Google Reviews Guide: How to Get Reviews for Your Business

Google Reviews matter for small businesses across every industry including auto, healthcare, retail, med spa, jewelry, HVAC, and more. Approximately 97% of people use online search to learn about a local company or service, and reviews are often the first thing they see.

Potential customers want detailed, first-hand information from their online peers—whom they trust—to help them make decisions and become informed about the customer experience. That’s why having positive reviews is a must if you want to get leads, increase sales, and make more money.

The good news is that getting more high-quality Google Reviews isn’t that difficult—in fact, there are many things you can do to get more reviews and manage them to improve your business’s online reputation.

How To Get Google Reviews

Collecting Google Reviews from customers who have experienced your product or service is a free and easy way to show customer feedback across on Google—and specifically, your Google Business Profile or Google Maps). Think of Google Reviews as modern-day word-of-mouth marketing—they provide social proof and influence purchase decisions. Publicly, you can see Google Reviews as comments and a five-star ratings on the search engine results page (SERP) for a certain query.

A few of the benefits of having reviews are your ability to:

• Build brand trust.
• Improve local search engine optimization (SEO).
• Learn about your customer’s pain points.
• Discover what your customers love about your business/product/service.
• Improve your online reputation.

Next, let’s review the 5 steps you need to take to get more Google Reviews for your business.

1. Verify your business and claim ownership of your Google Business Profile.

Verifying ownership of your brand is important to respond to your customer’s reviews.

The first thing you need to do is claim your Google business listing, which will allow you to update your information and make it stand out from the competition. This is done by using Google Business Profile, a tool where you can manage how your company shows up across Google’s products. (In the past, Google Business Profile was known as Google My Business or GMB.)

You can do this in several ways:

• Add your business through Google Maps
• Add your business through Search Console when you connect your site
• Add your business through your Google account

Here is how you can verify your business through your Google account, specifically:

• Log in to your business’ Google account.
• Visit Google Business Profile and click Manage Now.
• Enter your business name.
• Enter your business address and service area.
• Select the appropriate category for your business.
• Enter your business’s contact info.
• Verify your business.

2. Optimize your Google Business Profile.

Once you have the ability to update your listing, you should put in the effort to make sure it’s attractive and filled with relevant information that will entice searchers to click on your listing. At the minimum, you should aim to do the following:

Add relevant information about your business.

When you fill out your business description, it should include all the information about your business that customers might find relevant. You can include keywords but don’t use this field as an opportunity to stuff keywords. Oftentimes, Google views this as spam, and your local search ranking could suffer as a result.

Include up-to-date hours of operation.

One piece of information customers are looking for when they Google your business is whether or not you are currently open. Because of this, you should take the time to update your hours of operation whenever a change occurs. It is also important to include any variations, for example, if you have special holiday hours.

Upload high-resolution photos.

One thing many businesses neglect to do is upload enough photos to make their listing stand out among the competition. Pictures on your Google Business Profile help tell a visual story about what it’s like to do business with you and will help you garner more interactions with online searchers. Google has found that listings that feature photos receive 42% more requests for driving directions from Google Maps, and 35% more clicks through to the business’s website.

3. Ask for Google Reviews and ratings.

Getting more reviews isn’t difficult—it just requires you to ask your customers for them. You can request reviews in person or via text.

No matter what channel you use, think about the following:

Choose the right timing.

Determine the right moment to invite your customers to leave a review. Usually, downtime in the sales process is ideal. For example, in the auto industry, a good time might be after the sale is completed and the customer is waiting in finance. They’re just sitting there anyway, so why not ask them to leave a review and walk them through the process?

Explain why your customer’s opinion matters.

People are more likely to collaborate if they understand why you need their help. Let your customers know that their feedback is important to you and that you use it to improve your business.

Be transparent about your motive.

There’s nothing wrong with informing your customers that you’d like to get a review because it helps you stand out in Google search results, especially if they’re having a good experience.

Set expectations.

Tell your customers what you want them to do. Be clear about the process: How will they be receiving the invite to give the review? When will they be receiving the invite to rank your product or service? What channel should they be aware of?

Eliminate barriers.

The harder it is for customers to leave reviews, the less likely they will. Make the rating and commenting process as easy as possible. Online review management platforms and tools like Podium can help.

Personalize the ask.

Make your customer feel special and try to personalize the ask as much as possible, depending on the channel you’re requesting it through.

