Boost Online Reputation: 5 Proven Ways For Genuine Google Reviews

The success of any brand depends on the number of real customers it acquires. To attract potential customers, you must have a formidable digital marketing strategy. One aspect of this strategy that gives sure-shot results is displaying positive customer reviews. 

There are many platforms where one can see customer reviews. You have social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, E-commerce platforms like Amazon, and Service Directories like Yelp, etc also display online reviews. However, of all these, there is one undisputed online leader and its properties that top the list. 

In the fight for online reviews, Google is Numero Uno, with a lion’s share of 58% of them. A whopping 65% of consumers check Google Business reviews before making a purchase decision. 

Google reviews are unarguably considered social proof of the likeability of any brand. Most digital marketing agencies that focus on local communities try to garner great reviews for the brand on Google My Business. They do this to increase the chances of the brand featuring more on Google local Search besides increasing the likelihood of lead conversions. 

The nature of the Google review has a definite bearing on the business reputation of the brand. Positive reviews almost always boost a brand image while negative reviews can damage it. Fake reviews can create suspicion and distrust about the brand. So, it is very important to get genuine and good reviews on Google. 

5 Easy Ways to Get Google Reviews 

Be it good or bad, Google Reviews help you gain insights into the customer’s mindset. This helps you improve the customer experience. So, it is best to gain genuine reviews on google through the following ways. 

Using Google My Business Marketing Kit 

The Google My Business Marketing Kit is specially designed by Google to help small businesses like you create and download marketing materials. The marketing collateral includes ideas for personalized posters, custom stickers, social media posts, etc. The stickers and signs are printable, while the posts can be uploaded on social media channels. All these are created from the verified Google Business Profiles you claimed. 

Each of these materials can be customized to suit the brand and used online or offline. You can even launch promotional campaigns using these Google Business Profile marketing materials and use them to get customer feedback. 

The posts and posters invite the customer to leave a review online. You can even give offers or coupons to customers for reviews. These marketing and promotional efforts for your Google Business Profile can help you get genuine reviews from customers. 

Using a Relevant Website Landing Page 

Your website is the hallmark of your business credibility and your 24/7 marketing and sales workhorse. Make sure you feature many good reviews on several pages of the website, not just the home page. 

Another way to feature Google Reviews on your website is to create a Landing Page for reviews. This webpage can feature the existing reviews and also have a CTA to post new ones. Encourage future customers to leave their feedback and reviews on the website. Maintain a review count of good and bad reviews Display this count to prove the credibility of your brand. Learn to identify fake reviews and weed out fraudulent reviews and inappropriate reviews. 

Display the link to this Review Page prominently in the footer of your Home Page. Display this link prominently to encourage visitors to share their customer experiences on the site. Use tools like Amplify to propagate these reviews. Publicize the fact that people have shared their experiences with your brand. 

You can even post anonymous reviews but personal reviews accompanied by the name, position, and photo or a video carry more credibility. All such reviews are considered real reviews and taken seriously by potential customers. 

Formulate a review strategy with the help of your digital marketing agency. Invite reviews from review sites and display them on this landing page. 

Using Emails 

Use the power of email marketing to draw traffic to your site and encourage them to leave reviews. Create a Review Email Campaign to invite reviews from customers via emails. 

An email is a personalized message with a powerful reach. It reaches the customer directly and prompts a response. 

Coin a short yet perfectly-worded email and include a link to your GMB business profile. This CTA will help customers leave their feedback on google easily. 

If you find it hard to compile your review request email, use email templates to do this in a professional manner. 

Here are 3 free email review request templates from TrustMetrics you can use today to grow your Google reviews portfolio. 

‍Include a Google Review link 

A Google Review link is a link that allows the customer to directly link to your google Listing and leave the reviews there. Use the Google Review Link Generator to create this link. 

Once you create this link, this Google Review Link can be copy pasted onto many emails, social media posts, review websites, blog posts, etc. you can even include them in your handouts, or even printed receipts that you generate online. 

You can even include this Google Review link along with your Email Signature. This can work really well if you are communicating with your clients frequently. Word the review request like this. 

“Happy with us @—-brand name—. Do let us know—-link—” 

“How was your experience with the service performed by —-brand name—? Let us and others know by leaving your review on —link–“. 

This might really work for you as your happy customers and loyal customers would really love to share their experiences with others. 

You can even ask them to rate your customer service and display them on your website. A 5-star rating is what you should aim at but one or two 3 or 4-star ratings or lesser than average ratings are equally good as they sound truly authentic. 

Add Review URLs in online surveys and polls 

If a customer has the patience to answer a survey or participate in a poll, you might as well make the most of his momentum. Request them to leave their feedback and review by including the review link in the poll. 

You can even create a Review poll with just a Y/N option to describe if their service experience was good. But, this kind of poll can only give a review count of the number of good and bad experiences and not the entire picture. 

Liked what you are reading so far, here are 11 more ways to get Google reviews! 

Ways to improve the review experience 

Respond to all reviews in a quick and positive manner 

Any kind of reviews matter. Positive feedback is what encourages but honest feedback is what makes us repair our flaws and helps us grow. 

So, display all types of reviews, both positive reviews and negative ones. For negative reviews, try to respond with a corrective action measure. 

Quality reviews like 4-star and 5-star reviews help to boost your image online. Learn to look for authenticity in reviews. Bogus reviews are usually anonymous reviews without a name or address. 

Do not resort to review gating by blocking negative feedback or bad reviews. Stay compliant with Google’s review policies to maintain the authenticity of the reviews. 

Be it any type of review, remember to respond to it within 7 days. A delayed response is as good as none. Moreover, if you delay your response to bad feedback, it may be misunderstood as your uncaring approach. Google also tracks response times to messages, reviews, quotations and Q&As on Google My Business (GBP), so there you have an extra incentive to respond sooner! 

Use Review Management Tools 

Birdeye, Review Tracker, Trustpilot, TrustMetrics etc are some review management platforms. Here are some advantages of using them: 

• They help you to manage your online reputation through reviews. 

• They request, monitor, and respond to all reviews. 
• They also help you showcase the best and most authentic reviews. 
• You even have review generation tools and review request templates that you can use. 
• Help customers post a Quick Review. Include a Review button instead of a link to help them post or rate a review instantly. 
• They can also add a Reviews Widget to your website or mobile app if you have any. 

• Provide analytics on review count, rating, sentiment, etc. 

Most customers do not have time to write detailed reviews. They might want to write brief ones or just add a rating. Help them do this by adding a Google My Business Reviews Widget to your website, social media and blog posts. These widgets and buttons will reduce the average response time of customers and make reviewing easier for them. 

Improve your customer service 

The first and foremost thing you must do to get 5-star Google Reviews is to improve your quality of service. 

Create wow experiences for users. Encourage them to post such experience videos on social media channels. by doing this, your reviews will appear also on mobile devices. 

Try to convert dissatisfied customers or unhappy customers to happy ones. Use follow-up emails to get in touch with them and inform them of your remedial actions. Ask them to review you again after the improved experience. 

Keep in touch with all customers on a regular basis 

Capture the customer details like name and email address through email marketing campaigns. Keep in touch with them on a regular basis. 

Invite them to leave their feedback on the positive experience they had over the years. 

Remember, online reputation management is vital to establishing and maintaining your business and brand image online. Use the power of Google reviews to enhance your online reputation and brand equity.