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2021 customer review survey

Getting a 5 star review is your obvious target when requesting reviews – but what is the minimum number of stars required to gain trust from prospective customers?

We asked over 1,000 people their opinion about reviews. We then broke down the information by age and gender and crunched the numbers. The Leave.Review 2021 review survey will help your understanding of what builds customer trust, how reviews impact your online reputation and also gives you faith that online reviews will work for your business.

We asked the following questions:

Let’s get started with question 1

When reading online reviews, what’s the minimum number of stars a business must have for you to be interested in using them?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

OK, so that’s interesting – so it looks like 4 stars is the sweet spot, with fewer consumers demanding 5 star reviews. In other words, 56% of new customers expect to see a minimum of 4 stars before they’d consider using a business

This means when receiving a 4 star review, you should celebrate as you’re in the “hot-zone” of customer reviews.

Diving down in to the detail a bit more, we learn that there is very little difference in the response to this question by gender:

When reading online reviews, what’s the minimum number of stars a business must have for you to be interested in using them (by gender)?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

So, gender does not have a big impact on review choices for minimum star, rating. How about age groups?

When reading online reviews, what’s the minimum number of stars a business must have for you to be interested in using them (by age)?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

Breaking down the data of minimum stars required to use a business illustrates that there is an increase in demand for the 35-44 age group for 5 stars. This group accounts for 22.73% of the 6 age bands. The smallest volume was 5.68% for the 18-24 year olds demanding 5 star reviews.

Key statistics – Minimum review count

  • 56% of new customers expect to see a minimum of 4 stars before they’d consider using a business Tweet this
  • Only 9% of consumers require a business to have 5 stars before they will consider using them. Tweet this
  • Just 6.76% of consumers would consider using a business with a 1 star, and only 7.85% would customer using a business with 2 stars Tweet this

Do people read online reviews?

Ok – it’s great to know that the specific star rating is important for people reading reviews, but how many people actually read reviews?

How frequently did you use the internet to find a local business in the 12 months?​

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

What’s reassuring about this is that it’s clear that a lot of people are using online reviews before choosing a business. Over half (53.98%) of those surveyed use online reviews at least once a week. Only 9.64% have not used online reviews in the last 12 months.

The shockers? 18.09% only use the internet once a monthly basis to read reviews. My assumption before analysing the data would be that people are as dedicated to reviews as I am. I was expecting the “Few times per week” statistics to be a the leader with a much bigger lead.

Let’s see how these stats look when split down by gender:

How frequently did you use the internet to find a local business in the 12 months?​ (by gender)?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

Ok – where’s the notable stats? The graph shows us that men are 30% more likely to read reviews a few times a week compare to females. They’re also 38% more likely to read reviews daily compared to females.

All other gender comparisons have too little in difference to be remarked upon.

Let’s break down the data by age group to see if that creates an interesting angle.

How frequently did you use the internet to find a local business in the 12 months?​ (by age)?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

It didn’t! – You can see that the age groups are divided relatively equal for all categories. That’s 10 seconds of your life you’re not getting back 🙂

Key statistics – Minimum review count

  • 53.98% of consumers use online reviews at least once a week Tweet this
  • Men are 38% more likely to read reviews daily compared to females Tweet this

Do you read online reviews for local businesses?

OK, time to bring out the big stats. A whopping 86% of people surveyed said that they read reviews for local business, with only 13.6% who say that never read them.

In more detail this is 12.2% always read reviews, 50.8% occasionally and 23.4% regularly.

The clear message is that if you want a customer for your local business then there is an 86% chance that a prospective customer will read a review before making a buying decision

How likely are people to write a review (in the last 12 months)?

It is quite interesting to know how many of those surveyed have actually left a review in the last 12 months.

This gives us an idea of the size of the review writing market out there – which may have an influence on your review outreach strategy.

Have you written an online review for a business in the last 12 months?

That’s another interesting statistic. My assumption would be that most people would have written at least 1 review, but it appears that just 34.19% of those surveyed had left a review in the past 12 months.

This may mean that those who write reviews, write many and that there are a large segment of consumers who are more “readers” than “writers”.

Have you written an online review for a business in the last 12 months (by gender)?

The gender breakdown is evenly split, illustrating that there is no bias in leaving a review

About this Survey

  • The survey was conducted over 3 days between 10th Jan 2021 and 12th Jan 2021
  • A total of 1007 consumers provided complete responses
  • Responses were taken from consumers in the USA
  • Hover over the segments in the charts below to reveal the actual count of gender and age categories.

 

How to get more reviews

The internet has created a superpower called reviews. Reviews can be a force of good and evil for consumers and businesses alike. They’re the perfect double-edged sword.

This article gives you the tools to defuse review grenades and maybe converting shrapnel into medals of achievement for your company service.

Back in the olden days (pre-internet), the only way consumers had to determine if a business is a right fit was to read publications or by asking a friend. Today you can read a review of most products or services within seconds, filter by the number of stars, sort by recency and get immersed in tales of misfortune, joy and the occasional rant.

What’s interesting is how the business owners respond to a negative review. I’m quick to read how the owner addresses a public complaint. Their response can be one of the most telling signs of their approach to customer service.

Negative Publicity

If you take reputational management seriously, you’re actively encouraging your customers to leave reviews on sites such as Google, Tripadvisor, etc. 

I don’t know about you, but when I’m choosing between 2 places to eat, if they both have 5-star reviews, I’m likely to select the one with the most reviews. 

Reviews are an excellent opportunity to confirm what works (or doesn’t work) in your business. When I receive a 5-star review – where the customer is waxing lyrically about how absolutely awesome we are, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my ego gets a power-up.

On the flip side, your customers have a free reign on the internet. At any day and any time they can open their phone and vent their fury. For business owners, their terrible experience can trigger a reputational crisis for you. 

Negative feedback can come in from a complaint, personal attacks and even exposure to a particular product’s dangers. If you represent a larger organization, then there is a risk of a mob mentality – a viral effect causing others to ride the wave of momentum by piling on their views. If the speed of reviews increases rapidly, then there is a risk of catching the attention of a local or national news organization.

Customers are not alone in writing negative reviews. You may also see reviews written by:

  • Competitors running a digital smear campaign
  • Disgruntled employees and their friends
  • People are accidentally reviewing the wrong company.

It’s for these reasons that it’s good to be prepared. Welcome to your ultimate negative review response guide:

Check the facts

Your business is your baby, but don’t let that maternal instinct kick in like a mother protecting it’s young from a predator. Just like socks with sandals (sorry Uncle Bob), this is not going to be good for your image and is the first step towards failure in damage limitation.

We recommend the first thing that you should do is investigate the validity of their claim. It’s vital to recognize that the reviewer also may not be alone – one person may voice their views, but it can actually represent the same opinion of many others. Some people are either reluctant or too afraid to express. Therefore, dismissing a single reviewer can amount to being rude or uncaring.