4. Thank your customers for leaving a review.

Saying “Thanks!” is a must. Depending on the process, you can do it beforehand or once your customer has left the review on Google. Whether the feedback is good or bad, responding to reviews in an assertive and timely way is a good practice—and saying “Thank you!”” should be part of that.

If possible, be specific and personalize the response. Call the individual by name, or refer to a part of their review that you liked. You can also make this easy with the help of an AI-powered review response tool like Podium.

5. Follow up if you didn’t get the review.

If a customer does not respond to your initial invite, no worries. You can send a friendly reminder through your communication channels.

For example, a brief text, which can be triggered by your automated system. Pro tip: always make sure to balance automation with personalization to maintain human connection.

5 Benefits of Google Reviews

1. Google Reviews and ratings increase exposure and local SEO.

Google doesn’t openly share details about how they calculate local search rankings. However, Google has claimed that they determine ranking based on:

• Relevance
• Prominence
• Distance

Reviews impact the first of these, alerting crawlers that a business is relevant to the searcher. According to Google, they also carefully analyze a businesses’s review recency, frequency, quality, and quantity when ranking.

Getting regular Google Reviews is one of the fastest and most important ways to improve local SEO and increase your visibility. While traditional SEO activities (like keyword research and blogging), are effective, it can take months and even years to see results. With proper execution, Google Reviews can be one of your most successful marketing tactics by boosting your rankings and getting you into Google Maps.

2. Google Reviews increase brand trust.

Transparency is becoming more and more relevant for consumers. 86% say it’s more important than ever, and 94% say they’re more likely to be loyal to a transparent brand. The growing relevance (and importance) placed on transparency can largely be accredited to the accessibility of in-depth information about any given business. The fact is that before engaging with you, online research is the first thing customers do. And the majority of them read reviews.

Positive reviews increase customer trust in a local business significantly. The way businesses respond to reviews, both positive and negative, also impacts customer trust. 89% of consumers read business responses, and 56% say a business’s responses have changed their perspective on the business.

3. Google Reviews create a valuable feedback loop.

One of the biggest advantages of Google reviews is the feedback loop and customer intelligence you can utilize. Every Google review you collect can serve as a customer survey response. Each Google review generally includes a few key insights:

• Whether or not you delivered a positive customer experience
• Where you excelled or under-delivered
• How you can improve
• Reading positive and negative Google reviews can tell you exactly what you’re doing well and where there’s room for improvement.

4. Google Reviews improve click-through rate to your website.

Any business knows how vital it is to get customers to click on their website when it shows up in a search. You may spend all the time and money in the world to improve your SEO strategy, but if people aren’t actually clicking on your site, all that effort is pointless. Luckily, Google Reviews increase the click-through rate to a business’s website. And the more clicks a site receives, the higher it climbs in Google’s rankings.

5. Google Reviews increase revenue.

Through their direct optimization of a number of factors (visibility, SEO, feedback, trust), Google Reviews increase the amount of money businesses bring in. They have a direct impact on purchasing decisions and the way customers find and choose which businesses to buy from. And because methods of collection are so much cheaper than other forms of marketing, a Google Reviews strategy is one of the most cost-effective campaigns you can use.

How to Get More Google Reviews: 27 Tips & Best Practices

1.  Send a text. Increase the number of Google Reviews you get by sending a personalized text to your customers. You can automate the send of these tailored texts with Podium.

2.  Create a Google Review link shortcut. This allows you to send customers messages with a short link that they can click to review your business quickly and easily. You can create a Google Review link for free using Podium’s Google Review Link Generator.

3. Automate the process. Automate your review system to send personalized invites at the key points in your customer journey to increase your collection rate and save time and hassle for your team. Learn how Podium helps customers automate their Google Reviews here.

4. Post a sign. After having a good experience with a local business, consumers are 12% more likely to leave a review if they see a sign asking them to.

5. Train your employees to ask in person. Before sending a review invite and whenever possible, your employees should always ask in person. Check out these tips and templates on how to ask for Google Reviews.

6. Use powerful language when you ask for reviews. Use active language that focuses on benefits, like “Leave a review to help us create a better experience for you” vs. “share an opinion.” Use language that will put your customer in the driver’s seat whenever possible.

7. Add CTA pop-ups to your site. In addition to text invites, use CTA pop-ups on your website such as: “Are you enjoying your new tires? Leave us a review!” These pop-ups will actively engage customers and catch any who may have fallen through the cracks.

8.  Send review requests to previous customers. Use your CRM data to connect with previous customers and ask for Google Reviews. You’ll have higher success if you recall the experience, ask straightforwardly, and emphasize convenience.

