Reviews Are Good For Business…
Whatever else they do, small business websites exist to enhance the business’s reputation. They provide proof that it exists and does things that people want and appreciate.
The most important reputation-enhancing item is a compliment from a happy customer. That’s why we usually include them on websites.
… But They’re Hard to Come By
A happy customer will often leave a meeting with the intention of leaving a review. However, back at the desk there’s always a stack of things to do and your review usually drops off the list after quite a short time.
Make it Easy to Do
We summarized this procedure in a new post that you can see here, also on our blog.
Google has simplified the way we ask for reviews. Now, all you have to do is to send your happy customer a link to your Google My Business – or GMB – page, and ask them to scroll down to the “Write a review” button. Google will help and encourage them to do the rest.
(Don’t have a GMB page? It’s easy and free to get one. Click here to see how.)
You can send the link in an email or include it on a web page, with suitable anchor text (the phrase “Click here to see how” above is anchor text).
How to Find Your Link
Go to Your GMB page, click the Share button and copy the link. Select your anchor text and paste it into a hyperlink in your email or on a web page.
Here’s our version of what your customers will see when they tap or click it.
TIP: Google will notify you when anyone leaves a review. Always leave a nice reply – it’s your opportunity to impress a potential customer. And anyway, it’s polite to do so, isn’t it.
Two More Things
- You’re not supposed to offer rewards. Some people do, but if a competitor were to report you to Google, your website and GMB page could disappear from search results. Might be temporary, might vanish permanently.
- Don’t worry if you receive a bad review. Reply with an apology and an offer that puts things right. Few of us get things right 100% of the time, as anyone who ever made a mistake will tell you.