In this 4-minute read:
- Why you need Google reviews
- Encourage customers to leave Google My Business reviews
- 2 ways to create short links for your Google reviews
Setting up a way to facilitate regular, genuine online reviews should be an integral part of every business’s online marketing strategy.
Attract new customers and keep them loyal with reputation management software. Learn more, plus get free reputation monitoring and customer insights when you sign up for Womply Free!
But not every customer is going to think to leave your business an online review. So, how can you help ensure that you are constantly increasing the number of reviews on your Google My Business listing?
We have a few shortcuts you can keep in your tool belt, but first, a few tips about Google.
Why you need Google reviews
Google is the first place that most people look when they are searching for a new service or place to shop. The businesses that show up in Google’s local map pack usually obtain most of the traffic from local searches.
Go deeper: Google Maps advertising
Having lots of good reviews on Google is a huge factor in showing up well in local search results. Google wants to display businesses that have a good customer reputation. And customers want to see that other consumers trust you enough to leave their recommendation for your business.
Reviews help your show up better on Google and help you convert new customers. Those are pretty compelling reasons to implement a review strategy.
You should encourage customers to leave reviews on Google My Business
Dissatisfied customers are sometimes more willing to leave reviews for your business online (although Womply research shows online reviews to be generally positive). However it’s important to work on getting a steady stream of genuine reviews for your business. If you’re providing great customer service and products, the good will outweigh the bad.
Womply’s study shows the importance of recent reviews (whether they’re good or bad reviews, actually)—businesses with over 25 reviews within the past three months earn 108% more annual revenue than average!
Happy customers are not always going to think to leave online reviews, and they usually need a little bit of encouragement. A great way to remind your customers to leave you positive reviews on Google is to simply ask them.
Find the opportune moments when a customer is super thrilled with your service and then make the ask. After asking them, follow up by sending them a link to your Google reviews.
Want to learn how to send a link to your Google reviews? We’ve got a couple easy steps for you to do this.
2 ways to create short links to your Google My Business reviews
Check these out and try sending your customers links via text or email to leave your business a Google review.
#1: Grab the short link directly from your Google listing
First, search your business on Google. Then click on the map that appears with your Google My Business listing.
Click the “Share” icon. In the window that pops up, grab the share link that Google provides you. Use this link to email and text your customers to send them to your Google listing.
#2: Send customers directly to “Leave a review” with a bit.ly link
Search your business on Google, and click “Write a review.”
A modal will pop up for you to write a review for your business. Highlight the URL in the search bar and copy it.
Go to bit.ly and create a new account.
Choose their free plan.
Sign up with your Google account or sign up with an email.
When you are signed into bit.ly, click “Create.”
Paste the URL that you copied into the field that says “Paste long URL.”
Bit.ly will create autogenerate a random short link for you. You can stop here and use this link, or you can personalize this link by customizing the back-half of it. Type in the new URL that you want to send to your customers.
Something like “/businessname-reviews” would work great.
Click “Save.”
Now you can copy your new personalized short link and send customers directly to write a review on your Google listing. This makes it easier for them and cuts the process in half so they don’t have to search for your listing.
Other ways to get customers reviews on Google
Sending a short link to your customers isn’t the only strategy for encouraging your customers to leave Google reviews for your business, but it is a good free option.
Some other ways that you can encourage customers to leave Google reviews:
- Provide excellent customer service
- Place “rate us on Google” signage throughout your business
- Include a QR code that points to your reviews on receipts
- Include instructions for how to leave a Google review on receipts
- Try reputation management software
Go deeper: How to get Google reviews
When you do start getting new Google reviews, whether through these short links or one of these other methods, be sure to respond to your reviews shortly after receiving them. Womply’s research shows that businesses that regularly respond to reviews earn up to 49% more revenue!
Google will send you notifications when you receive a new review so you can promptly view it and acknowledge your customer.
Check out our guide: How to respond to Google reviews
If you want some help automating the process of sending your customers to Google and responding to their reviews, reputation management software is definitely worth trying out. Womply’s solution saves businesses an average of ten hours of work each week. Learn more, plus get free reputation monitoring and customer insights when you sign up for Womply Free!