Have you thought about your business’ Google reviews lately? You definitely should be. Google reviews offer a powerful tool to increase the attention your business gets, and your conversion rate. This is because 91% of consumers between 18 and 34 seek out online reviews before they purchase a product. Reviews have an extremely powerful effect on influencing people to buy. Which is why having positive reviews online can increase your sales by 18%.

So how exactly do Google reviews help your business, and how do you get them? Let’s cover that now.   

How Google reviews help your business

1. Grow social proof and trust

Social proof is transformative in determining whether someone will purchase your product or not. If you have two product options, one that has been recommended by someone, and one that you had no prior knowledge about, you are going to take the recommended product. This is because decisions that have been validated by others feel like good decisions.

That is where online reviews come in. When we see reviews from countless others validating our decision to buy, we are more likely to follow through on that decision. There is social proof that your products or services are good, building trust in your brand. If you want some numbers around this, it was found that customers are willing to spend 31% more with a retailer that has good reviews. At the same time, 94% of online shoppers report that they have been deterred by negative reviews they read online.  

2. Increase your visibility and local SEO

If you are looking to boost your SEO strategy, then having a Google review strategy alongside it is where you should start looking. Google reviews are just another way Google looks at where you should be placed in search. As reviews are great social proof, Google is more likely to recommend a business that has better reviews than businesses that do not. This is because Google is aiming to put what it sees as the highest quality options at the top in order to provide the best service to its users.

So, if you want to grow your organic traffic and build your rankings you need to be looking at your Google reviews.

3. Engage with your customers

Google reviews offer a new avenue to interact with your customers, gauge their feedback, and even turn a negative experience into a positive. Through Google reviews, you have the opportunity to see what your customers really think about your business. This is a great way to gain feedback to improve your business and learn about issues you may have been unaware of.

Google allows you to respond to reviews when you receive them, which provides the perfect avenue to engage with the customer about their experience. Providing a warm and welcoming response to a great Google review can make a customer feel appreciated and even turn them into long-time fans of your business. At the same time, you should respond to negative reviews as well. When responding stick to the facts, explain your side of the story, and use it to demonstrate that you take feedback seriously. This will make them feel appreciated, and could even result in them coming back again, or even turn their negative review into a positive in the eyes of potential customers.

4. Encourage a customer to purchase

Google reviews act as one perfect final push to get a customer who is on the fence over the line. When a customer is unsure whether to make the final move and purchase from you they will often turn to your reviews for guidance. On average it takes 10 reviews before a customer feels that they can trust a business, and often they will spend up to 45 minutes reading reviews before deciding to buy. This makes having plenty of 5-star reviews essential.

Your Google reviews will sway people in their decision to buy from you or not. The higher your average star rating the better. If you are just starting out in getting reviews don’t fret too much. Having 5 reviews is 270% more likely to convince a customer than having no reviews.  

5. Stand out from the crowd

In highly competitive industries, like eCommerce, hospitality, and more, having more good reviews than your competitors can make you stand out in the crowd. You may have noticed that when searching for a product or service, businesses in your area often there is a map in search. This lists out a variety of businesses that are all competitors of each other. It shows their location, their name, and their Google review rating. In fact, this review rating is very prominent.

In many circumstances, you will be compared side by side with your competitors with only basic information about your business. The one thing that will make you stand out is having a higher star rating and more reviews than your competitors.

How to get Google reviews

The best way to get Google reviews is to just ask. You will find that people are more than willing to provide a review when asked. However, many may be unsure what you expect them to say. In that case, it is always good to provide examples of a good review when you are asking, that way they can use what has already been written to help them write their own.

One final thing, make sure to include the time you expect them to take to write the review. If you say, “write a quick 30 second Google review at this link” it makes the review seem less effort than saying “Leave a Google review.”  

Conclusion

Having a solid Google review strategy is one of the best things you can do for your business’ marketing. With a large library of social proof, and a great average star rating you will help your customers feel confident in purchasing from you. So, how do you get started? Just reach out to some of your customers right now and ask.

If you need more advice on Google reviews feel free to reach out.