Effective strategies for requesting Google reviews

Business owners often forget to request a review after successfully completing a job. In this article, we introduce a tool that simplifies this request and triples the likelihood of receiving a review.

Update
October 21, 2024

By actively managing your Google My Business profile and encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews, you can leverage powerful local SEO benefits, enhance your visibility, and attract more local customers.

Why Google reviews are so important for local SEO?

Google My Business (GMB) reviews are more than just feedback; they’re a cornerstone of local SEO and can significantly impact your business’s visibility in search results. Here’s why they are crucial:

Enhanced search visibility

Reviews contribute to your business’s online presence. Google tends to rank businesses with numerous positive reviews and a complete business profile higher than those with fewer reviews. This improved visibility is crucial in attracting local customers who are searching for services in their area.

Credibility and trust

High-quality, positive reviews build trust and credibility with potential customers. When searchers see that others have had good experiences, it can be the deciding factor that tips their choice in your favor.

Relevancy in local searches

Google uses reviews as one of the factors to determine relevancy for local search queries. A well-reviewed business on Google My Business is likely to appear more relevant and authoritative in local search results, driving more foot traffic.

Feedback loop and continuous improvement

Reviews provide you with direct feedback from customers, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. This can guide your business decisions and help improve your services, which in turn can lead to more positive reviews.

Best practices for gaining better reviews

One of the most effective times to request a review from your clients is immediately after service delivery. This is when their experience with your service is freshest in their minds, making them more likely to leave a positive review. Always consider asking for reviews from customers who show clear satisfaction with your service. However, even less positive reviews are valuable as they can help you identify and improve aspects of your service that may not be meeting customer expectations.

Efficient ways to request reviews

To simplify the review process for your customers, it’s crucial to reduce the number of steps they need to take. Rather than having them search for your business on Google and find the review section, you can provide direct links to the review page. These links can be sent directly through email or messaging apps.

Another popular option is the use of “Ask for Review” cards that utilize NFC technology, just tap these on your customer’s phone, and it will take them directly to the review page. If NFC cards are too costly, consider using printed business cards with a QR code. Ensure the QR codes do not expire and are permanently valid.

Incorporating an “Ask for Review” page into your website is another innovative approach we’ve developed. This special page is designed to make leaving reviews as easy as possible, significantly increasing the likelihood of receiving them. This method will be explained in more detail in the following section of the article.

What is an 'Ask for Review' page?

When seeking Google My Business reviews, the best approach is often the direct one: simply ask your customers. The ideal scenario is that you’re physically present with the customer when you make this request, particularly just after completing a service. This makes the process seamless and natural.

However, if you aren’t together, you still need to make it as easy as possible for your customer. Instead of leaving them to search for your business on Google and then navigate to the review section, providing a direct link is much more efficient. Along with this link, you should have a prepared message to send, which might go something like this: “Dear customer, we’re thrilled to have successfully completed our project (project name). Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to leave us a review on Google.”

Repeatedly writing out and sending this message can be time-consuming. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to have a page that’s beautifully designed in your brand colors, featuring your best photos, and includes not just the best text but also a direct call-to-action link for reviews? This is where the ‘Ask for Review’ page comes into play.

Efficiency and user experience

At Strumark, every client for whom we build a website gets an ‘Ask for Review’ page. This page is bookmarked by our clients and sent to their customers right after service completion. Our clients have reported significant increases in the number of reviews they receive monthly, indicating the effectiveness of this method.

This page not only speeds up the process for our clients but also greatly enhances the customer experience by providing them with a direct link to leave a review. Additionally, some of our clients choose to include free PDF guides relevant to their industry on this page, further enhancing the positive experience for their customers.

The ‘Ask for Review’ page is an excellent tool for improving business performance. You can create this page yourself, ask your website developer to include it, or you can hire us at Strumark to handle everything for you. This simple yet effective addition to your website could significantly increase your online reviews, thereby improving your local SEO and attracting more customers.

Don't forget to request a review

It’s easy to forget to ask for a review right after completing a job. However, our clients have found that with a dedicated ‘Ask for Review’ page, they almost never miss the opportunity. This page becomes a routine part of their service process, eliminating the need for reminders. Our clients often tell us about the satisfying feeling of sending the review link and receiving positive feedback—this has become a habit with the help of the review page. At Strumark, we also use this page ourselves and send it to our clients once we’ve completed their websites. We even send it to long-term clients for whom we’ve done work in the past. The unanimous feedback confirms that it’s a gratifying process that benefits everyone involved.

Get a no-cost preview
of your new homepage

Discover how your new website could look—with a free homepage preview. Just fill out our form, and we’ll set up a live preview on a Strumark subdomain. Impressed by the transformation? You can opt to purchase the complete website. If not, no worries—you’ll still receive a JSON file of the design to use with your own developer.

*Please note: Due to high demand, we may not be able to accommodate all requests. If needed, selections will be made based on our internal criteria.

I’m thrilled to give you a firsthand look at our design skills. Sign up for a free homepage preview. We can’t wait to impress you!

Ljubo Struharik, Founder & CEO of Strumark

Title: You Might Also Like Text:

Strengthen your website security with proven best practices

October 22, 2024

How local SEO can transform your service business

October 8, 2024

10 key considerations when creating your business website