Google Reviews are often the first point of contact a prospect has with your business and can give you a big credibility boost without having to spend a penny! Positive Google Reviews are effective at boosting web traffic and the number of leads from your website, so here’s a short guide on the advantages of Google Reviews for your business.
Why are Google Reviews important?
Google is the go-to research location for most online business enquiries, so a prominent review on the search results page can’t fail to be influential in whether or not a person pursues the enquiry further.
Some interesting statistics support this:
- 90-95% of customers read at least one online review before buying a product or service[1]
- Nearly 55% of buyers claim to read at least four reviews before making a purchase[2]
- 92% of B2B customers said they were more likely to purchase from a business after reading a positive review[3]
- A five-star review increases the likelihood of a customer making a purchase by 270%[4]
- Nearly 80% of buyers said they trusted the opinions in online reviews as much as word-of-mouth recommendations[5]
Clearly, therefore, a selection of positive Google Reviews goes a long way as a positive endorsement of your business, and increases your likelihood of making a sale.
Benefits of Google Reviews
Beyond the important reputational boost of Google Reviews, there are several other lead generation benefits:
1) Customer Service Insight
Gain useful insight into what your customers like about your business and service delivery – and also what they don’t like! (Negative reviews aren’t necessarily a barrier to sales, as long as you respond constructively to customer feedback.) This information can be incorporated into your content marketing strategy to better address your target market’s queries and pain points.
2) Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Google Reviews can have a positive impact on your search engine visibility, with Google’s bots considering businesses with multiple reviews to be more relevant to search queries than businesses without them. This sets up a virtuous circle of higher search position from the reviews and more people seeing the reviews due to your higher search ranking – leading to greater overall brand awareness.
No one outside Google’s development team knows exactly how their search algorithms work, but search rank seems to be influenced by the quantity of reviews a business has, the speed with which they are received, the recentness of the reviews, and how many different sources these reviews come from – e.g. five reviews from different customers have more weight than ten glowing reviews from two repeat customers!
3) Increases Trust
By allowing reviews and feedback to be published on Google, you’re showing a level of transparency and honesty that increases trust in your business, even if the reviews aren’t universally five-star. By showing a willingness to engage with and listen to feedback you demonstrate a customer service philosophy that puts customers first, and which seeks to continually improve on your delivery.
How to get more Google Reviews
With so much to gain from a steady stream of Google Reviews, how do you go about getting them?
The best way is simply to ask.
Ask customers for reviews during a check-in phone call, or even do a mailshot specifically to ask for reviews from your customer base. Make sure to make your messages personal, thanking the customer for their business and letting them know how you appreciate their feedback. You can even provide an incentive to encourage reviews in the form of gated content or a free webinar – be careful not to monetise these incentives, as you don’t want to come across as trying to buy positive feedback. Finally, make it as easy as possible for people to leave Google Reviews, such as by embedding a custom Google review URL on your webpages, blog posts, and social media feeds.
Next steps
To find out more about unlocking the power of Google Reviews and how a personalised digital marketing strategy can drive website traffic, generate leads, and increase sales, please get in touch with one of our inbound marketing specialists today by calling 01332 343281.
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[1] https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/the-critical-role-of-reviews-in-internet-trust#downloadreport ; COMMERCIAL LINK https://www.dixa.com/page/reconnecting-the-customer-experience/ ; https://www.powerreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/13185402/ThePowerofReviews-Report.pdf
[2] COMMERCIAL LINK 10 Online Review Statistics You Need to Know in 2021 - Oberlo
[3] https://learn.g2.com/consumer-reviews
[4] https://spiegel.medill.northwestern.edu/
[5] COMMERCIAL LINK https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