If you need more time to investigate, then do this – Thank the reviewer for their feedback and promise to look into the issue before getting back to them with a detailed response

Respond to reviewers. Immediately.

ine wines, smelly cheese and George Clooney are examples of things that improve with age. My waistline and on online reviews definitely do not.

Most review sites have timestamps against each post that effectively starts the clock in evaluating your vigilance and to a surprising degree how much you care about your customers. Leaving it too long and the details of the occasion will have faded, momentum is lost and if anything you’ve actually made the issue worse.

Pro tip: Even if there is no answer to a question raised or concern posted, it is useful to acknowledge their problems and give a specific time to look into the issue and solution. 

If you fail to respond to a negative review, you will by omission add enormous credibility to the critic – always, always, always respond. A comprehensive explanation can reaffirm their trust in your business and demonstrate to future customers that you care. You could even reclaim a lost customer.

What about happy customers? Engaged customers can be your best marketing team. Reviewers love it when they receive a response to their review. They’ll get an email from the reviewing platform and a simple “Thank you” can trigger a happy endorphin response. Good reviews have to be recognized. People are short of time. So when a client takes the time to leave a glowing 5-Star review please, please thank them!

Don’t Argue

Irrespective of how great you believe your services and products are – at some point will be someone who will still be dissatisfied. As soon as you come to terms with this, the easier it will be to deal with the general public! 

A business owner can become emotionally overwhelmed and engage in a fierce PUBLIC exchange. Although tempting, you’re likely to kick off a knee jerk response which will backfire like your first cars motor. It’s absolutely the worst thing you can do.

I know I said in the previous section to respond immediately, but being rational takes priority. It’s way better to respond 1 day late than to react aggressively.

Storytime: A few years ago, my team pushed a significant software feature live. The upgrade resulted in some users receiving the annoying Google Captcha code too frequently. Within minutes one of our customers left an aggressive all caps post on our preferred review platform.

If you’re ever worked in software, you’ll know that releasing software is a stressful time and I was tired. To be honest, I was expecting the responses from our customers to be full of virtual high fives, glowing feedback and appreciation of our hard work and dedication to helping their business grow.

To say I was disappointed when I got the 1-star review (on 2 different review platforms) is an understatement. First thing I did was (curse under my breath) verify the issue. 

Equipped with knowledge (and a tech guy on standby) I called him and immediately apologized for the inconvenience. While talking through the details of the issue, he started to explain how his business has had a tough time recently. Apart from the irritation of the google captcha code, he was dealing with two major customer issues of his own. In reflection, the software bug was an irritation, but it was the tipping point of his stress levels. Writing a negative review was an easy way to vent his frustration.

Fortunately, we were able to resolve the issue while I was on the call. Within 10 minutes of the call ending the negative reviews had been deleted and replaced with super positive 5-star ones, highlighting our excellent customer service.

Personalize Your Response

Advertising companies have been hyper personalizing adverts for years. When a message is 100% directed to you, including exact details of your experience, it has far greater traction than a generic response.

Start with the customer’s name and introduce yourself with your organizational title and name.

e.g.

“Hello Sam, I am Stan Smith, PR Manager at Acme Corporation…”

If you can identify the customer – who they were served by, what they bought, when they received the product or service, etc. All of these details within your response demonstrate your attention to detail and how seriously you take their complaint.

It’s a Marketing Opportunity!

A response to a client’s negative feedback should offer an opportunity to market an organization and reinforce its core values.

Companies mission statement / pledge

There is a company in the UK called John Lewis who claim that they are “Never Knowingly Undersold” – this means if you can find the same product for less money, they will reimburse you the difference. They actively monitor their competition to ensure that you’re getting the best value. John Lewis’ price matching and their excellent customer service are core to their success.

Having a dependable guarantee to their customers allows John Lewis’ customer service team to promote this message in their review responses as well as provide refunds (if the occasion occurs).

It is also helpful to mention customer service procedures or standards.

These standards should explain that the organization takes customer complaints seriously and that every complaint will be thoroughly investigated and addressed.

Finally – I’ve seen this done well – A business owner can respond to a customer about their complaint informing that they can have a full refund as well as full payment for them to receive the same service at one of their competitors. This response is mind-blowing. This company seriously believes that their business is so good that they’re happy to pay for you to go somewhere else if you’re not 100% satisfied. A potential customer reading will feel their trust growing with this company – especially as it out there for the world to see!

Example negative review response templates

Hi Jane,
I’m Bob from Acme Inc – I’m sorry to hear about your issue with us, and I’m personally responsible for helping resolve this.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a phone number or contact email for you, so please contact us at XXXX when convenient.


Hi Jane,
I’m Bob from Acme Inc – I’m the manager/owner at here. We try to maintain the highest standards of service, but clearly, that’s not what happened here. I am sorry to hear about your bad experience yesterday.

Unfortunately, I was not in at the time. Please give me a call at XXX at your convenience. I want to find out what I can do to help.

Example negative review response template with detail

Dear Jane,

We want to sincerely apologize for your negative experience on at . However, we’d like to learn more about your situation and what exactly happened with .

We want to make things right. So, please give us a call on [phone number]. You can also email us at [email id], and we will get back to you promptly.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,
Bob – Customer Sevices Manager
Acme Inc

Example positive review response templates

Hi Jane,

I’m Bob from Acme Inc – Thank you for the 5-stars! We appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback. Hopefully, see you again soon.


Hi Jane,

I’m Bob from Acme Inc – We are incredibly grateful that you took the time out to leave us this review. Our company values put customer satisfaction as the top priority, and we are committed to our customers. Its customers like you that make our job fulfilling.

We look forward to serving you again.

Bob

FAQ

How do I handle a complaint that is creating damaging online engagement?

The organization should aim to move the conversation offline and engage the complainant on a private platform.

It helps minimize online engagement on a complaint by moving the conversation to a video chat, a phone call, direct message on the phone or social media platforms.

If multiple people are experiencing the same issue, create a formal channel for their problem to raised, log and dealt with in o a structured way.

How do I respond when the customer is right about the problem?

If the organization is responsible for the action that caused the negative review, it should offer a discount or any other compensatory measure.

How do I respond when the customer is wrong about the problem?

The organization should explain itself using facts and offer to help the client understand the situation entirely.

How can I find negative reviews about my company?

It’s excellent idea to get your whole team involved.

All employees should be encouraged to report instances of bad reviews on any platform. Younger employees may be more on the pulse with emerging social networks than you are. My kids think that Facebook is for oldies.

Try and work as a team in spotting bad publicity in any form.

