How To Generate Positive Online Reviews To Increase Business

How To Generate Positive Online Reviews To Increase Business

A recent research study done by BrightLocal found that 68% of people said that positive online reviews increase their trust towards a local business.

Having positive reviews on a search engine like Google can be the deciding factor for a customer in choosing your business over one of your competitors.

We’re going to tell you exactly how you can create positive online reviews for your business.

Knowing how to effectively build up your online reviews (and target local keywords) can boost your search rankings and drive in quality customers – the ones who are most likely to buy from you.

Before we show you to get positive reviews for your business, we first need to look at why you need to have good reviews.

The Benefits of Positive Reviews

It can help your local search ranking

Having online reviews for your business can have a positive impact in your local SEO ranking. According to the Local Search Ranking Factors survey by Moz, online reviews found to represent about 10% of how Google and other search engines rank a website’s results when searched.

In the survey, Moz found that review quantity, review velocity and review diversity were three of the biggest review signals that affected a search ranking. Interestingly enough, it was found that reviews also had a bigger impact on local rankings than social signals had, such as Facebook and Twitter.

This likely stems from the fact that Google wants to be as accurate and relevant as it can possibly be. Think about it. If Google makes it extremely easy and fast for searchers to find exactly what they’re looking for, users will be satisfied and Google will be achieving its mission. Google wants you to find the most relevant and useful link, and that’s what online reviews help them do.

Reviews draw attention

When you type something into Google and the results appear, are you more likely to click on the link with 0 reviews and a no-star rating or the link with 95 reviews and a 4.8-star rating? It’s the latter of the two you’re probably going to click first.

It isn’t just travel destinations, hotels, restaurants and car rental businesses that benefit from having online reviews for potential customers to see. Online reviews can benefit any local business in any industry.

Let’s say we are looking to get a pool cleaned in Clearwater, Florida. A quick search for “Clearwater pool cleaning” is put into Google and we’re given the top results.

What’s the first thing you see in the results? If you said one of the two listings who have reviews with a star rating then you are in the majority. Google’s orange stars that come with multiple online reviews attract the eyes of searchers almost instantly. The more reviews your business has with the higher number of stars, the more success you’re likely to see.

People in today’s world expect to find what they’re looking for very quickly. Having the advantage of owning a lot of positive online reviews can help you be the first business searchers click on.

Positive reviews provide credibility

Having a high number of positive reviews undoubtedly gives your business credibility. A positive review is a vote of confidence from a previous customer to a potential customer saying they recommend your product or service.

92% of people now read online reviews while a star rating is the #1 factor used by consumers to form an opinion on a business. It’s clear that reviews can have a major role in the success of your business.

Generating Positive Online Reviews

Now that you know why it’s crucial to have online reviews you’re going to want to know how you can get them.

The best way to get reviews is simple: ask for them. Google actually encourages business owners to ask their customers to review them.

There are many ways to ask your customer to leave you a review; phone call, email, text message and face-to-face conversations are all viable options. The one method we’re going to show you how to do today is by email and what we call the Social Alchemy Method. It’s a template designed for emails and can be extremely successful in generating positive online reviews.

But before we get into that, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to reviews:

— Make sure your customers are happy as these are the ones who will leave positive reviews
— Respond to reviews (even the bad ones, which you are likely to get at some point!)
— Make it simple for customers to leave a review
— Avoid fake reviews

Before you go out and start asking for reviews, you have to make it easy for your customers to do so. If the process involves too many steps it becomes time consuming and your customer will get frustrated. It’s important to make sure that the process for leaving reviews is clear-cut and only takes up a couple of minutes of their time.

You also don’t want to ask them to leave a review as soon as the sale is complete or the agreement is signed. Allow the customer time to use the product or receive your services before asking them to review.

Don’t write fake reviews. This includes getting your friends or family members to leave a positive review without ever having tried your product or service. Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the amount of fake reviews out there and you don’t want to be one of the businesses that is full of them. People are getting better at catching fake reviews and if they start to wonder about the legitimacy of your reviews, it’s certainly not a good sign for your business.

Use the template below to email your customers and begin to see the online reviews roll in. Obviously you can customize the template to fit your market and your customers.

Hi [first name],


Hope all is well with you and your family!

Would you be able to take a couple of minutes and do me a quick favour?

Your referrals and testimonials help my business grow and are greatly appreciated.

Over the next 5 days we are testing what results we can get from getting 5-star reviews on our Google+ page.
 Can you take a couple of minutes today to leave us a 5-star rating and a quick review?

Here is the link you need;

[ enter the link to your Google and Facebook review tabs here ]

Here is a quick sample layout to help save you some time:

————–

When we met “YOUR NAME” we were X (Buying our first home, Investing in a rental property etc.)

He / She was incredibly knowledgeable and X (Made the process easy to understand, got us a great rate, etc.)



We love our new home and now recommend “YOUR NAME” to all our closest friends and family.

Thanks!

————–

Or, of course, just put it in your own words!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out anytime!

My direct line is [ enter your phone number here ].

Thank you!  We really appreciate it.

While you are thinking of me, do you know anyone looking to buy, sell or refinance?  Please pass along my information and make sure your friends mention your name when they call.

Talk soon,

[ enter signature here ]

 

Using this template as a guideline will help you communicate with your customers in an easy way when asking for reviews. Most of the time, if you treated them well and they were satisfied with your business, they will be happy to leave you a review. Just make sure it’s very easy for them to do and you tell them exactly where to go and how to do it.

Online reviews are becoming more important by the day and an increasing number of consumers are turning to reviews when making a purchase decision.

Make sure that your business is one they turn to.

If you want to have us review your website and give you a free 30 minute consultation where we show you how to generate more local customers from your website, click here.