Mastering Google Reviews For Business: Everything You Need to Know to Grow Your Brand

As a business operator, you understand that online assessments are essential, and they can have an enormous impact on your venture.

It can be said that the majority of people in the world have a tendency to investigate reviews of products before buying them, with nearly half of the population valuing the opinions given in reviews equally to the opinions of someone they know.

Testimonials that are positive can draw in new customers, while negative ones can avert possible buyers from working with you.

It is essential to acquire as much knowledge as possible concerning Google reviews and how to profit from them.

In this article, we’re going to go over all the essential information you need to be aware of in regard to Google reviews and ratings. This includes the best way to drive reviews, how to handle bad reviews, and how to make the most of the Google My Business program.

What Are Google Reviews?

Customer comments and evaluations concerning your enterprise that are openly accessible are known as Google reviews.

Individuals can provide feedback on businesses on Google Search, Maps, and Local Finder. The significance of these assessments cannot be overstated because potential consumers can find out additional info about your company before choosing if it is worth their patronage.

Reviews of Google products on websites can be up to 4,000 characters long, and they can be scored between 1 star (the lowest rating) and 5 stars (the highest rating), along with a short description.

It should come as no shock that Google is the top online review site, with more than half of consumers utilizing it.

Why Getting More Google Reviews Matters

It is essential to comprehend the rationale behind requiring Google reviews. It is possible for you to post numerous customer testimonials from clients on your website, however, it is widely recognized that these will all be managed by you. No rational business owner would write a bad review on their own website.

Prior to the invention of Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and LinkedIn were widely used on the internet as places to acquire customer feedback and endorsements. Nevertheless, LinkedIn gives a person the ability to inspect and agree to any testimonial prior to submitting it to their account. In other words, LinkedIn might not be the appropriate forum for finding reviews that present both pros and cons. That brings us to Facebook and Yelp, which are still incredibly reliable sources for criticisms and compliments, thus delivering customers a whole picture of the business.

Google My Business is now one of the most popular websites for businesses to put up and check unedited reviews. When a person looks up your company’s name on the web, the profile they will see initially is your GMB profile — even before reaching your website page. People who are informed and involved in business-to-business dealings turn to Google as their initial source of information on a company in terms of its reliability and level of expertise. It is very important that you create your GMB profile, promote your business on it, and obtain Google reviews for your firm for the greatest results.

Asking for Google Reviews: How to Get Customers to Leave Google Reviews and Ratings

It appears that the majority of purchasers are open to taking the time to record their opinions after either a good or a bad experience. BrightLocal has reported that two-thirds of people are likely to express their satisfaction with a business after a satisfactory experience, and 40 percent are prepared to write a review in the event of an unsatisfactory encounter.

Although clients may be eager to write a review, there is no guarantee that they will actually do so. To boost the amount of Google reviews submitted for your company, you should make it straightforward and hassle-free for customers to submit them.

Gaining insight into this matter can be achieved by querying your customers directly. Consider including your Google My Business review link in the:

email signatures
post-purchase confirmation emails
physical receipts
thank-you cards or notes

When asking customers to leave a review, make sure to:

Personalize the request: Address them by name and mention their recent purchase or experience.
Keep it short and sweet: Customers are more likely to leave a review if the request is simple and to the point.
Include a link to your Google My Business listing: Make it easy for customers to leave a review by including a direct link.
Send a prompt: Try sending a short prompt for the review you’d like them to leave. This gives reviewers a starting point and can make sending the review a little easier. For example, “My favorite thing about <company> is….”

It should be noted that the majority of review websites, including Google, do not allow businesses to provide anything in return for a rating. Concentrate instead on making it effortless for them to submit their feedback.

Consider those who have recently had a good encounter with your establishment when selecting Google reviewers and anticipate that they will give an exhaustive assessment.

Utilizing these pieces of advice, you can acquire extra Google reviews for your company and commence forming your online reliability.

Do Better and More Google Business Reviews Help SEO?

The fast answer is Yes. The reviews on your Google My Business profile will assist in enhancing your visibility in local search engine results. Your customers will most likely turn to Google as the top search engine to locate you. Google is constantly striving to provide the absolute best outcomes for an individual’s search inquiry and geographic area. However, with SEO, relying solely on one approach will not be effective. Positive reviews about your website and other online content on the web will result in a higher search engine ranking.

We equate SEO ranking to baking a cake. It takes a combination of elements to make a cake, such as flour, sugar, eggs, and baking powder. The same is true in Local SEO; it requires multiple elements to be successful. In order to build a successful SEO strategy, you require a website that is highly tuned and well-structured, the addition of new content derived from keywords, regular social media contributions, and Google feedback amongst other factors. By utilizing Google reviews in addition to other endeavors, you can help your business rise to the top of the local Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

Google has set up a bonus where they will showcase parts of customer reviews in search results if they are relevant to the search term being used. If you have acquired sufficient reviews, Google will condense the common phrases from your reviews under the title ‘People Often Mention’. Additionally, you can add the Google Reviews widget, and QR code, or assimilate Google reviews into your web page content and demonstrate your star rating there or in printed ads and Google ads.