How to adjust settings for the SMS review requests

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To adjust the settings for the email and sms review requests head over to the settings page:

Navigation is Settings – Request workflow

How to ask for a review  (Simple instructions, Examples & Templates!)

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Picture this: I’m on holiday with my family. We are all completely new to the area and looking for a place to eat. We also need ideas of where to go site seeing, which shops to visit.

At the heart of all of these decisions are online reviews.

Researching with reviews is so ingrained in everyone’s habits that it’s difficult to imagine a world without them. Google provide a system to encourage writing reviews to help others called local guides. I’m a local guide, and they do quite a good job of encouraging review writing behaviour.

Reviews should be your main online marketing strategy if you own a local business. Paying for advertising can work, but it can also be expensive. The best way to get new customers, in my experience, is to position your company where people can find you. Your job is to make it easy for them to find you. Online reviews are a great way to put yourself in a place where new customers can find you and convert interest to engagement. ie they find your business on a review and are convinced enough from reading the reviews to choose YOUR BUSINESS over the alternatives. An advanced review strategy can transform a 5-star review into one that converts prospects into paying customers.

Contents

  • What is Google local business search relevancy?
  • Examples of well-written reviews (ie ones that can convert people reading reviews to customers)
  • Check list for asking for a review
  • Review request templates
  • Choosing the Right Review Platforms
  • Timing Is Everything
  • Making the Process Easy
  • Expressing Gratitude and Incentivising
  • Following Up on Reviews
  • Handling Negative Reviews
  • Leveraging Positive Reviews
  • Tools and Resources for Managing Online Reviews
  • Conclusion

What is Google local business search relevancy?

If you don’t use Google Business profiles, you should still read this section, as it gives great advice for any review platform you use.

For those of you who use Google Business profiles, the following will shine a light on the start of the strategy for asking for a review.

There is an obvious logic: if my business has 545 “5-star” reviews and my nearest competitor has 52 5-star reviews, my business will appear above my competitors in search results. Simple right?

That is not true – look at the following example. I searched for “Curry Winchester” and saw that Shaad Kitchen has fewer reviews than Gurka’s Inn. The difference in the count is staggering – almost 500 reviews. So whats the secret?

The answer is relevancy which stems from Google’s goal of making search results relevant. Above everything else, Google wants to make the search results match the user’s Intent. In this example, it interprets Shaads Kitchen as more relevant than the Gurkha’s inn. We have an article here. How does Google decide which reviews are Relevant that explains it in more detail.

At a high level, the key attributes need to be considered in the following way.

  1. Length – The number of words in a review impacted its relevance. There was a consistent correlation between the number of words contained in a review with its position in the Most Relevant rankings.
  2. Keywords – Using the business’s name in the review increased the post’s relevancy ranking.
  3. Specific – A review that contained a specific story or example was more likely to rank higher than reviews with generic content.
  4. Local – A review by a user who posted other reviews in the local area is deemed more relevant than a user with either no reviews or one with reviews from a different geographic location.
  5. Time – The more time passes since a review is posted, the less relevant it becomes.  A good way of thinking this is that restaurant menus often change every season or year. Therefore a review from 2 years ago will lose its relevancy due to age. 

Not all review systems will have such a sophisticated way of displaying reviews to users. Niche review sites will likely list reviews in chronological order.

Examples of well written reviews (ie ones that can convert people reading reviews to customers)

A 5-star review is awesome. Getting positive feedback on your efforts to run a business is brilliant! It releases those endorphins and gives you a warm fuzzy feeling.

Do you know what is better than a 5 – Star review? A well-written 5-star review. Let’s run through some examples of what good looks like

Review example number 1

Analysis of the review number 1

  • Suzy shows she is a long-term customer – the service must be good if she keeps returning. This is a positive indicator for someone else reading the review
  • Mentions specific treatments (Myofascial release) – This is good for search terms. If someone is looking for that specific type of treatment “Myofascial release”, and it’s detailed in a review for that business, then it will be MORE RELEVANT for the search results. This should send signals to Google for this business to appear higher in the search results for this related term
  • Highlights that the business is a safe space to be. Again this is great for people reading the review. Knowing that the person you will be seeing is kind, empathic and “simply the best” removes barriers to getting in touch

Review example number 1

Review of review number 2

  • The plumber came very quickly – this is often a significant requirement when calling a plumber, as problems can be urgent.
  • The plumber was pleasant – it’s reassuring that the person visiting will be pleasant.
  • The issue was resolved quickly – again when I call a plumber I typically have an urgent issue so an example of fast response and resolution is perfect.
  • The reviewer has used the service over the years – this is a testament to the quality and reliability.

Checklist for asking for a review.

Use the following checklist when asking your customers for a review. If you have a good relationship with your customers, then you can go to town on this. Can the reviewer highlight any of the following

  • Mention a specific employee – and if possible, the positive customer service received
  • Please provide details on why they were looking for your business
  • What services/products the business provided
  • If the business has been used by the customer for a long time / repeat customer
  • Any details such as parking and where the parking is (provide geographical landmarks if possible) – tips for other reviewers on how to find the business is always handy.
  • Keywords – Make a list of the search terms and then request that these are included in the review – eg if you run a plumbing business, then “service boiler”. This trick can be effective.
  • Length – Not too long. Reviews should be between 200-300 words

Timing Is Everything

Ever heard the saying, “Strike while the irons are hot”? It means taking action when taking advantage of an opportunity as soon as it exists, in case the opportunity goes away and does not return. You ideally need your customers to write a review while they’re enthusiastic about their experience. It also helps to get their review while the details are fresh in their minds. Suggestions

If the customer is face to face, you can ask them to write a review immediately. There is a small tip here. It’s not recommended for customers to use your wifi when writing their reviews. This is because it has been reported (but not confirmed) that review sites monitor the IP address of where reviews were written. If a large volume of reviews come from the same IP address, it could look like the reviews were written by one person and look like a fake review. So if your customer can use their mobile data or wifi, this is a winning idea!

Send the customer a text/message to their phone hours after they leave a review. This is another excellent option as the response rate to opening phone text messages is considerably higher (98%) compared to email (19.8%) – To maximise the efficacy of this solution, you should provide a direct link to the review page in the text message to make it easier to leave an online review (Note Leave.Reviews solution does this exceptionally well with a high level of customisation)

Choosing the Right Review Platforms

You may feel that targetting Trip Advisor reviews for tourist-type businesses and Google business reviews for local businesses is all that you need. You may be surprised that there are hundreds of different review sites. Frequently these lesser-known review sites target specific business types.

Industry Specific Review website

Why is choosing lesser-known review sites important?

It’s about adding more credibility to your business and also occupying more real estate on Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERP’s).

Let’s take the example on the right. It’s a beauty treatment place. The image you can see shows the business listing that appears on the right-hand side of Google (desktop). The Google review results appear at the top of this box (Taking a prime position). At the bottom, you’ll notice the aggregate results from other review sites such as Salon Spy, Facebook and The best Salon Guide.

