Over the last two years or so, Google has added many additional features to their Business profile listings. Formerly known as Google My Business, this profile is an important resource for businesses large and small in appropriately matching up their products and services with local searchers in their service area. In addition to things like product images, business hours, and service lists - your Google Business profile provides a link that takes visitors directly to the review page of your profile to provide feedback.
Finding the Review Link on your Google Business Profile
The first step to finding the review link is logging into your Google Business profile. If you are unable to do so, it's possible you still need to create one for your business or claim an existing one. Once that step is completed, you can access the review link from the Home page. The images below identify the home page from the left hand menu and the box/button you can access on that page to copy your businesses' unique review link.
Once copied from this box, you can share the link anywhere to start gathering reviews. The link will take customer or clients directly to the review section to leave one through five stars and a description of their experience.
Advantages of Sharing Your Review Link
In today's world, getting reviews for your business has never been more important. Here's why you should be trying to get as much feedback as possible:
Consumers are more likely to trust a company with reviews than without
To receive testimonials you can use as marketing materials to promote your business
So you can know what's going right or wrong within your business
Reviews are undoubtedly a ranking factor for SEO - the more the better
You have more control over Google Reviews than other review sites
Gathering honest reviews online can help your business in numerous ways, but some businesses are reluctant to pull the trigger. After all, someone could leave a bad review right? Yes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if it happens every once in awhile. With Google Reviews, you have the ability to respond to comments and try to rectify the situation. It shows that you care about each client and their experience with you.
From an SEO standpoint, Google wants to send people to the most relevant results someone is searching for. They look deeper than just what your business does, and will often see how your business is perceived. They check for this by looking at your number of reviews and your average customer rating. Another thing to consider is people can find other websites like Yelp, Trip Advisor, or social media sites to leave reviews on that don't help you appear organically. So it's best to direct people to your Google Reviews where you maintain a level of control, and respond to any negative reviews.
How To Gather More Reviews
Here are a few common ideas for regularly gathering reviews:
Create a QR code that can be easily distributed to customers or clients that will send them to your profile via mobile device
Include the review link in monthly or quarterly newsletters
Make requesting reviews a part of your sales process - get the entire team onboard
To take the previous point even further, make sure to request reviews at the point of sale when people are the most enthusiastic about their interactions with you
Could You Use Help Optimizing Your Google Business Profile?
When we work with a client, this is one of the first things we look to improve. When your Google Business Profile is set up and optimized, it can be one of the best free marketing tools for your business. If you need help maximizing the use of your Google Business Profile, we are more than happy to assist you.