9. Incentivize your employees. In addition to training, incentivize your employees based on the number of Google Reviews they collect. You can also offer extra incentives if their name is mentioned in the review.

10. Talk through good/bad reviews with employees in weekly meetings. Celebrate positive reviews and use negative reviews as case studies to help your team improve your customer experience. Here are some more tips for generating 5-star reviews.

11. Publicize changes. When you make changes from the feedback you receive, publicize those changes to let customers know you are responding to their comments

12. Turn negative reviews into positive ones. You can’t always edit or remove negative reviews. However, once you respond and an issue in a negative review has been resolved, invite the customer to leave another review. You can do this by first responding to negative reviews quickly and proactively.

13. Add a review widget to your website. Every business should take the time to embed Google Reviews on their website. In most cases, you must use plugins or widgets to add or embed a Google Review for website pages. Check out our guide on how to add Google review widgets to your website.

14. Create a Google Reviews page on your website. Create a page on your website dedicated solely to Google Reviews. On this page, you can include an invitation to leave a review and highlight existing reviews. Pro tip: when highlighting reviews, put them in text form instead of using screenshots so that any keywords will improve SEO.

15. Create a template for your review text. Create a simple template so you can automatically copy and paste review text to save time and hassle when highlighting reviews.

16. Include a Google review CTA in your footer. If it isn’t elsewhere on your homepage, make sure to at least include a Google Review CTA in your footer!

17. Run a Google Review email campaign. Run a Google Review email campaign asking customers to leave you a review.

18. Include a Google Review link in your email signature. Speaking of emails, it doesn’t hurt to include a subtle CTA in all of your email correspondence, both marketing and personal.

19. Manage reviews. If you want to collect reviews, it’s crucial to show your customers that reviews matter to you, and that means managing them. Respond to negative reviews within two hours and positive ones within 24 hours.

20. Leave a Google Review card. Business cards are still fairly common, especially among contractors and service companies. In addition to leaving a business card, consider leaving a Google Review card that includes a link (or a QR code) and brief instructions on how to leave a review.

21. Include Google Review opportunities in surveys. Collecting feedback presents a perfect opportunity to ask for a review. When sending surveys to customers, include the opportunity to leave a review at the end.

22. Ask for reviews on social media. Start by posting a screenshot of your best review and asking your customers to leave their own feedback.

23. Share positive reviews in other ways. Make your positive reviews more visible. For example, share them on your website, across social media, on other digital platforms, and even in your physical storefront.

24. Get Google Reviews from vendors or partners. Network with other local businesses to increase visibility and collect Google Reviews. It might be helpful if you write one for them first.

25. Create a “How to leave a Google Review” video. Show your customers how easy it is to leave a review. Create a short YouTube video that demonstrates how to leave your business a Google Review with catchy music, imagery, and/or gifs.

26. Incentivize your customers to leave a review. While incentivizing customers to leave a positive review is against Google’s policy, incentivizing them to leave a review is not. Consider creating a rewards system or promo to incentivize your customers to leave a review.

27. Use a reputation management platform. Managing, responding to, collecting, and analyzing reviews can be quite a task for any team to take on. But using the right reputation management platform makes it easy. For example, with Podium, you can automatically send personalized Google Review invites at the perfect point in the customer journey to increase your number of 5-star reviews.

Whatever you do, you should not buy Google reviews. Learn about the major reasons why your local business shouldn’t buy Google Reviews and how to find effective alternatives.

How to Respond to Google Reviews

When it comes to whether or not you should respond to Google Reviews, the answer is almost always yes. Responding to reviews—both the negative and the positive ones—shows potential customers that you care about the people you do business with.

But we get it. Responding can be intimidating. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Responding to Reviews: Do’s and Don’ts

• Respond in a timely manner.
• Make your responses personal and meaningful.
• Show your gratitude in the response.
• Don’t be defensive—a resolution is more important than being right.
• Don’t let negative reviews discourage you.
• Don’t respond only to negative reviews.

Discover more tips for how to respond to Google Reviews here.

How to Leave a Google Review

Customers leave Google Reviews because they want to express the emotional experience they had with a business. Other reasons are to express appreciation, to help the business improve itself, and to help other customers make informed decisions.

Knowing how to leave a Google Review is as simple as it is important. After you search and find a local business, scroll down and click Write a Review. Select a certain number of stars and write out the details of your experience with the business. Click Post.