As a business, it’s only pragamatic to request reviews from your customers for one specific review site. ie it’s not realistic to ask your customers to write a review on Google, Salon Spy, Facebook and The Best Salon Guide

How to write an online review: Review writing examples

When writing an online review, here are some tips to keep in mind:

  1. Be specific: Provide details about your experience, what you liked or didn’t like, and why. Avoid vague statements like “it was good” or “it was bad.”
  2. Use good grammar and spelling: Make sure your review is easy to read and free of errors.
  3. Be honest: Write a review that reflects your true experience. Don’t exaggerate or lie about your experience.
  4. Keep it concise: Try to keep your review to a reasonable length, around 100-300 words.
  5. Provide a rating: Most review sites allow you to rate your experience with a star rating or a numerical rating. Make sure to provide a rating that accurately reflects your experience.
  6. Avoid personal attacks: Don’t use your review as a platform to attack individuals or businesses.

Here are a few examples of online reviews:

Example 1 (positive review):

“I recently visited this restaurant and had a fantastic experience. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, and the atmosphere was cozy and welcoming. I highly recommend this restaurant!”

Example 2 (negative review):

“I was really disappointed with my experience at this hotel. The room was dirty and smelled bad, and the staff were unhelpful and rude. I had to ask several times for clean towels and it seemed like a hassle for them to provide them. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend staying here.”

Example 3 (neutral review):

“I had an average experience at this store. The prices were reasonable and the selection was decent, but the service was slow and the staff weren’t very friendly. It’s an okay place to shop if you’re in the area, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here.”

How to respond to a 1-star review without comments

Getting a 1-star review is bad enough, but what do you do if you have no detail in the review? From a positive viewpoint, people reading your company reviews won’t attach much value to an empty 1-star review.

Knowing this does not help your response approach – you’ve got very little to work with.

In the past we have dealt with this by getting our detective hats on.

Let’s start with the information we have: The reviewer’s name and the review date.

Look up the reviewer in your database.

In our case, we have a log of all customer support enquiries and users within our database. Our first point of call is to check the customer support enquiries for the reviewer. If we can find more information about what their issue is, we may be able to start building our response.

I’ve had occasions where we not only found the reviewer in our database but also found their phone number. We take negative feedback very seriously, so our senior customer support, even our director, on some occasions, has called the reviewer. We found this an incredibly effective way to understand the reviewer’s frustration. This approach is so effective that everyone we have phoned has deleted their negative review.

No customer database? Some options how on how to respond to the 1st reviewer with no information

Ask your staff

There may have been a situation at your business.

Every day may be a typical business day, but very recently, the customer from hell arrived and complained about everything. Although you can not confirm that this was the reviewer, it may steer the way you formulate the response.

General points on how to respond to the 1st reviewer with no comment


Thank the reviewer: Start by thanking the reviewer for taking the time to leave a review. This shows you appreciate all feedback, even if in this case they didn’t provide specific comments.

Apologize for their negative experience: Even though the reviewer didn’t provide any specific feedback, it’s safe to assume they had a negative experience with your product or service. Apologize for this experience and acknowledge that you understand they were not satisfied.

Offer assistance: Since you don’t have any specific feedback to address, offer the reviewer your assistance in resolving any issues they may have had. Let them know you’re available to help in any way possible and provide them with a contact email or phone number.

Highlight your commitment to customer satisfaction: Assure the reviewer that their negative experience doesn’t reflect your overall commitment. Emphasize that you strive to provide the best possible customer experience and constantly work to improve.

Please encourage them to provide more feedback: Encourage the reviewer to provide more feedback. Tell them you value their opinion and that their feedback can help you improve your products and services.

Are they reviewing the right company?

I’ve seen some occasions where a company has been closed for some time – e.g. for refurbishment or as a season-specific business. If a review is left when the company is closed, then it’s fair to respond with this fact. This makes it evident that the review is either for the wrong company / untrue.

Example responses for negative reviews with no comments

Dear [Reviewer Name],

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re sorry that you have had a negative experience with our product/service. We take all feedback seriously and would like to assist you in resolving any issues you may have had. Please get in touch with us at [contact email/phone number] if you require further assistance.

At [company name], we’re committed to providing the best possible experience for all our customers. We’re constantly working to improve our products and services, and we appreciate your feedback.

We encourage you to let us know if you have any specific feedback or suggestions. Your opinion is valuable to us and can help us improve our offerings.

Thank you again for your time, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards, [Your Name]


Dear [Reviewer Name],

Thank you for taking the time to review our product/service. We appreciate your feedback and are committed to providing our customers the best possible experience.

However, your review did not contain any comments or feedback. We would greatly appreciate it if you could provide us with more information about your experience, so we can address any issues and continue to improve our products/services.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you again for your review.

Best regards, [Your Name]

How to find your Google Review Link – 2 easy ways

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How to find your Google Business review link via your mobile/cell phone – video

We have created this VERY short video demonstrating how to get your Google Review Business link on your phone. You will need the Google Maps app and be logged in to the business owner’s google account.

How to find your Google business review link on your laptop/desktop

Some of the dedicated software providers will find your Google review link for you. Others don’t. If you need to find your link, then follow these simple instructions:

1. Go to Google Maps (maps.google.com) and search for your business. When you find your business, you should see an option to “Manage your business profile”

This should open the google search results page; hopefully, you’ll see something like the menu below. If you don’t have the option to manage your business, you’re probably not logged in with the business owner’s Google Account. Log in to the owner’s account and try again.

Google business profile on Google Maps
Google business profile on Google Maps

Find and click on the “Read reviews” button.

Google business, read reviews button
Google Business, read reviews button.

A new window will open where you can read all the reviews submitted for your business. In the top right corner, you will see a button labelled “Get more reviews.”

Get more reviews button
Get more reviews button

Another pop-up window will appear with your unique review link

Your google business review link – Get more reviews

Google makes it easy to share your link. If you click the email button, your default email client will open. Google places suggested text for you to send to your customers:

Google review - email template
Google review – email template

Clicking “WhatsApp” will open your Whatsapp application and ask you to select who will receive the message request:

The Facebook option opens the rather basic version of the Facebook post page. This approach is more of a generic Facebook update rather than direct review request:

The aim on this set of steps is to get your Google Review link – which is easy to get from the centre of the window:

Google review link - copied to clipboard
Google review link – copied to clipboard

When you copy it, it should look a bit like this:

https://g.page/r/CYszBXDhKXXaEB0/review

We don’t like this link because it’s not memorable. You can’t just verbally give this link URL to someone – it’s complicated to remember. Leave.Review has a system to provide a free unique URL for your Google Reviews. It takes the format of leave.review/yourbusiness name. eg if your business name is Kate Makes Cakes, then your leave.review review page could look like leave.review/KateMakesCakes

How to create a Leave Us A Review Flyer – easy to follow steps

In your review management strategy, there are many ways to ask for more reviews:

  • Face to face
  • Email
  • SMS
  • Flyers

This blog will concentrate on creating a leave a review flyer/poster.

