they can pick up cues like multiple reviews being left from the same device or network.

Another mistake is failing to reply to negative reviews, or replying with an attitude. It can be easy to be upset when you receive a less-than-stellar review, but savvy consumers understand that not every review is completely true, and they will take your response into account when weighing their options to become a customer. Negative responses to negative reviews can be a turnoff - professional responses to negative reviews, on the other hand, can actually boost your trust and likeability in a potential customer's mind.

Finally, you want to make sure that the Google My Business listing you're getting reviews on is completely optimized in your account.

You'll want to make sure there are no duplicate listings, and that all of your business info like your business name, address, and phone number are correct and completely consistent with your business information across the web and on your website. NAP (Name, Address, Phone) inconsistencies across the web are a frequent killer of online visibility in Google, because Google as a search engine wants to make sure they're only showing the most reputable, trustworthy, legitimate businesses - and having inconsistent formatting across your primary information negatively impacts all of those factors.



Have any further questions about getting online reviews? Post in the comments and we'll help out.