How to Delete a Google Review

There may be a time or two when someone leaves your business a particularly bad, or even a fake, review. Typically, you don’t want to delete negative reviews because that makes it look like you have something to cover up. It can also actually hurt your online reputation.

Respond to any negative reviews you receive. If you get a fake review, flag it to Google as one that is fake, inappropriate, or promotes a competitor. It will then be reviewed by Google for removal. You can also report the negative review to Google Small Business Support who will make a decision about removing it.

Ultimately, having a few bad reviews mixed in with all the good reviews isn’t the end of the world. In fact, it shows that you are a real business with real customers. If a situation calls for it, you can review this full step-by-step process on how to delete a Google review here.

How Reviews Show Up in the Google Ecosystem

As mentioned above, Google Reviews can be collected through integrated platforms like Google Merchant Centers, Google Local Services Ads, and more. Learn how the whole platform comes together and why reviews matter across Google’s services and products.

1. Google Business Account Profile

Why does your Google Business Profile matter so much? By optimizing your Google Business Profile, you’ll:

• Allow your business to appear on Google Search and Google Maps.
• Feature your business name, location, and hours.
• Provide a way to manage how your business appears, including by adding photos and videos.
• Allow for monitoring and replying to your customer questions and reviews.
• Get insights on how and where people are searching for and interacting with your business.
• Share updates about your business.
• Schedule and manage customer appointments with a simple click.
• Disseminate consistent and accurate information about your business, even with third-party sites.

2. Google Merchant Centers

Google Merchant Center (GMC) is a retail solution for uploading your store, brand, and product data to Google Shopping. To offer a seamless process for both businesses and shoppers, GMC integrates with:

• Google Business Profile
• Google Express
• Google Adwords
• Google Analytics

Google Merchant Center benefits include:

• More opportunities for capturing helpful customer reviews
• Keep your feed accurate, complete, and updated with detailed data
• Use high-quality, impressive product images to build your brand
• Match your ad’s product info to your landing pages
• See your customers’ journey to identify ways you can make the process more seamless

3. Google Local Services Ads

Google Local Services Ads is a pay-per-lead ad unit that’s designed for licensed and insured service providers, such as plumbers and general contractors. Google gives priority to businesses that can pass background checks and are trusted by local customers (via Google reviews). Local Services Ads are beneficial because you only pay when a customer contacts you because of the ad, and you can get the Google Guarantee indicator.

4. Google Click-to-Message

Google Click-to-Message is the option to give customers the ability to message your business directly from your Google business listing. This is a great feature, but you should remember the basic rules for text messaging customers:

• Put an emphasis on quick response times
• Never ask for credit card numbers, banking info, social security numbers, or any other sensitive information
• After a matter is resolved, ask for your customer’s feedback
• Send your contact information and encourage customers to add you to their contacts

To set up Google Click-to-Message, simply log in, select Messaging, add your phone number, and verify it.

5. Google Ads Campaigns

Google Ads is an effective marketing strategy that, unfortunately, isn’t often used to its full potential. Consider the importance of Google Reviews in Google Ads campaigns, which is that the ads that have a lot of great reviews get the leads above the ads that don’t. The more reviews you get, the more conversions you have, which turn into more reviews and more sales. It’s a beautiful cycle that works.

6. Google Knowledge Panel

Google Knowledge Panel is a way to enhance Google results with info that is gathered from all over the web. That info is then presented to searchers in an info-box on the side of the results page. This feature gives your business greater visibility and a better chance of capturing your audience. To get Google Knowledge Panel to work for you, you must claim your business, build your online presence, and optimize your listings.

7. Google Maps Marketing and Reviews

No business listing is complete without an associated Google Maps result. Since customers typically search for a nearby business on the same day that they want to contact or visit, conversions are quick. Remember that there’s also a Google Maps App. To make the most of this huge opportunity, you must have the reviews to back up your ad. Also, make sure to use these Google Maps marketing tips.

Complete the info on your Google business page by adding:

• Specific cities you service
• Business categories
• Business hours
• Add attractive photos with metadata
• Use keywords in any customer-facing descriptions
• Create local search ads
• Verify your business

Google reviews should be an integral part of your digital marketing strategy. They help increase your visibility, build trust and credibility with consumers, and push consumers through every stage of the buyer’s journey. If your business is taking proactive steps to secure reviews, it should see an increase in traffic both to its website as well as to its physical location.

Need help collecting reviews? Businesses that use Podium see over double the monthly review volume in less than 60 days.