Here are the steps to create the flyer – you may be able to jump some of them as this is a straightforward guide.

  1. Identify the review sites for your business.
  2. Create a leave a review landing page (only required if you use more than one review site)
  3. Generate a QR code for your reviews (this makes it super easy for your customers to go straight to your review page)
  4. Create your flyer design (advice from very easy (eg using an DIY application such as leave.review), or a bit more complicated – using a designer/design software)
  5. Use Leave.Review to create a free leave us a review flyer

How do I Identify the review websites for my business?

Here are several ways to identify review websites for your business. Here are some steps you can take:

  • Search for your business name on Google: Start by searching for your business name on Google. Our experience tells us that you will get more accurate responses by including the postcode/zip and the town/city your business is in. For example, “Your business zip town”. Look for websites on the first page of the search results that allow customers to leave reviews. Examples of review websites that might appear include Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google My Business, and Facebook.
  • Ask your customers: Ask your customers where they typically leave reviews for businesses like yours. They may mention specific websites that you weren’t aware of.
  • Check your industry associations: Check to see if any industry associations or organizations maintain lists of review websites for your industry. They may have recommendations for the best review websites to use.
  • Once you have identified the relevant review websites for your business, claim your business listing. You can actively monitor and respond to customer reviews by claiming the business listing.

How to create a review collection landing page

Creating a review collection landing page can be a great way to encourage customers to leave reviews for your business. Here are some steps you can take to create a review collection landing page:

  1. Choose a platform: Choose a platform to host your landing page. You can use a website builder like Wix or Squarespace or a landing pages builder like Leadpages or Unbounce.
  2. Write compelling copy: Write clear copy that explains why leaving a review is essential for your business and how it can help other customers make informed decisions. Highlight any incentives or rewards you may offer for leaving a review.
  3. Include a call-to-action: Include a clear call-to-action on your landing page that encourages customers to leave a review. This can be a button that links to your business’s profile on a review site or a form that customers can fill out to leave a review directly on your landing page.
  4. Use social proof: Use social proof on your landing page, such as customer testimonials or reviews you have already received. This can help convince potential customers to leave a review as well.
  5. Make it easy to leave a review: Make it easy for customers to leave a review by providing clear instructions and links to the relevant review sites. You can also consider using a review management tool, like Podium or BirdEye, that makes it easy for customers to leave a review and allows you to manage and respond to reviews from one platform.
  6. Test and optimize: Test your landing page and make adjustments based on the results. Monitor your analytics to see how many people are visiting your landing page and leaving reviews, and make changes as needed to improve the conversion rate.

By following these steps, you can create a review collection landing page encouraging customers to leave reviews for your business and helping you build your online reputation.

How to generate a QR image for online reviews

Generating a QR code for online reviews is a simple process. Here are the steps you can follow:

  1. Choose a QR code generator: There are many online tools that you can use to generate a QR code for your business’s online reviews. Some popular options include QR Code Generator, QR Stuff, and Kaywa.
  2. Choose the type of QR code: Select the type of QR code you want to generate. You’ll likely want to choose a website URL or a text QR code for online reviews.
  3. Enter the review website URL or text: Enter the URL or text to which you want the QR code to link. This could be your business’s profile URL on a review site like Yelp or Google My Business or a text message asking customers to leave a review.
  4. Customize the QR code: Customize the QR code by choosing the colour, size, and design you prefer.
  5. Download and test the QR code: Download the QR code image and test it to make sure that it links to the correct URL or text message. You can test the QR code using a smartphone or a QR code scanner app.
  6. Use the QR code: Use the QR code in your marketing materials, such as on flyers, business cards, or receipts. Encourage customers to scan the QR code to leave a review for your business.

Following these steps, you can quickly generate a QR code for your business’s online reviews to encourage customers to leave feedback.

How to design a review request flyer

Designing a review request flyer can encourage customers to leave reviews for your business. Here are some steps you can follow to design a review request flyer:

  1. Choose a design tool: Choose a tool you’re comfortable with, such as Canva or Adobe Photoshop.
  2. Choose a template: Choose a flyer that fits your business’s brand and style. You can find templates for review request flyers on Canva or other design tool websites.
  3. Choose your colours and fonts: Choose colours and fonts that match your business’s brand and style. Ensure the text is easy to read and the colours are visually appealing.
  4. Write a compelling headline: Make sure it grabs the reader’s attention and encourages them to read the rest of the flyer. For example, “Love our service? Let us know!” or “Help us improve by leaving a review!”
  5. Include a call-to-action: Include a clear call-to-action that encourages customers to leave a review. This could be a statement like “Leave a review and receive 10% off your next visit!” or “Tell us what you think and help us improve!”. It’s important to note that Google’s review policy states that you must not solicit reviews. ie do not offer anything as a reward for leaving a review. Other review sites don’t have this policy – make sure you do your homework!
  6. Provide clear instructions: Provide clear instructions for how to leave a review, including the review site URLs, social media links, or QR codes.
  7. Add visual elements: Add visual elements to the flyer, such as images of your products or services or customer testimonials. This can help to make the flyer more engaging and convincing.
  8. Test and optimize your flyer by printing it and seeing how it looks. Make adjustments as needed to improve the design and messaging.

Following these steps, you can design a review request flyer that encourages customers to leave reviews for your business and helps you build your online reputation.

Are there companies that have pre-designed leave-a-review flyers?

Yes – and they’re great. Check out some of these links:

Etsy – Choose this option to support smaller business owners who excel in creativity

Zazzle – Has a great variety of professional review flyers

And Finally!

Leave.Review has its own system to create a leave a review flyer, which is entirely free.

The design is simple but may suit your needs. The websites such as Canva have much more elaborate designs. If you have your own designer, then just grab the review QR code from Leave.Review and ask them to add it to the design. Otherwise, claim your free leave.review your account and create your leave a review flyer today.

How to automate google reviews – the free and easy setup guide

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Article contents

Introduction to automating Google Reviews

If you’re here, you know that Google Reviews are essential for growing your business. This is often called “improving your online reputation / social proofing”. You will also know that asking for reviews is time-consuming and can detract from running your business. So instead of chasing reviews, what can you do? The answer is automation – let’s get started.

Before we jump into “how”, I’m going to walk you through the background of Google review automation – If you’re short of time, click here to jump to Software designed for Google review automation

What is an automated google review request system?

An automated Google review request system is typically online software.

