Google Reviews are shown most notably on Google search results page in the Google places listing. They are usually displayed right below the paid listings / ads and above the organic general listings.
Having good Google Reviews helps you rank higher in the search results as well as attract more people to your listing and website.
The greater the number of reviews and the better the ratings (out of 5 stars), the more likely Google will rank you higher on Google’s local listings. In Google’s own words:
“Google review count and score are factored into local search ranking: more reviews and positive ratings will probably improve a business’s local ranking.”
https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en
4 Important points to note when getting Google Reviews
- Do not incentivise your customers to review your page. Google does not allow you to incentivise your customers to give you a review.
- Get reviews ongoing. It’s not enough to get 5 reviews this week and nothing for the next 12 months. Therefore, you need to incorporate it into your general business process.For example, you could create a generic ‘rate us on Google’ snippet that you send in the final email to your client once you have finished the project / job.
- Make it easy as for customers to review by sending a direct link to your listing review page (see below).
- Respond to client reviews. In Google’s words, “Responding to reviews shows that you value your customers and the feedback that they leave about your business.”
How to get a direct link to your business review page.
Step 1 – visit Google API and search for your business
https://developers.google.com/places/place-id
Step 2 – copy your google business listing and create a referral url
Copy the place ID and replace the https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<yourplaceid> text with the ID you copied from Google API.
E.g. our review link is: https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJjccIDN6sF2sRup1iCdbE-fw
Step 3 – send to customers for review.
Here is a sample script:
Hi,
Thank you for your business. We enjoyed working with you.
If you were happy with our service, we would love for you to review us on Google.
Simply click on the link below to leave us a review on Google.
https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJjccIDN6sF2sRup1iCdbE-fw
Thank you
