Your brand reputation has a direct correlation to your continued and growing success. From website design to social media, your web presence precedes you in this era of online shopping or searching for service providers on Google.
Google Reviews for your business hold the capacity to increase your opportunities for client and customer growth. People still go by referrals and word-of-mouth recommendations. They just so happen to be on the most popular web search engine in the entire world.
Obtaining customer reviews from a brand perspective also allows you to showcase your strengths and see where you could improve. Granted, it would be nice to have all highly-rated reviews, but sometimes the mediocre (or bad) reviews will help you refocus and try harder. From a business perspective, these are the main benefits of Google Reviews for personal and professional growth.
Customer testimonials increase their value as a mainstay on your website, depending on your product or service. You can also incorporate them into sales packages, quarterly reviews and strategic planning, and even case studies. The value of a customer testimonial is inherent. It helps your brand evolve, and it enables you to generate more sales. The likelihood of one consumer being swayed and influenced by the opinion of another is immense. Circling back to word-of-mouth and referrals, you are almost more likely to feel the value because your impact is creating the desired chain effect.
You cannot fear the potential of a negative review when you go down this path, however. One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. Take this as an opportunity to turn around a customer’s perception. Respond kindly and concisely to such a review. This tactic allows you to have a learning experience, demonstrate your active efficacy to other potential customers, and hopefully reclaim an optimistic viewpoint from that customer. It also showcases good ethics within your business practice.
Now that we’ve discussed the business and human reasons behind Google Reviews, let’s talk about SEO strategy. Say someone searches Hamilton Web Design. The likelihood of EB Media showing up in the web search is relatively high as Hamilton’s top-ranked Web Design company. In addition to the superb service provided to clients (let’s toot our own horn for a moment here), we also know the value of a Google Review and thank those who have supported us this way. So not only do we rank high in a Hamilton Web Design search, but we also use geotagging and reviews in our favour. We love Hamilton and supporting the small businesses in our city and beyond. Our community approach to the work we do is a significant part of our company’s mandate. The reviews are beneficial by leveraging Google Reviews in our favour and supporting local and small businesses and fellow service providers.
Review Quality vs. Quantity
User-generated content helps you rank higher and have more accessibility in a Google search as well. It’s absolute marketing gold! It speaks to quantity and diversity. The quality of your reviews is essential for those looking for a sense of your credibility. The ratings build an average star ranking as well, so with basic math, you can determine your score. The higher the ranking, the more visibility. Empower and equip your audience with direct access to Google for leaving a review. This helps you to have some control over where the reviews go as well. Since dependent on your business, other review sites don’t substantially impact your SEO rankings.
Tips to Encourage Customers to Review your Brand
- Ask people you know to kick things off and review your brand. As long as your mom doesn’t identify herself, there’s no harm in a bit of family support. This action is not considered a solicitation, which we do not condone or recommend. Especially if you have the justification of working for people you know.
- Add this prompt into your email correspondence, sales packaging, CTAs on your site and even checkout page on your eCommerce site.
- In your Customer (or Client) journey, map out an organic time to ask them to leave a Google Review. It could be as direct as sending a thank you email a week or two and ask for feedback along with the review request.
- Always think of accessibility. Place the link predominantly on your site and in correspondence.
Google Reviews are essential for your business for a multitude of reasons. They can bring significant incorporation to your brand’s growth if you can use any criticism constructively. They also act as a promotion for your company and help your reputation.
Want to Use Google Reviews to Your Advantage?
Call us at EB Media today! We rank as the top Hamilton Web Design Company, and we keep growing! Let us help you with your Google Reviews, SEO, and Digital Marketing needs.