If you are a small business owner, Google My Business profile is imperative to improve your local SEO and get more leads for your business.
But it’s not enough just to create and verify your GMB profile. It needs to be neatly optimized for Google to start ranking your profile in the local map pack. And one of the best ways to do it is to get reviews from your clients.
Why Reviews Are So Important.
Google reviews are one of the most important ranking factors for local businesses. The 2021 survey had 132 potential factors that local search experts think Google might use to rank businesses in the local pack and local organic results. According to local SEO experts, reviews on your Google My Business profile is the second most important factor (17%).
Google has confirmed that they use online reviews as a factor in their algorithm when determining which businesses to rank higher in the search results. If you have positive reviews, it’s more likely that your business will appear higher in search results than one with no reviews or negative reviews. In addition, reviewers often include keywords in their review that could help your business get found for those terms (e.g., “great coffee shop in Seattle”).
The benefits of having good Google reviews are numerous – not only will it improve your ranking, but it will also increase click-through rates and help build trust with potential customers. Online reviews are a form of social proof. They show potential clients that other people have used your product or service and liked it enough to leave you a review.
This can make them more likely to choose you over your competitor that has no reviews or negative reviews. In fact, studies have shown that nearly 70% of consumers say they would hesitate to use a business with no online reviews. Furthermore, 40% of people will not purchase from a business unless it has at least 4 stars.
Online customer reviews provide valuable social proof that helps overcome the skepticism many people feel when considering purchasing something new or trying out a new service provider.
How To Get More Reviews On Google?
If you already have clients and they are happy with your products or services, getting them to leave a review on Google can be seamlessly easy. Basically, all you have to do is to facilitate the process of finding your GMB profile, and then just ask them to write a few good words about you and your company.
Make It Easy For Your Clients to Leave You a Review.
To leave a review on your GMB profile, your clients have to open up Google Maps, search for your business, click on it to pull up your Google My Business profile, scroll down to the reviews section in your profile, and only then they’ll see the review button.
As you can see, it can take some time to write a review for your business. So, the first thing you need is to remove all the unnecessary steps, and make it a one-click process. For that you’ll need to create a Google review link shortcut.
Go to your Google My Business account, navigate to the Home tab, and look for the “Get your first review” or “Get more reviews” button. Click “Share review form”, and you will get a link. Now you can use this link literally everywhere, and your clients will be able to write a review for you in just one click.
Embed Google Reviews In Your Email Signature.
You can send out automated emails after someone makes a purchase from your store or uses your service.
Include a link to your GMB listing in the signature along with a brief call-to-action (e.g., “Click here if we made YOU happy!”). You can create an HTML email signature using one of many online tools or services; just be sure to test it before rolling it out company-wide so that everything looks perfect.
And make sure the email looks personal so it doesn’t look like spam!
Add Review Links To Your Website.
Another way to encourage customer reviews is by adding the link directly to high-traffic areas of your website (e.g., the home page, product pages, blog posts). It will make it easier for visitors who are already familiar with your business and satisfied with your products or services to quickly write a review.
Leverage Your Credibility.
Once you’ve gotten enough reviews for your Google My Business profile, you will not only start ranking higher in local search results, but you will also be able to use them as a social proof to increase your conversion rate.
By adding reviews to yo
ur website, you can increase customer confidence and boost sales.
If you don’t already have Google Reviews on your website, there are a few easy ways to add them. One option is to use a plugin that will automatically display your Google Reviews on your site. Another option is to manually add code snippets from Google onto specific pages of your site where you want the reviews to appear.
You can include your Google reviews in your product or services descriptions, or you can create a separate page on your site that includes all of your reviews. This makes it easy for customers to find everything in one place.
No matter how you choose to add reviews to your website, make sure they’re prominently displayed throughout your entire site to convert more website visitors into your new clients.
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