Getting more online reviews and improving your online reputation is one of the most efficient and effective ways to take your business to the next level. Read on to find out how easy it is to do.
Maybe a bad employee left some customers dissatisfied, or you’ve had a few kinks in your operation that resulted in some negative reviews.
Maybe your many happy customers just haven’t taken the time to write reviews.
Whatever the reason, you know that online reviews are important and that you need more reviews.
Collecting positive reviews is fundamental to establishing a solid online reputation, as the vast majority of customers trust online reviews.
Getting more reviews can attract new customers and keep your existing customers coming back, and it’s surprisingly easy to do.
Why Online Reviews Matter
Reading positive reviews about your business is definitely a powerful ego booster, but the importance of these reviews goes far beyond that.
Research shows that customers put a ton of trust in online reviews. In a recent survey, 91% of respondents said that they occasionally or regularly read customer reviews when comparing businesses.
Consumers read online reviews no matter what industry you’re in. People are reading the existing reviews from other customers to decide whether or not to try your business.
And if your have too many negative reviews, people will inevitably go looking for your competition instead.
Online reviews have been proven to significantly contribute to a business’s profitability because they directly influence the purchasing decisions of other consumers.
In other words, your product or service has a better chance of selling if more people know about it and can potentially leave a positive review.
There’s a little bit of psychology in it, too. Consumers are more likely to purchase something based on the sentiment of others because it makes them feel safer with their decision. Positive customer reviews establish trust.
When someone buys something and doesn’t like it, they’ll express their bad experience or dissatisfaction by writing a negative review, and when someone enjoys a product, they’ll likely write a positive review.
This is how online reviews can really affect your business’s image and bottom line by influencing purchase decisions.
What You Can Do – How To Improve Your Online Reviews
Ready to get more reviews?
Follow these steps to change the conversation about your business – fast.
1. Evaluate Your Customers’ Experience
The best way to generate positive reviews? Make sure you’re giving customers a positive experience and actively seeking customer feedback. Do that, and your online reputation will reflect it.
First, take a good look at all of your recent Google reviews (or your reviews on any other relevant reviews sites).
Look for common complaints in your bad reviews. Do multiple people mention rude service, long waits, or high prices? It might be helpful to ask a coworker to read through the reviews too, so you can compare notes and identify a few areas for improvement together.
If you don’t have many online reviews, or if the reviews you do have don’t give you any ideas for actionable changes, reach out to customers directly. Ask repeat visitors for honest feedback about what you could do better.
Another approach is to ask for feedback at the end of every customer interaction. Questions like “Is there anything else we can do today to help you?” or “How has your service been today?” can yield useful insights.
You’ll be surprised how honest questions yield honest answers from your customers.
Train your employees to ask these questions as well. When customers see that you really care, they’re willing to share.
2. Simplify the Review Process
Simplifying the online review process for your customers is important for boosting the quantity and quality of feedback you receive. To encourage customers to leave reviews, make it as easy and straightforward as possible.
Start by streamlining your review requests. Include a direct Google review link or links to relevant industry-specific review sites in follow-up emails, on your website, and across your social media channels. This eliminates the need for customers to search for your review page, increasing the likelihood of receiving more reviews.
Clearly communicate the steps required to write reviews. Provide simple instructions and highlight the simplicity of the process. For instance, a few short steps explaining how to leave a Google review can help your less tech-savvy customers.
Encourage customers to write a review by explaining how their feedback benefits your business. Let them know that their reviews help improve your services and assist other potential customers in making informed decisions. Personalizing your review requests and expressing genuine appreciation for their input can also increase their willingness to leave a review.
By making it easy for customers to leave reviews and providing clear guidance, you not only increase the volume of customer reviews but also enhance the overall quality of feedback, contributing positively to your business’s reputation.
3. Ask for Reviews
Getting reviews is often as simple as asking customers for reviews. More customers than you think will happily write a review when asked to do so.
Encourage More Reviews Through Follow-Up Email Review Requests
One effective strategy is to request reviews through email marketing.
Post-purchase email review requests are highly effective in encouraging customers to provide feedback.
Ask for Reviews In-Person
You can make this request at the end of every customer interaction and/or at the time of customer purchases. Based on the feedback the customer gives you, it’s easy to determine if they’re happy with the experience.
When speaking with happy customers, saying something like, “I’m so happy to hear it. Customer service means everything to us. We’d love it if you would write us a Google review, or write a review on Yelp or Facebook.” (Which review sites you mention will vary, depending on what type of business you’re in and which sites you’re targeting.)
