How to Increase Google Reviews – Top 15 Tips

What's the first thing you do when you're looking to book a service, buy a product, visit a restaurant, or book a hotel? Usually, we would go online, look up the brand, and check its Google reviews. Based on the reviews and experiences of other customers, we tend to move ahead with the transaction.

According to 2024 survey, 81% of US-based customers check Google reviews to evaluate local businesses. Clearly, we are in an internet-powered era where Google reviews and other online reviews significantly drive the purchase decisions of consumers. Therefore, it becomes very important for brands to understand how to increase reviews on Google and build a good review score. 

In this blog, we will look at some effective tips to boost your business's Google reviews and the importance of enhancing your Google review score. Let's get started!

TL;DR

• Google reviews are an effective way to gain valuable insights from customers, enhance your online reputation, and attract more potential customers to your business.

• By actively seeking customer feedback and encouraging satisfied customers to leave positive reviews, you can improve your visibility in search results and build trust with your audience.

• To encourage customers to leave a review on Google and share their experiences, you must share a direct link for Google review to multiple communication channels like email, SMS, and website.

• Other ways to increase Google reviews are by engaging with on-site customers, printing QR codes and 'Leave Us a Review' cards, asking for reviews on social media, and responding to reviews.

• You can boost your business's online presence by leveraging feedback surveys and reaching out to customers to get as many reviews as possible.

• Zonka Feedback is a powerful customer experience platform that helps you boost Google reviews by creating engaging surveys shared across channels thereby streamlining feedback collection. Sign up for 14-day free trial or schedule a demo to get started with collecting customer feedback and online reviews for your business!

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10 Most Useful Tips on How to Increase Google Review

Let us look at the best tips to get more Google reviews so that you can engage more customers and get customer feedback.

1. Share the Google Review Link via Email and SMS

The first and foremost step to make sure that customers are easily able to review your brand is to share the direct review link with them. Your customers shouldn't have to make an additional effort to look you up and sometimes even struggle with understanding how to write a Google review.

So, first, create a Google review link shortcut for your Google business profile with these simple steps:

Go to Google My Business Account > Click Home > Click on Get Your First Review or Get More Reviews > Click Share Review Form > Copy the link

Now you can share this link with your customers through different channels like –

1. Email: You can send your customers your review link of Google via business using email software like SendGrid after a transaction or specific customer service interaction. Make sure to send the review link while the interaction or engagement with the brand is still fresh in their heads so they are more likely to write a review and write a genuine one.
   For customers who seek support via email newsletter, you can embed the review link into the email signature along with the response from the customer service agent.

2. SMS: The SMS open rate is over 90% which means that if you share your Google business reviews link via SMS, the chances of your customers checking the review request and writing a Google review can be higher.

2. Add Review Link to Your Website

If you have an online presence, chances are that your customers will visit your website. Especially, if you're an e-commerce brand, your customers would engage primarily through the e-commerce website. So, why not make writing Google reviews for your business even easier? If you're a small business or a startup e-commerce corporation, embedding Google reviews on your website, for example, to the website footer, can significantly boost your credibility

Apart from being a great way to reach local consumers, Google reviews open up amazing link building opportunities. After all, who wouldn’t want to collaborate with a brand that has tons of positive reviews? And if you are going to put your brand out there and ask for reviews, then Google is the best place to start.

If you do not want to rely completely on email and SMS communication to ask for review requests, you can embed Google reviews on your website, for example, to the website footer. You can also customize your order confirmation page so it has the Google review link so your customers can review your business right after the transaction. Reviews significantly impact restaurant sales, as indicated by online restaurant stats. Implementing this approach can help generate reviews for your business.

3. Use Website Pop-ups to Collect Feedback

Website pop-ups can prompt visitors to leave feedback directly on your website, making the process convenient and encouraging more reviews. By strategically placing these pop-ups and offering incentives, you can boost the number of reviews and improve your online reputation.

For example, you can utilize a pop-up survey to request feedback after a customer completes a purchase on your online store. Customers who have just made a purchase are likely to have a positive opinion of their experience, making it the right moment to express gratitude and encourage them to share their reviews.

4. Leverage Feedback Surveys to Increase Google Reviews

Surveys are the most effective way to understand your customers' sentiments and keep them engaged with the brand. And to measure feedback using the standard metric Net Promoter Score, you can use NPS surveys. And if a customer takes your survey, they might want to write a review as well for your brand, especially if they had an excellent customer experience.

So, what you can do is leverage surveys to get Google reviews. Be it email surveys, QR code surveys, web link surveys, or SMS surveys, you can simply add your Google review link to the survey's ‘Thank you' screen so customers can click the link at the end of the survey and directly land on the Google review page.

Now there are two ways you can get Google reviews from your survey respondents:

1. Response-Based Action: Based on the feedback your customers choose to give your brand, you can take your customers to the Google review page. For example, in a Net Promoter Score survey, you can send a survey link to Promoters via email or show them the customized message at the ‘thank you' screen – “Thank you for your great feedback. Please take a minute to review us on Google.”

    

   Similarly, you can send a survey request email to customers who rated their satisfaction with your brand high. However, you will have to be careful since Review Gating is not permitted. As per Google guidelines, you cannot collect only positive Google reviews while limiting negative reviews. This can lead to a penalty, the most common of which is the removal of reviews and a drop in ranking (or fall off Google entirely).

2. Customized Workflow: Creating a customized workflow is something that you can do with automated survey software. For example, you can add a question to your survey asking customers if they would like to write a review for you. If they respond with yes, an email with the Google review page link can be automatically triggered for them.

