As Google continues to dominate the search market overwhelmingly, it has never been more important to ensure your listing is running smoothly and on the first page for search results.
Why is the first page so important? 90 percent of survey respondents said they were likely to click on the first set of results (Search Engine Land).
A great way to work your way up (and stay up) is to consistently collect reviews to your Google listing. Google’s review platform is the most important place to cement your online reputation, and you should respond to the reviews your customers leave there.
Reviews on Google provide valuable information about your business to both you and your customers while allowing your business to stand out.
Positive reviews help increase brand trust, online exposure and local SEO, improve clicks to your website, and ultimately, convert more pet owners. Continuously gaining new reviews is a proven way to not only increase your visibility, but also your client acquisition.
Here are 5 simple strategies you can implement in one day to collect more positive reviews and use them to enhance your local SEO:
1) Remind Your Customers To Leave Reviews
All you have to do is ask a pet parent to search the clinic’s location on Google and click on the ‘Write a review’ button. This is the easiest and most effective way to get your review count up quickly.
2) Include A Link In Your Follow Up
If your front desk sends follow up emails to clients, it’s never a bad idea to kindly ask them for a review and attach a link for a review. The email should be personal, and informative to the client that their feedback is important.
To find the link to send, access your Google My Business dashboard, go to the ‘Home’ tab, scroll down, and click on ‘ Get More Reviews’ (we will include a video at the end of this blog showing you how to do this).
3) Add A Review Link On Your Website
Another simple way to get more reviews includes putting a link in your site’s header or footer or even using a lightbox popup requesting customers leave a review. This will help you get more reviews simply because it makes it easier for your customers.
4) Respond To All Reviews
Both current and potential pet parents love to see responses to reviews. Why? It shows that the clinic takes feedback to heart and cares about their level of care. Google acknowledges companies that respond to Google reviews. If a customer ends up leaving a negative review, follow the steps below:
- Address the issue
- Apologize for the issue (even if your company is in the wrong)
- Attempt to resolve the issue privately.
Below is a helpful example:
”Hi NAME, we are sorry to hear that you did not have a great experience with us. Our team always strives to deliver an exceptional experience from the moment you walk in our door. I’d like to personally hear more about this and see how can make it better. Please reach out to our clinic by phone or email (INSERT PHONE,EMAIL), and we can talk. Thank you for your business.
– NAME”
5) Follow-Up Your Review Requests Multiple Times
Just because a pet parent doesn’t leave a review the first time you ask doesn’t mean they will never leave one. The email or ask could have gone out at a bad time or they may have just forgotten.
A good technique to combat this is to create two email follow-up templates in addition to your first review request and limiting your total number review requests to three.
It doesn’t hurt to follow up on the request once a week or every other week until you hit the maximum number of asks.
The process to create a steady pipeline of reviews is not easy. If you’d prefer to leave your review generation to the professionals, our team at Running Digital is here to help. Contact us online to learn more about our wide range of digital marketing services designed to help businesses like yours get as many pet parents and sales as possible from the web.