The system requests customers to leave a review on your Google Business listing. The software sends the requests by email or text and includes a direct link to the business’s Google review page. The goal is to improve your online reputation, search ranking, and sales!

Most systems can also “chase” your customers if they miss the first request.

Why do you need to automate your Google review collection?

In short – it’s about saving time and simplifying business processes.

When running a business, the list of jobs to do is never-ending. So sending out customer review requests can fall into the “yeah, I should be doing that” category. If you could automate the process of asking for reviews, it would save you time. We all know that good reviews boost your online reputation and social proofing.

Automated review collection allows business owners to analyze customer feedback over time. Improving your business by reviewing historical feedback allows you to make informed decisions. E.g. If you run a promotion, you can see how that affects your customer’s perception of your business.

What are the negatives of automating your Google review collection?

There are several potential negatives to automating the collection of Google reviews:

  1. An increase in reviews may result in more work. Suppose a customer vents online and gives you a bad review. In that case, you will need to plan a response – which I assure you will take time to ensure your answer is not emotional.  We have a great article on responding to negative reviews to get a positive outcome.
  2. Following Google’s policies is a must. Failure to follow the guidelines can result in removing some or all reviews. In severe cases, they can suspend your business listing.
  3. Dependence on technology. Review automation is excellent until it stops working. You’ll stop getting reviews if something breaks and you don’t notice. You will see that you are receiving fewer Google alerts about new reviews.
  4. Decreased customer engagement. Customers like to feel valued. You’ll lose that human touch by automating the review collection process. We have found that personalised review requests have a higher conversion rate. If your business values customer engagement, canned requests may not suit you. For example, “Hi Bob, great seeing you today. Please let me know if there are any issues with the grass mower 2000. It would be awesome if you could leave a review – here is the Google review link “<link here>”. This is more engaging, personal, and likely to gain a positive review.

Software designed for Google review automation

Software designed for review automation

5 of the best google review automation software packages

Many software products on the market aim to save time requesting reviews. Almost all the systems have a charge. Let’s have a review of the top 5

1. Podium

Podium is a good, if expensive, solution. At $249 per month (at the time of writing), Podium can be out of the reach of many smaller businesses. Podiums speciality is text messaging, so your customers can leave you reviews in 20 seconds with two clicks.

Features include:

  • Automation of review invites
  • The ability to respond to reviews
  • Track trends

and more, all from one easy-to-use platform.

2. Birddeye

Birdeye is more than a review automation solution – it is a Customer Experience Platform. Customer web chat, messaging, mass text, appointments, payments, surveys, referrals, etc. Unfortunately, they have an annoying thing on their website where you can not see the price. You must surrender your email address to get the price!

3. NiceJob

Nice job is a smaller package than the others listed above, but it does its job well. Their messaging on the website talks about getting 4x more reviews for your business. The lowest price you can pay – including automation- is $75 per month (this is one of the cheapest of the range we looked at). Remember that the default settings can make customers feel “pestered,”. Contact their customer success team, who help get the system as you need it.

4. Grade.us

Grade.us starts at $110 per month, so more than an excellent job. It does support multiple languages and highlights what it calls a “review funnel”— a landing page designed to remove friction from writing reviews about your client’s business. Their portal to respond to reviews is well-designed. They support over 100 significant and industry-specific review sites (e.g. Salon review sites, etc.)

5. Leave.Review

Leave.Review has fewer features than the other Google review automation packages. But, what it lacks in features, it makes up for in performance. It has one ultimate core aim – getting your business more reviews – in the simplest way possible. You’ll find that you will get started much faster with Leave.Review than other software (in our tests). Leave.Review has a free plan – try it here

High-level steps that are required to set up review automation software

Whichever software package you put in place, the setup process follows the same flow. Some software providers may support you as part of their onboarding approach.

  1. Choose a review management software based on your long-term marketing goals. Changing systems in the future can take more effort than you might think. To see a more comprehensive list of software, head over to Capterra.
  2. Connect the tool to your Google Business account (or paste in your review link). Most tools will connect to your Google Business account, automating this process. Other systems rely on you pasting the review link.
  3. Set up review request triggers. Many review automation tools allow you to set up triggers or schedules. Reviews are sent after an event, such as making a sale or getting added to a mailing list.
  4. Customise the review request email. Most review automation tools allow you to customise the email sent to customers. For example, you can change the subject line, message body, and sender email address. Consistent branding/messaging is essential in all marketing. ie making the email they receive the same as your company’s branding. Lack of consistency could result in your email being ignored (or, worse, marked as spam). Run an e-commerce store? Some tools allow you to include details about the product purchased—for example, product images in the email body and product name(s) in the subject line.
  5. Test and track the results: Once you’ve set up your review request automation, testing and watching the results is essential. You will see how many customers respond to your requests, and you can make any necessary adjustments to improve the success rate. The simplest way to do this is by asking, “Am I getting more reviews on the Google Business platform?”. The default setting on Google is to send the business owner an email when a review is received. (The email notification also gives you a quick link for you to respond)
  6. Respond to reviews: I know we touched on it above, but some Google review automation tools also allow you to respond. Maintaining a positive reputation and relationship with your customers is essential. However, we would not recommend automating the response. It lacks sincerity, and it is hard to make a canned reaction look like it came from a natural person.

It’s important to remember that automation is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You need to test and monitor the results and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Your business review websites
Example automated review solution
Google reviews logo

Googles own solution – Collect reviews via Google Customer Reviews

Did you know that Google has a solution designed for E-commerce sites? It’s available from the Google Merchant Center. This section will explain in more detail how to get set up. Let’s start with what the result looks like. You can read more about the Google Customer Reviews experience here

Turning on Google customer reviews. This will allow you to boost your Google Seller rating. Also available is a badge with real-time scoring. You add this badge to your website. Advertising your google seller rating is another form of social proofing.

An example of the seller rating graphic is on the left.

What do Google’s automated customer reviews look like to your customers?

The screenshot below was taken from an actual review request sent to me a couple of days after I purchased a new coffee machine.

Google Customer Reviews example email
Google automated review email request

When you click on one of the stars, your customers will be redirected to a webpage (hosted by Google). Here they can write about their experience (with the star you selected pre-filled on the page)

Google Customer Reviews example landing page
Google review landing page

When your customer has completed the review submission, the thank you page looks like this:

Google Customer Reviews Thank you page
Google Customer Reviews Thank you page

How do you turn on Google E-Commerce Automated review collection?

Unfortunately, you will need a developer to install the automated E-commerce script provided by Google. A non-technical person CAN get the code to send to a developer, though – watch this video to get your Google Merchant review collection code:

Get the Google Reviews code for your e-commerce store

So this is all great, but what if you don’t own an e-commerce store, e.g. a Gym or Cafe? Fear not; there are different solutions – but they will need an email address or phone number.