   If they decline, the review request won't be shared, ensuring you target those interested in writing a review. And if you know what is email bounce and tend to keep an eye on it, being mindful of it can help maintain a low bounce rate, preserving email deliverability and future interactions.

5. Ask the Right Review Prompt Question

Asking the right questions when collecting reviews can significantly impact your business's feedback collection efforts. By creating thoughtful and personalized questions, you not only make the review process more engaging for customers but also increase the chances of receiving detailed and insightful feedback.

Generic questions like "How was your experience?" can often result in superficial responses. On the other hand, asking specific questions tailored to individual experiences, such as "What surprised you about using our product?" or "What problem does our product/service solve for you?" can elicit more meaningful responses that provide valuable insights into customer perceptions.

Thoughtful questions make customers feel valued, improving brand perception. Insights gained through such a review can help you enhance products/services and boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.

6. Engage with On-Site Customers

The impact of one-on-one interactions with customers is second to none because the customer knows that you are directly talking to them and that they are heard.

For example, if you have a retail store, you can have your billing staff politely ask customers about their experience and whether they would like to share a Google review for your business. This personalized interaction can nudge them in the right direction and even convince them to write a Google review for you.

7. Print QR codes with Review Link Embedded into Them

Reaching out to each customer, especially if you have a large footfall, can be difficult. But with a Google review embedded into a QR code, you can reach out to customers almost everywhere. For example, in a retail store, you can print the QR Code and display it at various touchpoints like the billing point, exit gate, etc.

Similarly, you can also print the QR code directly onto the packaging and even the product itself (items like a washing machine, brochure, etc.). You can also paste the QR code onto tables in a restaurant or print it on bills, invoices, tent cards, receipts, etc. whether they are paper-based or digital copies generated through online invoicing software. This is effortless and will enable customers to do a simple scan using their phones to reach your Google review page.

8. Print ‘Leave Us a Review' Cards

You can print physical cards and use them at different customer touchpoints to collect Google reviews. You can:

• Print steps to writing a review for your business

• Print a QR code with the review link embedded into it so users can scan the code to visit the review page with a click

Now, these cards can be used in different ways. For example, you can send this card to your customers when a product is delivered to them. You can distribute these cards at the physical store if your brand has a physical presence. In restaurants or hotels, you can share the card with your guests along with the bill or receipt.

9. Ask for Reviews on Social Media

Social media makes it easier to reach customers, which makes the brand more visible. So, in addition to using your social platforms for branding, you can reach out to your customers to get Google reviews. You can simply add the link in the bio of your social media profile and even share it through posts so customers and people who have interacted with your brand in some way in the past can share a Google review for you.

Getting more reviews from your current customers is worth it as it helps you build trust among future customers and convert them into loyal customers.

10. Respond to Reviews

This has to be one of the most important tips for increasing Google business reviews and reaping the benefits of replying to reviews. You should reply to not only positive reviews but also to every negative review with your business account so that your responses can be visible along with customers' reviews. Now, if customers who visit your page to write a review notice that the business hasn't responded to any of the earlier reviews, they may be discouraged from writing one themselves. Moreover, it disrupts trust between the brand and customers when businesses don't reply to Google reviews.

So, as soon as you get a review, either positive or negative, make sure to thank your customers for sharing their feedback and help them improve their experience with your brand. This would encourage more customers to write Google reviews for you.

5 Bonus Tips on How to Increase Reviews on Google

Here are some more tips that you can implement to increase the number of Google reviews that your business receives and enhance your online reputation.

1. Optimize Your Google My Business Listing: Ensure your listing is complete and up-to-date with accurate business information and engaging visuals. A well-optimized listing can attract more attention and encourage customers to leave reviews.

2. Offer Incentives: Consider offering incentives, such as discounts or small gifts, to customers who leave reviews. However, be sure to comply with Google's guidelines on incentivizing reviews.

3. Promote Positive Reviews: Share positive reviews on your website and social media channels to showcase your excellent reputation. This can encourage others to leave reviews as well.

4. Offer Excellent Customer Service: Providing excellent customer service can lead to more positive reviews. When customers have a great experience, they are more likely to share it with others through reviews.

5. Share Customer Success Stories: Share stories of satisfied customers who have benefited from your products or services. This can inspire others to leave reviews and share their own experiences.

Why Do You Need to Increase Google Review Score?

Here are some reasons you need to have an effective review generation strategy to increase reviews on Google:

1. Increased Likeliness of Attracting New Customers

A whopping 93% of customers say that they have made buying decisions based on Google reviews at some point. Customers trust online reviews and good reviews of your brand can attract potential customers.

2. Improved Search Engine Optimization and Visibility

Rating activity helps Google boost businesses' visibility. Businesses with a huge number of ratings rank higher since they are recognized as brands that customers are engaging with. Also, adding keywords to your business account can also increase your potential visibility.

3. Improved Interaction with Customers

When customers are willing to share feedback via Google, you can understand directly from them how you can improve their experiences and get positive review. Moreover, active responders are also pushed up so they are more visible.

Conclusion

Google reviews are critical for all brands and there's no bad time to start working on increasing the number of reviews and ratings. But it doesn't end there. You must consistently respond to reviews and act where action is needed so your customers are motivated to give you another chance even if there was a bad or unexpected experience.

By using survey software like Zonka Feedback, you can create surveys and embed direct link for reviews that can help you significantly increase your Google review score and offer more review opportunities for your customers.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial and get started with creating surveys and collecting reviews and feedback from your customers.