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5 Tips to Boost Your Business’ Google Reviews

5 Tips to Boost Your Business’ Google Reviews

Navigating the world of SEO as a business owner is sometimes a scary place. You aren’t 100% sure how to optimize your business for search engines and, in particular, Google. Getting Google reviews is one of the best ways to increase your SEO presence and provide social validation for both your potential customers and Google. Google uses reviews as one of its many ranking factors in your SEO score.

Obtaining enough reviews on Google is no easy feat, however. Plus, getting positive reviews for your business is even more of a challenge. More often than not, people would rather give a negative review than a positive one. Luckily, we are here to provide some assistance for your business’ quest to increase its Google reviews and ultimately improve the SEO as a whole. Let’s get the good vibes flowing and land some good Google reviews.  

 

Ask for Google reviews on social media.

Google reviews on social media

Social media is one of the best tools to connect directly with your customers. If you have a loyal and engaging following on social media, use them to your advantage! Putting out a post asking for Google reviews could work and is a straight-to-point way of doing so. But actually reaching out directly to your followers on social media could be a more profitable strategy.

Go through past posts on your social media accounts and direct message anyone who liked it or commented. Send these followers a DM thanking them for being a follower and ask what their experience is like regarding your product or service. If they give a positive response, you can ask them to leave a Google review about their incredible experience.

A simple DM can go a long way in this day and age. If they are following your brand on social media, they are more likely to be a fan of whatever you are doing. So when they get a direct message from the actual business account, people get excited and feel important. Using this direct message social media strategy will give your business a terrific chance to land some great Google reviews!  

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Put a call to action for leaving Google reviews in emails

Another way to directly ask your clientele for Google reviews digitally is through emails. Whether it’s sending an email one-by-one to a list of recent customers or if it’s your business’ monthly newsletter, an email is a great approach.

There are multiple different ways to ask through email as well. The direct method; blasting out an email with the subject line asking for Google reviews. Another would be putting a call to action link for reviews in the signature of any email sent out. Lastly, if you have a weekly or monthly newsletter, make a graphic asking for reviews. 

Email strategy is not as engaging as direct messaging on social media. However, if you have an extensive list of customer emails, it certainly doesn’t hurt to fire off a few and see if you can get any bites for reviews.

 

Create signs and handouts 

Have no fear if you don’t have a significant social media presence or monthly newsletter; this tip is for you! You might be more of a walk-in store or service rather than digital, which is totally fine. Instead, you should target those in-store customers with creative signage and handouts.

At the cashier or front desk, put a little postcard asking for Google reviews, and be sure to reference the sign as you help them out. Then place a larger poster right at the door, so people see that call to action on the way out as well. 

People could be more inclined to leave a review if you ask them in person. And, of course, a friendly smile and excellent customer service will go a long way in getting that review!

 

Incentivize customers to leave Google reviews 

leave Google reviews 

So what if you sent out hundreds of direct messages on social media, a few more hundred emails, and asked every walk-in to your store for a Google review, and you still can’t get any? If you strike out with these three strategies, it is time to incentivize customers to leave a review.

In the direct messages to followers, give them a promo code for 5% off an item and ask for a review. Select 50 customer emails randomly and send them a coupon for half off a select item and a call to action for wanting a review. When checking out a customer in the store, tell them you are giving away free product samples in exchange for a Google review. 

Putting a little incentive for people to leave reviews is always the best fall-back plan if the above strategies all flame out. Sometimes a little nudge and free products are the difference in increasing your business’ positively online.

 

Always respond to all reviews, both good and bad

The final tip is when you finally see those reviews coming in. You should always respond to every review you get on Google, both good and bad. 

Responding to positive reviews is a no-brainer, as you should definitely be thanking them for their business and excellent feedback. As for those pesky negative reviews, it is even more important to respond. 

Sincerely replying to bad reviews shows the personality and humility of your business. You can learn why this person had a negative experience, and you may even be able to fix the situation after hearing their side. 

 

The quest for 5-stars never stops.

Utilizing these five tips, you can certainly increase your business’s Google reviews. The more reviews you get, particularly those 5-stars, the more significant impact it will have on the overall success of your SEO. Continue following Summit Crew for more tips and advice on improving your business’s digital marketing and SEO.

If you need help growing your business and averaging 400% or more ROI from your digital efforts, give us a call today or schedule a free strategy session with one of our experts in digital marketing. You will have an opportunity to discuss your business and your marketing goals, and we will provide recommendations on what you should be doing based on our BOOST Method. This is a sales-pitch-free no-obligation meeting, just real advice.

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