Automating Google review requests via E-mail.

For all automation, you will need some software, and one of the cheapest ways is to use email marketing software to automate google review requests via email.

The video below demonstrates implementing a review request via Mailchimps automation. It works by sending an email AFTER an email address is added to an audience list. Mailchimp has many ways to add email addresses to the audience list, such as:

  • Spreadsheet uploads
  • manual typing
  • web forms

We recommend getting an iPad or similar and setting it up in kiosk mode. This is where a customer can add their contact details into a form on the iPad at your location. Mailchimp provides sign-up forms as standard, so set-up is easy.

1. Log in to MailChimp and look at the left menu for Automation / Overview

Google review automation - Mailchimp setup

2. Then click started to choose the audience. Every time a new email address is added to this list, the automation is triggered

Google review automation - Set your audience / recipient list

3. Click on the Create an email workflow item – this will open the email configuration page

Google review automation - Create your first email

4. When you click on “Create an email” the configuration block appears for you to customise the review request email

Google review automation - Subject line

5. When you click save, you will be presented with how to design the email. Choose the new builder option:

Google review automation - Customise email content

6. Add your text and images to reflect your branding. It’s a great idea to try and make the experience as continuous as their previous engagement with your business. There will always be a call to action in the email. You need to get your Google review link – use this tool to find it.

Google review automation - Set your Google review link

7. Change the automation delay setting from 1 week

Google review automation - Default delay

8. The shortest option available is 1 hour

Google review automation - Recommended delay before sending

9. Finally, test the email to ensure it looks good and, most importantly, that the Google review request link works

Google review automation - Send test email

The following video demonstrates the whole process in 2 minutes 38 seconds!

Set up Mailchimp to automate sending reviews to your customers

It’s a pity that Mailchimp does not provide a free, basic plan to allow you to automate review requests. Their cheapest plan, the “Essential plan”, costs $13 per month (at the time of writing). This is cheaper than most of the dedicated automation tools.

Note: Be sure to follow the laws and regulations related to email marketing in your region. You don’t want your emails to hit the spam folder or, even worse, get legal action!

Automating request reviews by text message

Sending review requests by phone or text (SMS) has a higher response rate than emails. Set up is a lot thicker, though. The best solution we found was to use Zapier and Twilio. On the zapier website, there are dozens of integrations with market-leading products. The most straightforward approach was using Google Sheets integration.

This solution is clunky, though. You hook up Google Sheets to the Zapier integration. A trigger to send an SMS review request happens on each new row in the spreadsheet.

Our recommendation is not to use zapier but to use a dedicated review collection service. It’s a lot simpler, easier to customise and will have an audit on the success.

Automating responses to Google reviews – the pros and cons

Let’s face it nobody appreciates a canned thank-you response. Typically they lack sincerity. But let’s dive into this topic more closely and see if we can find any nuggets of gold or if it is just a set of robot-powered lip service.

The benefits of automating responses to google reviews

Fast and 100% response rate. Google combines dozens of factors in defining your search engine position. The speed at which you respond to questions and reviews is essential. If you have a 100% response rate to all reviews, you add another reason for Google to rank you higher.

We have a good article on how google defines relevancy in search results. If you had a solution that could ping a response back to a review immediately for ALL reviews within minutes, you might have a competitive edge. It’ll also save you heaps of your precious time. We mentioned earlier that responding to reviews takes much longer than you’d think.

The final benefit of automating google responses is scalability. It’s a set-and-forget operation that will support your business no matter how large it grows.

The negatives of automating responses to Google reviews

Lack of personalisation. Using the exact same/canned response to all Google reviews lacks warmth. I.e. if you look down at a set of reviews and the responses are all 100% the same, it does not look impressive.

Loss of the ability to impress. It’s common for reviews to mention the staff who helped. So including the individual in the response shows that you’re paying attention.

Correcting actions: Sometimes, a review may knock off 1 star, and they’ll tell you why you didn’t get five stars. Your response can deal with the issue. It highlights to review readers that you care about feedback and are happy to act on it.

It’s a sales opportunity. People reading your reviews is when you have their full attention. They’re unlikely to have visited your website before reading your reviews. Your detailed responses is your opportunity to educate and sell!

In Summary

So it is all possible.

  • If you have a developer and an eCommerce store, then the Google Merchant Approach is the best way. It’s designed for this task and does it well.
  • Use a 3rd party software like Broadly, Get More Reviews or leave.review. Some may incur a cost, but they’re dedicated to the problem you’re trying to resolve. Using software for review automation will save you time and boost your reviews.
  • Build your solution with Mailchimp or Zapier.

Appendix / More review collection tips

Ways to Increase Your Google Reviews

Show your customers that you value their opinions.

When requesting a Google review, express gratitude for their patronage and tell them you appreciate their input. Pharasing your request carefully could encourage them to take action.

Ask at the appropriate time.

The phrase striking while the irons are hot has never been more apt when asking for reviews. In short, you’re more likely to get a review if you ask immediately after product or service delivery.

The longer the gap between the delivery of the product or service and the review request, the less chance you’ll get a review.

Most reviewers are motivated to write reviews soon after their experience. So doing an end-of-month run of bulk review requests will work, but it will not be as successful as asking for a review within hours.

Cut barriers and technical issues.

The best advice here is to give customers the link that takes them straight to the review writing page. In addition, it’s sometimes a good idea to watch customers as they try to submit reviews to ensure that the process is seamless.

Ask, then ask again.

Don’t give up if customers do not respond to your initial request. Instead, follow up with them and make requests via various channels such as email, social media, in-person or SMS.

Automate your requests.

Due to a lack of processes, don’t miss out on valuable Google reviews. Instead, use a service (or follow this guide) to find ways that will request reviews when appropriate.

Don’t be afraid of negative reviews.

Prepare to respond to unfavourable reviews, but don’t allow fear to deter you from asking for reviews. In the eyes of a prospective customer, your reaction to a negative review can be as important as a positive one.

More about Leave.Review

Additional features:

An upsell / promotion opportunity for your customers after they have left a review.- Allowing you to make more sales; Ability to generate a leave-a-review flyer (for free)

As one of the few systems to offer a free plan that delivers real, measurable business value, it’s a no-brainer to give it a go. To start, follow this link for leave.review. Within minutes you’ll have claimed your free custom leave.review/your-business URL.

Automate Google reviews with Leave.Review

To learn how Google Review automation works with Leave.Review, please watch the following video.

All Google My Business Categories

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There are lots of Google Business categories – check this list for the full amount. Be warned that the list is added to almost every month, so by the time you read this it is probably out of date. So not the most informative web pages you’ll stumble across. This chap has a great site that queries the Google my business API.

