“Buy Google reviews” no doubt can help you get more reviews but is it safe to use this service? Can it hamper your business’s online presence? Stick with this post to find out yourself.
Reviews play an effective part for small & local businesses. And if you are here, you must know the importance of it. Whether you are an established service provider or a local business, potential clients are comparing your service with others in your area and Google reviews are a great way to help you with this. By providing your customers through testimonials, rating stars, and positive reviews, you can earn their trust and make them your potential customers.
But is it safe to buy Google reviews?
Why you should not buy Google reviews
If you are thinking to buy Google reviews, you need to first understand its consequences and the risks associated with it. It sounds like a great, cost-effective way to uplift your business, but for a short time only. In the long run, it can cause more harm than good for your company.
It violates Google’s guidelines
Google’s guidelines have been crystal clear on terms & conditions, and genuine reviews. Fake reviews posted to manipulate a place or service’s ratings are taken very seriously by Google’s support team. You can ultimately be penalized and in such scenarios, using fake reviews to attract more customers will lead you to nothing- Zero.
So what should I do then? Simple- Earn Google reviews organically.
However, most businesses struggle with efficiently implementing Google reviews. If you too are on the same page, stay tuned-with this article we will be sharing some tips to enhance your Google reviews.
First thing first- Why Google reviews for my business?
It’s no surprise that online reviews are important, but how much? See the data.
- Customers read your reviews: 90% of customers read reviews first then visit a business.
- Customers value your business: Like said earlier, 88% of customers trust online reviews similar to personal recommendations.
- Customers trust your reviews: 72% customers have stated that positive reviews make them trust a local business more.
- Reviews drive conversions: 58% of the visitors turn into your potential client by reading your reviews.
- Reviews drive traffic: 10% of website traffic is attracted due to reviews.
Familiar with the importance of Google reviews? Let’s dive into how you can get more Google reviews.
7 ways to get more Google reviews.
Stick with this guide and generate more reviews for your business.
- Ask your customers directly: One of the oldest and easiest ways to get more reviews is to directly ask your customers.
Asking for reviews can also ensure that your customer is satisfied with your service.
- Send a follow-up Email: After providing a successful service to your customer, send them a follow-up email to leave a review.
In your email you can add:
- Be personal
- Thank your customer for choosing you
- Tell your customer the importance of feedback
- Tell your customer you appreciate and read all the reviews
- Provide a direct link for visitors to leave you a Google review.
- Add a review link: Another easy way to get more reviews is to add a review link to your website or to create a custom link.
A custom review link is a URL that you create where your customers can drop a review directly. As it is easy for customers, so chances are that you can get more reviews like this.
- Follow up your review request: Customers sometimes don’t leave a review in the first go, doesn’t mean you should not ask them again. Keep checking your review requests multiple times.
We recommend you to create two follow-up email templates that you could send your customers once a week or every other week. By doing a persistent follow-up, you are keeping your company fresh in your customer’s mind and adding more points of contact between client & your company.
- Add Calls-to-action & Pop-ups: Encourage your users to drop reviews with pop-ups & CTAs. An easy and less time consuming way to get more reviews. Add a number of CTAs & pop-ups in your website so that it doesn’t slip through your customer’s mind. Just make sure the numbers are not this huge that your customers get irritated with the pop-ups.
- Respond to the reviews: No matter if it’s a negative review or a positive one, be sure to respond to it.
Appreciate the positive reviews with a Thank you.
In case of negative reviews, apologize to your customers; tell them why the issue happened. Also, ask them how you can make your services better.
Keep in mind, Google acknowledges companies that respond to reviews.
- Last but of utmost importance- Provide excellent service: If your customer is extremely satisfied with your services, he or she is compelled to leave a review behind.
For a business like you, it is essential to keep a check on the reviews you are getting. Not only can it help you in improving your services but can also boost your confidence when you get to see so many positive reviews.
How to see/find my Google reviews?
Google reviews no doubt are one of the best things you can do for your business. But most businesses are stuck with the question- how do I see my Google reviews or how do I find my Google reviews.
Google integrates user reviews with Google maps and that is from where you can see and manage your reviews easily.
Add images as shown in the link.
If you are using a mobile, open Google maps and tap on “Contribute” at the bottom.
On the next screen, tap the “See your reviews” option.
Your reviews will appear in that section.
In case you are using a desktop, open maps.google.com in your web browser and click on ”Menu”.
Click on “Your contributions” in the menu.
Finally click on the “Reviews” tab and you will be able to see all your reviews there.
How do I edit or delete my reviews?
Follow the above steps and simply add the three dots next to a review and select “ Edit review” or “ Delete review”.
For Mobile:
For desktop:
Conclusion:
The easiest and most effective way to gain more reviews is to deliver an excellent service to your customers. Instead of buying Google reviews, think of ways to earn customer’s trust naturally.
The reviews are not just the final factor to convert the prospects to customers but also hold a lot of weight in search algorithms and your business’s visibility. One more thing to keep in mind is that your posted reviews should not be too old as customers trust reviews that are only 3-4 months old.
Hopefully, our guide will help you make the most of Google reviews.