If the customer is dissatisfied, try to find a way to address their complaints. If you can’t do that – for instance, if the person is angry about something you can’t control – sincerely apologize or express your empathy with a comment such as “I’m sorry – I’d be frustrated if that happened to me too.” At the very least, making the person feel heard can keep them from turning to an online review site to complain.
When you provide excellent customer service, encourage reviews in-person, and combine it with follow-up email review requests, you will stat to see more reviews come in for your business.
4. Create & Optimize Your Google Business Profile
If you’re not already using Google My Business (aka Google Business Profile), take the time to set up and optimize your Google Business Profile. It’s free and easy, just follow these steps:
Go to the Google Business Profile website, sign in, and enter your business name and information.
Verify that your business information is accurate, so Google can properly list you in search rankings.
If your page isn’t automatically populated with a lot of great photos and info that Google has collected from other sources, add more relevant details. This will help customers learn more about the services you offer and how they can contact you. It will also help with search engine optimization.
Promote your Google Business Profile page and your Google review link on your other marketing materials, like business cards and direct mail.
Customers won’t be able to leave Google reviews without first visiting your page. Make it easy for them by asking customers to check you out online when they’re in the store or ready to sign up for a service. This will help you get more Google reviews.
It’s generally a good idea to be active on at least 2 or 3 other review sites as well, the next most popular options being Facebook and Yelp. These reviews are some of the first things your customers will see when they search your business.
Other industry-specific sites, such as TripAdvisor for hotels and Angi (formerly Angie’s List) for contractors, might be appropriate for you as well.
There are a lot of specialist and niche-specific review sites out there, so ensure you look into them all.
If you want to know if a site is worth it for your business, look to see if your direct competitors are using it.
5. Start Getting Online Reviews From Customers
When people are ready to write about their experiences, make sure that they know exactly how to do it to help you gain more customer reviews.
The best way to get more online reviews is to proactively ask your customers for them. A well-timed review request via email, text message, or in person can significantly increase the likelihood customers will leave positive reviews.
Put up signs in your office or storefront that tell people where to find you on Google and other review sites like Yelp and Facebook.
Post a link to your review profile page on your website and social media. Online presence is important for this since you can take advantage of business profiles or social profiles.
Considering offering an incentive to customers who leave reviews. Review incentives don’t have to be expensive – you can offer a discount on their next service or a small gift as a token of appreciation. It’s important that you offer the same incentive to all customers, regardless of if their review is positive, neutral, or negative. It’s also important that anyone who accepts an incentive to write a review disclose that they received an incentive in their review.
6. Monitor Your Online Reviews
As part of an overall marketing strategy, it’s important for a local business to keep an eye on their customer reviews and respond if necessary, especially since some platforms give users the option to delete their comments and revise them later. Keep your response time prompt.
If you get an occasional negative review, don’t panic! It’s unrealistic to expect that every customer will leave good reviews. Of course some of them will leave a review that is less than perfect. These things happen, and negative reviews can even contain valuable feedback you can use to improve your business.
Respond to all reviews and let your customers know that you care about the feedback they give you, even if it isn’t all good.
If a review leaves you particularly upset or confused, try contacting the customer directly to clear things up. One-star reviews from an upset customer show that they had a terrible experience, and it’s good to find out what happened and try to resolve the issue.
Getting more reviews (yes, even negative ones on occasion) is an easy way to improve your online reputation and keep your customers coming back.
7. Respond to Your Online Reviews
Responding to all online reviews—whether positive or negative—is essential for improving trust and credibility while boosting your local SEO.
When potential customers read online reviews, they’re not just looking for social proof. They’re often also looking for signs of a business’s responsiveness and reliability. By responding to customer reviews, you not only demonstrate that you value feedback but also build your reputation for trustworthiness.
Positive reviews offer an opportunity to reinforce social proof by publicly thanking satisfied customers and highlighting your business’s strengths.
Responding to a positive review shows that customer opinions are valued. Positive customer feedback can lead to increased customer satisfaction and the likelihood of receiving more positive reviews.
Negative reviews, on the other hand, provide a chance to show your commitment to customer satisfaction. A well-managed response can mitigate the impact of negative reviews and turn dissatisfied customers into loyal advocates.
Addressing concerns transparently and professionally can also influence potential customers who are reading online reviews, demonstrating that you handle criticism constructively.
Addressing negative reviews is crucial as it shows customers that their concerns are valued and provides an opportunity to turn a negative experience into a positive one.
From an SEO perspective, each review response allows you to naturally incorporate relevant keywords into your local listings.
