To those of you who need to hear it:
It’s more than ok to ask for a Google Review.*
*Except if you’re an AHPRA registered health professional. If this is you, keep reading so that you know how to set up your Google My Business account. Because you’ll still want to do that even if you can’t ask for reviews.
We can forget that our clients actually *want* to support our small business. And they’re more than willing (often so eager) to do this by referring others our way. But what about the general public? They want to hear about their positive experience too.
Google also loves to hear about these 5-star experiences. Each positive review gives your business’ SEO that extra boost.
Not sure how to go about it? Let’s break it down.
Setting up a Google My Business account
First you’ll need a Google My Business account. Even if you don’t have a brick and mortar shop or office, it’s a great thing to set up. Rather than listing a physical location, you can select your service area instead. And with this, choose to operate in your suburb, council area, city, state or even Australia as a whole.
To ensure you’re a legitimate business, Google will send you a postcard (yep that’s right, in the mail) to your address (whether it be to your home or business location). The postcard will contain a code that you’ll need to add to your Google My Business (GMB) listing to verify your business. This is an important step to complete.
Then when you google your business name, your GMB listing shows on the right hand side of the search results, as seen below with mine.
Things to include in your Google My Business listing
- Your website (of course!)
- A list of your services
- A short business description
- Your daily opening hours
- Your top products
- Your logo
- Some photos of your business or you in action
How to get Google reviews
Now that you’ve got your Google My Business account up and running, it’s time to ask for those all important reviews. Sure you could simply send the link to your client database and hope for the best. Or you could include more context around what you’d love your client to say about your business. I’d opt for the latter.
Want to read what I send to a client after we’ve launched their website? Thought so! Here it is:
Hi [client name],
We did it. We worked together to design, development and launch a website that you love!
You’ve mentioned that you found the process to be streamlined and that it was a pleasure working with me. I’d love it if you could write a Google Review about your experience.
Google reviews are so valuable as they’re a great way to let others know the value I can provide for their business.
Not sure what to write? It’d be great to hear what the biggest change your business has experienced as a result of working with me or what’s been the best part of our project together.
Thanks so much!
Ange
You’ll see that my email contained the following:
- Reminding them that they’ve already said great things about working with me
- The importance of a Google Review
- And giving them some pointers on what to write
Feel free to grab any parts of mine and make it your own.
How to get your Google Review link
Make it easy for your clients to leave you a review by sending them directly to the review page. Here’s how to find the link:
- Log into your Google My Business account
- On the Home tab of your account, scroll down to the Get more reviews section
- Click on the Share review form button
- Copy the link
Be sure to include the link in the emails you send.
Once you get a review, always reply to it.This gives you yet another opportunity to show your responsiveness and your humanness, both of which your potential clients want to see.
How to handle negative Google Reviews
If you unfortunately get a negative review that’s fake (ie. the person has never been your client), you can flag it with Google as inappropriate.
If the not-so-good review is from a client, it’s important to respond to it. This shows you care and that you’re attentive. Be sure to personalise your response, thank them for the feedback, apologise and suggest the next course of action (such as getting in touch with them to rectify the issue).
Negative reviews can be a blow to your star rating, so it’s best to move on and ask some key clients to also leave reviews.
Now’s the time to reach out to your past clients. Ask for some extra support for your small business in the form of a Google review. And be sure to include this step in your offboarding process from now on. It really doesn’t hurt to ask.
About the Author: Ange Hammond
