Google Customer Reviews is one of the best services your business can utilize to grow its online reputation and all it takes to start receiving reviews is a verified Google Business Profile.
In fact, aside from being the number one search engine, Google is one of the most accessible review sites for your business – it’s free to use and even allows you to generate a review link to send to your customers using whichever method you want.
However, how you go about requesting a Google review is a different matter.
94% of customers say positive reviews make them more likely to use a business, so collecting good reviews is vital for a business’s success for more reasons than one.
Unfortunately, getting customers to leave reviews is one of the biggest struggles for businesses – big and small.
Despite that, there are a number of strategies that businesses can use to request reviews.
In this guide, find out the key benefits of Google reviews, how to ask for Google reviews and, finally, the best strategy to get more Google reviews.
What Are The Benefits Of Google Reviews?
Google is the internet’s most popular search engine as well as one of the best review sites for businesses and customers.
And if you have ever wondered whether getting more positive Google reviews improves your business’s visibility in local search rankings, the answer is yes.
Positive reviews show trustworthiness and authority, and Google recognizes this when analyzing how SEO-friendly a business might be.
In addition to that, Gmail remains the most popular email platform with over 1.8-billion users worldwide.
That’s a lot of users who already have a Google account, allowing them to leave Google reviews, which can make Google more accessible than other review sites.
So with Google’s high traffic – both as a search engine and review platform – this means it’s more important than ever for businesses to establish an authoritative presence on Google.
How To Request A Google Review
Generally, businesses can request a Google review by sending an email or text message to their customers, posting on social media, and requesting in person.
Each method has pros and cons, of course, with each involving a certain amount of manual implementation, plus a strategy for how you should go about requesting a review.
As a result, these are not the best ways to request a review on Google, but they are the most widely used methods by small and large businesses, which can prove effective if done correctly.
Requesting A Review Using Email
Requesting a review through email is the go-to strategy for businesses. It’s less intrusive than sending a direct message on social media and more versatile in how it can be approached.
In general, your email review requests should be short and friendly.
The customer should be thanked for their business, made to feel that their feedback is valued, and reassured that leaving a review won’t take too much of their time.
Email is a useful tool as it can be employed with templates and, if desired, a touch of personalization.
Still, email has its downsides.
These include email timing, which always has to be taken into careful consideration, and the fact that emailing customers, despite using templates, is a time-consuming task.
Even email automation has to be set up and tracked.
Requesting A Review In Person
There is nothing wrong with requesting a Google review in person after you have provided a service to a customer. Like email, however, there is a way that it should be done for it to be effective.
As an example, you might have your employees say to your customers: “Thank you for choosing our business. When you have the time, we would really appreciate it if you left us a Google review.”
This is short, non-intrusive, and involves less work than sending emails.
But there are disadvantages to this method, which include the likelihood that the customer will forget, and how this doesn’t make it convenient for customers to leave a review.
You can tell them the name of your Google business listing or hand them a business card with a link to leave a Google review. Still, the customer might consider this a hassle or simply forget altogether.
Requesting A Review Using Social Media
Another method is to request Google reviews using social media posts aimed at your followers. Unlike emailing customers and requesting reviews in person, this method is a more general approach.
Despite that, it is a way to request reviews, which can be employed as part of a small social media campaign that might involve an incentive or competition.
It is not uncommon for businesses to request customer reviews on their social media platforms.
Even though it is less personal – and therefore less effective – this method is low-effort and can be incorporated into your overall content output.
The biggest disadvantage here is that social media posts can be easily overlooked.
The reach and visibility of your posts are also dependent on algorithms and typically limited to the number of followers you have.
The Hands-Off Method: ReputationStacker
The above methods for requesting a Google review, while valid, share one similarity: the fact that each method requires manual effort and, as a result, more of your time.
Running a business is already time-consuming without throwing review requests into the mix.
And yet, in such a competitive industry, getting positive online reviews is one of the most important factors for a business to succeed – both online and offline.
There is a way to get more Google reviews without having to put in your time and effort, however.
ReputationStacker, a hands-off method for getting more reviews, is a fully automated service that collects Google reviews for businesses. And the bonus is that you won’t have to do any requesting.
The result? More positive Google reviews, and less negative Google reviews, for your business.
Conclusion
There are different ways to request Google reviews – using email, social media, or asking in person – and while these are popular methods, they are not the most efficient or effective strategy to request Google reviews, or even get more reviews.
These methods also require your time, effort, and energy – things that, as a business owner, you naturally want to put into improving your business.
But going out of your way to request Google reviews is not something you will have to worry about by using ReputationStacker.
In fact, ReputationStacker doesn’t just collect Google reviews, but any customer reviews of your choice – including Yelp reviews and Facebook reviews.
Not sure if it will work for your business? Give it a try with a 14-day free trial.