This keyword usage helps to improve your local search rankings (especially with Google reviews), making your business more visible to those searching for related services.
By engaging with both existing reviews and new reviews, you boost your credibility, enhance trust in online reviews, and improve your local SEO performance.
8. Display & Share Customer Reviews in Your Marketing
Displaying and sharing customer reviews is an effective way to leverage social proof and enhance your business’s credibility. Featuring positive reviews across various platforms can significantly boost your online reputation and attract new customers.
Start by showcasing reviews and customer testimonials on your website. Create a dedicated testimonial page or feature glowing reviews prominently on your homepage. Highlighting Google reviews and other positive feedback offers prospective customers a glimpse into the quality of your products or services, reinforcing trust in your business.
Extend your reach by sharing positive reviews on your social media channels. Regularly post snippets of customer feedback, including personal recommendations and positive reviews. This not only provides social proof but also engages your audience and encourages more reviews. For added impact, consider using visuals such as graphics or video testimonials to make your posts more engaging.
Incorporate customer reviews into printed materials like brochures, flyers, and posters. Including just a few examples of positive reviews can enhance your marketing collateral and provide tangible proof of your business’s reliability.
Encourage all of your customers to write a review and share their experiences. By actively requesting feedback and displaying it effectively, you can build a positive online reputation, attract more customers, and build consumer trust in your business.
9. Systemize Your Approach with Review Management Tools
Earning positive reviews isn’t a temporary strategy to improving business.
Attracting a steady stream of reviews is essential to success, because customers are most interested in recent reviews.
Automating the review request process ensures continuous fresh reviews and customer feedback.
Continuously getting more customer reviews can significantly boost your online business reputation and drive sales. To most potential customers, the reviews that you get today will be obsolete in three or six months.
Keeping the reviews coming is also important because even when you provide great service, you’ll probably still get a few negative ones occasionally. When they’re dramatically outnumbered by good reviews, they won’t seem as important to prospective customers.
While the process of improving your reviews is pretty straight forward, it’s still time consuming if you do it manually.
Automated review software like ReputationStacker can do the heavy lifting for you.
It automatically gets reviews from your customers, puts all of your reviews into a single dashboard where you can respond to them and share them on social media and your own website, and provides deep analysis you can use to improve your business right away and get even more reviews.
An Easy Solution to Get More Reviews
What customers say about you online can have a direct and powerful effect on the success of your business. You have the ability to get more reviews in a simple and ethical way, starting today. You have all the tips on how to improve your online reviews.
Analyze the criticism that you’ve previously received to find ways to make easy improvements to your service. Once you’re confident that you’re giving your customers a good experience, ask them for feedback after every interaction, and follow that request by asking customers to write you online reviews.
Make sure you’re getting a steady stream of reviews using an automated system like ReputationStacker.
FAQs About Getting More Online Reviews
How can local businesses increase their Google review volume?
Local businesses can increase their Google review volume by actively asking for Google reviews from all of their customers. Google actually encourages soliciting reviews from your customers. Provide a direct link to your Google review page in follow-up emails, on your website, and through social media. Encourage loyal customers to leave Google reviews, and make the process as simple as possible. Review software like ReputationStacker can automate this process to maximize how many Google reviews you get.
What are effective strategies to get more Google reviews?
To get more Google reviews, ask customers to leave a review right after you interact with them. Send personalized requests via email or text with a direct link to your Google review page. Displaying clear instructions on how to leave a review can also help simplify the process for your customers. Tools like ReputationStacker can handle this for you.
How can businesses leverage user-generated content from reviews?
Businesses can leverage user-generated content by sharing reviews on their website and social media platforms. Highlighting customer feedback not only boosts your brand but also serves as social proof for your business.
How do Google reviews impact search engine results?
Google reviews impact search engine results by influencing your business’s visibility on Google Maps and in local search results. A steady stream of Google reviews is a positive ranking factor, as is responding to Google reviews. Additionally, review responses naturally contain relevant keywords, which gives businesses an extra boost in local search.
Why is it important to respond to Google reviews?
Responding to Google reviews is important because it shows that you value customer feedback and are engaged with your audience. This responsiveness can bost customer loyalty and encourage others to post reviews, positively impacting your business in search results. Additionally, your review responses contain keywords that are relevant for local search, which can provide an extra boost to your ranking.
What role do review platforms other than Google Maps play in getting more reviews?
Review platforms other than Google Maps play an important role in your online marketing strategy. Getting more reviews on sites other than Google broadens your online presence. Encourage customers to leave reviews on industry-specific platforms and other relevant sites to attract a wider audience.