Google’s Review Algorithm Is Based on Four Cumulative Factors

Quantity – Google gives preference to those profiles with 40+ reviews, and at least more than your competitors.
Velocity – Has it been a while since your last customer review? Google pays attention to the frequency at which you receive reviews. So, don’t let too much time lapse between reviews.
Diversity – Be sure you ask for reviews in different places and not just Google: LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Angie’s List, Better Business Bureau, Yahoo!, TrustRadius, TrustPilot, industry-specific sites, and more.
Responses – Be sure to respond to every review with a personal, non-generic comment. You should also respond to negative reviews and feedback to show your customers how you handle potential missteps in your business as well as how you treat others.

The key to successful marketing for a company is effective online reputation management. Having more positive customer reviews on Google will help move you closer to the highest position in Google’s search results. This map pack contains the three leading businesses in a certain field, with the possibility of choosing the button labeled ‘More Places’ to view all the regional competitors working in that sector. Maps packs list the name and website link of businesses, their location and telephone number, together with the total quantity of Google reviews and their average Google star rating.

Tips for Responding to Google Reviews

It is equally essential to reply to Google reviews as it is to receive them.

When you make the effort to answer, it demonstrates to possible customers that you respect their comments—favorable or unfavorable. You also have the opportunity to provide your perspective if a customer writes a negative review.

Once you have begun acquiring reviews, set aside the time to respond to both constructive and critical remarks.

It is wonderful when favorable comments come in, but it is critical to address unfavorable reviews in order to keep your business’s esteem.

Research conducted by ReviewTrackers indicated that over 50% of customers anticipate that an organization addresses negative reviews within a seven-day period. Surprisingly, 63 percent of people said they never received a response from the company regarding their assessment.

Furthermore, according to BrightLocal’s research, nearly nine out of ten customers would keep coming back to a business that responds to all of its reviews posted online.

Tips for Responding to Negative Google Reviews

Follow these steps to help turn a negative review into a positive interaction:

Thank the customer for their feedback and apologize for their poor experience.
Acknowledge the issue they raised and offer a solution.
If appropriate, invite the customer to reach out to you directly so you can resolve the issue offline.

Tips for Responding to Positive Google Reviews

Here’s how you can reply to a positive Google review to create a lifetime customer:

Thank the customer for their feedback and let them know you appreciate their support.
If appropriate, invite the customer to reach out to you directly so you can thank them personally
Personalize your response so they feel seen by your business.

It is essential to respond to Google reviews promptly and in a polite and professional manner. By taking this action, you signify to any other possible customers that you are concerned about your company and dedicated to providing the highest quality experience.

How to Leverage Google Reviews for Your Business

Google reviews for companies are more than a way to collect comments from customers—they can also be a very strong advertising device.

Here are five strategies for taking advantage of Google reviews to optimize your business.

1. Showcase Reviews on Your Website

Once the Google reviews for a business are gathered on the Google My Business page, a widget can be used to feature them on a website. Potential customers are provided a convenient means to ascertain the opinion of others regarding your business prior to committing to a purchase.

The CMS you are employing will determine which widgets can be obtained. Ensure that you pick an option that works well with your website system and is in line with the design of your website.

2. Use Positive Reviews to Reduce Abandoned Carts

If customers observe that others had a pleasant experience with your company, they are more apt to go through with their purchase.

An effortless approach to constructing consumer assurance is to incorporate customer reviews and recommendations into your checkout procedure.

A detailed review can help you reduce abandoned carts by:

helping customers with specific problems
building trust, which is important for potential buyers
reducing any friction during the checkout process

Ensure that any feedback you add to product pages or checkout processes is precise and focuses on the abilities that are most valuable to your consumers.

3. Update Reviews Regularly

Customers not only expect evidence that you have reviews, but they also require evidence that you’re gathering them on a regular basis. Would you rather purchase from a business that hasn’t been reviewed in the last half-year or one that is frequently evaluated?

If you haven’t had a review recently, make contact with customers who recently made use of your services and seek their opinion. You could offer an enticement for people to give a review, like a reduction on their next buy.

When to Ask for a Brand Review

Requesting feedback is a fundamental strategy for advertising and another way to make contact with customers. Plus, it just makes good marketing sense. It is essential to consider when you request someone to write an online Google review. You should plan to make your request of each customer during the prime opportunity… when they are displaying the most positivity and admiration for your organization, items, or services, and when there isn’t much activity in the buying process. You may not wish to contact the person right away following a purchase, send an invoice, or have any other kind of dialogue. The optimum timing for collecting a Google review may differ depending on businesses and industries, but generally, a good moment to solicit one is about seven days after the service is completed or the product has been delivered. At the present moment, the act of buying and initially receiving the item or service is still novel, and the customer is in the adoring period of working with your company.

It would be wise to create a plan of action outlining all stages of the sales experience, from prior to the sale through the completion of the sale, and the corresponding actions afterward. Once you have developed a thorough description of the events that occur in a customer’s experience, otherwise referred to as their journey with the company, you will know when the apt time arises to ask for a review.

Conclusion: Google Reviews for Business

Using Google reviews to construct trust and credibility with those who may turn into clients is highly effective.

Reviews show customers that your business is reputable. They can also emphasize the most beneficial features of your business and demonstrate your dedication to customer satisfaction.

Adhering to the principles outlined by Google regarding user reviews will help create an impressive portfolio of assessments that will support growth in your company. You can turn a bad experience into a great one by responding to any negative reviews with professionalism.