Some tips for category selection though:

CSV  Excel  

How to rank higher on Google My Business / Google maps

You will have been living in a cave for the past decade if you have never used Google to find a business.

When you do a business/service search on your phone’s browser via Google, it will automatically find businesses local to you and display these within the search results. Let’s dissect the results:

Let’s break down these search results in more detail:

  1. Google knows where I am. Google is pretty smart at identifying where you are in the world, so the business listings that are displayed in the search results are all LOCAL – which matches the User Intent. And Google is ALL ABOUT INTENT – ie delivering results that align to the attention of the users search request – which in my case is location / region specific.
  2. Showing the Google My Business category here. In your Google My Business setup you can define the primary category of your business from a drop down list. This category you can see on the screen is from that list.
  3. It is showing me the MOST RELEVANT results – That’s good to know!
  4. This business has no photos uploaded, so we have a generic photo – Notice that if you upload images for your business, Google will display them. It’s fallback position is to show your location on a thumbnail google maps icon. You can upload photos in your Google My Business page.
  5. Notice that this has more reviews but is LOWER in the list. It’s a reasonable, but common misconception that if you get more reviews you’ll be higher up in the rankings on search results for local businesses. I thought it too until I research it and wrote this article on How Google ranks businesses in local search results
  6. Lastly – these results appear ABOVE the webpage listings – ie the normal google results listing. So, if you had a website that scored position #1 for the keyword “Bicycle Rental Service” – you would appear underneath these Google My Business / Google Maps listings

Why rank higher on Google Maps?

We did a survey, crunched the numbers, and produced pretty graphs on how the general public (customers in your world) use Google and reviews to find local businesses. The results below come from our consumer review survey on how often do people use the internet to find reviews

In a simplified bar chart format it is a whopping 90.4% of people used the internet to search for a local business in the last 12 months

In short – if you’re not ranking higher on Google Maps you may be losing new customers to your competitors.

Steps to boost your business listing on Google Maps and Google searches

Claim Your Google My Business Listing

Claim your Google My Business Listing

It kind of goes without saying – If you have not claimed your Google Business listing yet – then it’s super important you do this. We have created this guide to show you how to Claim Your Google My Business Listing – it’s pretty straightforward, but does take a few days to complete the verification as Google will need to send a postcard to your address.

Optimising your Google My Business Listing

Name Address Phone (NAP) – Google My Business Optimisation

What is NAP and why is it important to my Google Business location?

NAP is an abbreviation for Name, Address, Phone Number and it’s part of Googles (brace yourself for another abbreviation) EAT – So what is EAT? E-A-T is part of Google’s algorithm and baked into Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. What this means is that everywhere your name appears on the internet it should be spelled exactly the same way. For example, This Company Ltd and This Company Limited although the same company lack consistency in spelling. Also, your phone number appears with country code digits and lacks consistency. Think accuracy and consistency with these. There’s a Forbes article on this that expands on this concept.

While you’re updating your NAP, please also remember to check the website linked from your Google My Business Location. It’s important that the phone number, address, and location all match those on the website.

Check ALL Categories Relevant To Your Business

Many businesses only state their primary category when creating their Google My Business profile. This is the minimum you should do. You’ll probably find that your business can fit into multiple categories, so your mission (that you should accept) is to seek out those categories.

For completeness here is the official guide from Google

How to segment your Google My Business Traffic in Google Analytics – (the right way)!

How to segment your Google My Business traffic into Google Analytics

After logging in to Google Analytics to review your conversion goals and the results of your marketing campaigns you wonder how many conversions came from from your Google My Business page.

Sure you can see how many people VISITED your website from Google Analytics (using the Insights page).

However, the big question is… How many of those visitors to your website bought something, or did the action you’ve spent weeks laboriously crafting the user onboarding journey for?

The answer is, you don’t….but you can!

Understanding Google Analytics Source Medium

When you log in to your Google Analytics page you can easily find where your traffic is coming from. Click on :

  1. Acquisition
  2. All Traffic
  3. Source Medium
  4. Then you can see the list of traffic sources
Google Analytics traffic by Source / Medium before Google My Business Traffic

So we can not see in here the traffic from Google My Business. To solve this we are going to do next is to update your Google My Business website link with some special code that Google Analytics will use for segmentation. The way we do this is using the urchin tracking module (UTM):

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) codes are extra bits of text added to the end of a URL to help Google ANALYTICS track where website users arrive from. when they click a link with these special bits of text, essential information such as: Organic traffic / paid, social network links, marketing campaigns, etc is passed to google analytics allowing data to be categorised / segmented

Google Analytics does a good job of inferring the type of traffic already, but UTM gives YOU control over the segmentation. Let’s get started with creating your link.

We need to head over to a tool provided by Google Analytics Demos & Tools for the campaign url builder – Follow this link https://ga-dev-tools.web.app/campaign-url-builder/

If you’re like most people where you’re an expert at buying stuff online, but less familiar with generating this special url for your business fear not. You’re in safe hands and it really is easy.

Let’s break it down into the following steps. In this page: https://ga-dev-tools.web.app/campaign-url-builder/ follow these instructions

  1. Enter your business website link, eg https://yourwebsite.com
  2. For the campaign ID, enter GMB – this stands for Google My Business
  3. For the campaign source, enter GMB – this is because traffic to your Google My Business page is typically Organic traffic
  4. For the campaign medium, enter Organic – this is because people searching for your Google My Business are typically local to your area
  5. For the campaign name, enter your business location. If you have one location, it’s easy – put the town/city. If you have more than one location/facility you can segment the traffic by each location. Put the street name, name of the facility, whatever makes sense for your different locations
  6. With the powers of the internet and other sorcery the URL you need is magically created at the bottom of the box. Click on the icon to copy it to your clip board

Top tip: Always test your new link to make sure it opens your website. It’s easy to make a mistake manually typing your website url, especially if it’s at the end of the week and you’re drinking wine. While the window is open, you can check that Google Analytics can “see” the tag information using the Real Time traffic view

Go to:

  1. Click on Realtime
  2. Click on Traffic sources
  3. Look in the main section – you should see Medium is Organic, Source is GMB

You can see that at the time I took the screenshot the website had 2 visitors. Me and a random person.

Both visits are tagged as organic, however, the random person found the website via a Google Search, and my visit was segmented by source GMB as marked by the number “3” I placed on the picture.

Now head over to your Google My Business listing and update it:

On the Google My Business Profile Manager page

  1. Select Info on the left hand side
  2. Scroll down the page and find the icon of the globe and click on the Pencil icon
  3. Replace your website link with your new fancy link
  4. Click Apply

And you’re done.

Ready to move on to the next level? Set up a conversion goal in Google Analytics. As this is out of the scope of creating and maximising reviews I’m going to pass you over the All seeing and all knowing Neil Patel for his advice on Google Goal setting