Let’s talk reviews real quick: 93% of people are influenced by online reviews.
Now let’s talk Google real quick: Google has 86% of the search engine market share. For context, "second place" goes to Bing at 9%.
Now let’s put the two together: Google reviews have a major, widespread influence on your business. Not to mention the fact that Google hosts 73% of all online reviews for businesses.
If you want to expand your reach across the net, improve your reputation among customers, and rank higher on Google, you need to make Google reviews a priority.
In this post, we’re going to cover:
Getting more Google reviews benefits your business across the board, from reputation to rank and ultimately revenue.
Local Pack rankings are highly influenced by quantity and quality of reviews.
In short, higher visibility and rank and a more attractive listing (those stars make a big difference) ultimately helps you to generate qualified leads for your business, which results in more sales and higher revenue.
Here are a few more stats about Google reviews from BrightLocal to give you the kick in pants you may need:
Now let's get to the good stuff: exactly how to get more Google reviews for your business.
Before you start getting more Google reviews, you need to claim your Google Business Profile. This will allow you to read, respond to, and manage your reviews.
Search for your business name plus your business location in Google.
If you have already claimed your business and are the owner, you’ll see options come up right in search results, like this:
If you haven’t claimed your business, you’ll see your Knowledge Panel result with an option to claim the business:
Customers leave Google reviews by finding your Google Business Profile, navigating to the reviews section, and clicking on “write a review.”
Now this can all happen in a flash—faster than it takes to write out the steps.
Sooo...instead of giving them a three-step process, simply generate a Google review link that you can share with them.
You'll notice that the review link is rather long...and hard to remember. Use a link shortener like bitly.com to make it easy to remember and to get it to fit on physical materials. Better yet, use this next tip...
Make it even easier for your customers to leave a Google review by generating a QR code that you can put on business cards, thank you notes, postcards, and even your website.
Simply go to any free QR code generator, like Bitly’s QR Code Generator, Canva’s QR Code Generator, or QR Code Monkey or Cloutly input your review link that you generated above. Easy peasy.
Make sure you follow Google’s policies on review solicitation. If you get a bunch of reviews in a not-so-kosher way, you could lose them or your entire profile. Plus, it’s no way to run or market your business. Take the time to put a true positive customer experience and a proactive review strategy together so that you’re collecting genuine feedback that markets your business over time.
ReviewTrackers provides a nice explanation of Google’s review policies here.
There are plenty of free resources available for you today to display and request reviews from customers. For example:
The above tips are just the basics for getting more Google reviews in general. Here are some strategies for getting Google reviews online.
A review page is a must-have on any home improvement website.
Take a look at this roofing company’s website. They have a “Leave us a review” section right in their main navigation. Click on it and you land on a nicely designed page with a smiling homeowner couple, a big “Leave us a Google review” CTA button, and examples of Google reviews right below it.
Which leads me to the next tactic…
In all the places you request Google reviews, like on your website and social profiles, you should also share existing ones. This does three things:
On that note, make sure the reviews are embedded or written out, rather than via screenshot. Google can’t read images!
Social media is a useful tool for building an audience, generating leads, engaging customers, and...you guessed it...getting reviews. Share your Google reviews on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and even TikTok and in the caption, drop your review link to encourage other customers to do the same.
(And use the Canva templates above to make 'em look nice!)
Your website footer can serve as both an SEO tool and a means for user engagement. After all—if someone makes it to the bottom of your website, their intent is likely pretty high.
Plus, it's a great way to make it a site-wide element without it being in your main navigation, if you need to prioritize.
This is sort of like having a review funnel. Send out a customer feedback or NPS survey, and then create a second email campaign for those who engaged with the survey or who gave you the highest scores. This way you ensure you're reaching the people most likely to write a review.
This one comes from an earlier article I've written on how to get more Google reviews.
If you use email to communicate with customers, your email signature is a great spot for adding your review link. It can be a way of asking for a review without having to ask for a review.
People like to feel heard. Actively responding to reviews shows current customers that their feedback will be heard and it shows potential customers that you care. Note that this also (or rather, especially) refers to responding to negative reviews.
A bad review is not the end of the world. In fact, a listing with only 5-star glowing reviews can be a little suspect, while a mix of reviews makes your business human and shows that you have nothing to hide.
Just make sure to respond to the bad reviews properly. That is, respond publicly, validating the customer, and then offer to take the conversation offline so you can resolve it thoroughly.
You can follow our tips on responding to bad reviews or also consult industry forums for advice from peers. We've got a list of HVAC forums you can refer to here.
Just because customer reviews exist online doesn't mean your methods of getting more reviews should only be online. Here are some offline tactics for getting more Google reviews.
Some home service businesses have a brick and mortar location where they meet with clients to discuss estimates, look at color swatches, sell supplies, and more. If this is you, consider an in-office piece of decor asking for a Google review.
Take a look at this Google Review request plaque on Etsy:
Display that bad boy next to a jar of lollipops and you’re golden.
No matter what vertical you’re in, customers appreciate a thank you note. Have nice little postcards made up thanking them for their business, and send them out a week or two after the project is complete. Put a QR code on there for them to leave a review on Google and boom, you’ve got a review.
Upon completion of a job, ask for a Google review! This can be over the phone or in person. The key is not to just ask “How did everything go?” but to be specific and direct the conversation.
Ask questions like:
And once they engage, you can then request the review. For example:
Once they express their willingness, thank them and say that it really helps them to get found by more people like them and feel more confident in their investments.
The best way to ask for Google review is very different from channel to channel. In person, you want to sort of warm up the conversation. Via text, you should get right to the ask.
For example:
Hey Kai,
I’m so glad to hear the installation went well. If you get the chance, could you drop us a Google review? Your feedback matters and it helps more homeowners like you to find us.
Note that texting is one of the best ways to communicate with customers today. Learn more in our post about business text messaging.
Email is another channel where you should get right to the ask. You can precede the ask with a little more context than text.
Hey Paul,
Customer reviews not only help us to improve our services, but also help homeowners like you feel confident in choosing us as their [service] provider.
If you could take three minutes to write us a Google review, we would be forever indebted.
Ask in such a way that reinforces it is easy, and that they don’t have to write much.
The more Google reviews you have, the higher your visibility, the greater your credibility, the more engagement you'll get, and the more leads and customers you'll attract to your business. Here is a recap of the 18 best ways to get more Google reviews for your business: