How to 10x Your Online Reviews (and Why You Should)

We always knew online reviews were important to building a web presence and helping business, but we never took any steps to be pro-active about them. Most of our business comes from word of mouth, and we like it that way. In February of 2018, our web design and digital marketing agency had four reviews between Google and Facebook, and it was nowhere in the top 10 for Google reviews. So, at that time, we watched a webinar by Phil Singleton, author of SEO for Growth, about the importance of online reviews for local SEO. We studied review funnels and the keys to making them a success.

It was time to take action, so we decided to set a goal to get 50 Google Reviews in three months. That may sound a little ambitious to some, but we can assure you that it’s entirely possible, and quite reasonable, for most businesses.

As a note, we made the decision to focus on Google reviews, since Google matters the most for local SEO and is the king of search engines.

Guess what? After those three months of work, we came four Google reviews short of our goal! And now we’d like to show you how to get 10x more Google reviews for your own business.

So, how do you go about getting those reviews?

1. Simply Ask for Them

It doesn’t matter what type of business you run. You obviously have clients or customers. Some of them are past clients, others are current, and some of them might be prospective. It’s never too late to turn to an old client and ask for their review. In fact, this extra reach out might bring them back for even more business. Current clients are the easiest, since the work you have done for them is fresh in their minds and they’re extremely willing to share how much they enjoyed your work. Here’s my Awesome Ask email:

Hi {FIRST NAME},

I hope you’re having a great week!

 

I was wondering if you could take a moment and leave a review on Google about working with us?

 

This is the URL: {INSERT URL} – it will only take 30 seconds. Writing something is optional.

 

We are trying to get to XX reviews on Google by the end of the month and we’re almost there.

 

Thanks,

{YOUR NAME}

During our first three months of utilizing a review funnel, we sent out emails and also asked clients in person. Both worked quite well, because if you’re doing quality work they are more than happy to help. The only situations where you might not get a review is if the person is busy or forgets.

We also found that the best time to ask for a review was right after finishing the project. You’ve delivered the product or service in full, and the client is excited about the result.

Don’t Forget About Clients Who Have Left Reviews Elsewhere

We noticed several reviews scattered around the internet, but not located on Google. This is great, but we’d rather have the majority of the reviews on Google instead of Facebook, Yelp, Thumbtack or Bark. This worked really well, since the people already showed that they were willing to write reviews online. As a result, we emailed them a short message with a link to our Google Reviews page and a copy of the review they already wrote (from a place like Facebook) and asked if they might be willing to take 30 seconds to post it on Google as well. Here’s a sample:

Hi {FIRST NAME},

I hope you’re doing well!

 

I wanted to say thanks again for recently leaving us a positive review on {REVIEW PLATFORM NAME} (pasted below).

 

If you get a moment, would you mind copying and pasting it into Google as well? You can leave it as is or tweak it if you want, up to you.

 

This is the URL: {INSERT URL}

 

We are trying to get to XX reviews on Google by the end of the month and we’re almost there.

 

Thanks in advance,

{YOUR NAME}

 

*******

{COPY AND PASTE THEIR PREVIOUS REVIEW HERE}

We used this Google Review Link Generator to get a link directly to our Google Business listing review section.

This made it super easy for them to do and resulted in a really high conversion rate.

2. Use a Review Funnel

A review funnel is more of an automated system, as opposed to sending out individual emails. The review funnel makes it easy to direct people to the right place to leave a review when they have positive feedback.

For instance, you might have a button on your website or in your email. The review funnel also allows you to get some helpful feedback for your business. This way you can improve your customer service and interact with the people who are giving that feedback.

Choose a Focus

Setting a goal for how many reviews you want is helpful in boosting your reviews. Along with that, it’s best to focus on Google, since Yelp heavily filters reviews, and Facebook will have less impact on your local SEO.

3. Automate Follow-up Emails

A large part of the review funnel is email automation. In our case, we crafted a series of follow-up emails to people who hadn’t left a review yet. Here is a sample text message you can use:

Hey, when you get a moment, could you leave me a review on Google for my business? {INSERT URL} – This will help us reach more customers.

We’re trying to get to XX reviews.

Thanks!

Or for a customer you did work for recently:

Hey, when you get a moment, could you leave me a review on Google for my business? {INSERT URL}

Since we did {INSERT NAME OF PRODUCT OR SERVICE} and you’ve seen our work, I would love for you to leave one.

We are trying to get to XX reviews so we can reach more customers.

Thanks!

Here’s a sample email you can use, we used a subject line of “A quick favor…”

Hi {FIRST NAME},

I hope you’re doing well and your {BUSINESS,MINISTRY,ETC} is going well!

I was wondering if you could take a moment and leave a review on Google for us about {WHAT SERVICE OR EXPERIENCE THEY HAD}.

 

This is the URL: {INSERT URL}

 

We are trying to get to XX reviews on Google by {DATE}.

 

Thanks in advance,

We didn’t want to annoy our old clients, but we figured one or two reminder emails were fine. We discovered that when people didn’t write reviews it was because they were busy and forgot to go online and do so. All these clients need is a reminder, and with automation, you’re able to do just that.

4. Hand out Physical Cards

If you see your customers face to face, hand out a card directing them to leave a review. An interesting element that worked well is printing a simple card that directed them to the review funnel to leave the review. This avoids having to describe the steps to leave a review.

Our Review Funnel Results After 3 Months

After configuring our review funnel and walking through the steps we outlined above, Johnny Flash Productions went from zero Google reviews to 46 reviews in just 3 months. Not only that, but the average rating was 4.98, making for a wonderful online presence when people search for web design services in the area.

Look who is on top now?

Johnny Flash is now the #1 Most Reviewed Web Design Company on Google in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C.

What Google Reviews Did for Our Business

With so many reviews, search engine results have improved drastically, and the ratings make our business look quite reputable. Furthermore, our business appears in the Local Map Pack for certain keywords, which is essential for driving local traffic to a business.

Social proof is also part of the review equation, where people are more likely to share our business, and those high ratings are sure to make people speak highly of the business. As a result, Johhny Flash Productions has more phone calls coming in, more traffic to the website, more email inquiries and more new customers.

The Power of a Review

You might be asking: do people really see Google reviews? Well, let me tell you a story. Less than two months ago, I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Gourmeltz and took some of our relatives. The food was fantastic, the service was outstanding and we had a great time. Our server asked us if we would leave a review, so I said sure and left a 5-star review for them on Google. Apparently Google has been serving up my review a lot, because earlier today they sent me an email saying that over 500 people have seen my review, and it’s only been 52 days. That’s the power of a review. People make decisions based on reviews all of the time. It’s time start controlling your online reputation.

Your Next Steps

The success of our review funnel is just the first step for you! If you’d like help setting up your own review funnel from an experienced team in the area, contact us to build your funnel and start improving your online reputation.

Update: We’re still on top 6+ years later!