Online reviews are vital to building your business’s reputation and gaining customer trust. While any positive reviews are excellent testaments to the quality of your business, a 5-star rating on Google is particularly valuable because of its immediate visibility in Google search results.
To help your business stand out from the competition, you must develop a strategy to get more 5-star reviews.
Key Takeaways
- Google Reviews Matter: Google reviews are essential for building trust and reputation. A 5-star rating can be what you need to stand out in search results.
- Trust and SEO: Positive Google reviews boost trust and improve local search rankings.
- Quantity vs. Quality: Google removed the minimum review requirement for star ratings. Ratings depend on the number and quality of reviews.
- Avoid Buying Reviews: Buying reviews is against Google’s policies and can harm your reputation and rankings.
- Best Practices: Encourage genuine reviews, maintain an updated Google Business Profile, automate review requests, and provide an excellent customer experience to boost 5-star ratings.
Why Are Google Reviews Important?
Google reviews are highly valuable to businesses. Reviews serve as social proof and boost the trust that potential customers place in your company. The personal recommendations in the comments of positive reviews serve as a powerful marketing tool that can motivate new customers to try your products or services.
Google reviewers also rate your business on a scale of one to five stars. Those Google star ratings affect local search results, so a company with a 5-star rating will be displayed higher in search results than similar local businesses with lower ratings. Maintaining positive online reviews offers a valuable boost to your local search engine optimization (SEO).
Given that these reviews bring so much value to your business, focusing on continuously getting quality, positive Google reviews is crucial.
How Many 5-Star Reviews Do I Need on Google?
Five-star reviews make your company stand out in online search results and may encourage potential customers to buy from you. While Google had previously required businesses to receive at least five reviews before displaying a star rating, it removed the minimum in 2017. Now, if your company has just one review, it will also have a star rating.
How Many Reviews Does It Take To Go Up a Star on Google?
Google star ratings are an average of all the ratings that you’ve received. The number of reviews you will need to go up one full star depends on the number of reviews your business has already received and how many stars each of those reviews is worth.
Should You Buy Google Reviews?
As a local business owner, you might have come across offers to buy Google reviews in the past. It can feel really tempting, but here’s why you should steer clear of this practice and what you should do instead:
Don’t Buy Google Reviews
Just like the saying goes, if something is too good to be true, it probably is. Buying Google reviews might seem like a quick fix to boost your online reputation, but it could end up hurting your business in the long run. Here’s why:
It’s Against Google’s Policies
Google strictly prohibits buying, selling, or soliciting reviews (Google). If they catch you doing this, your business could face serious consequences, including having your Google Business profile suspended or removed.
Fake Reviews Can Hurt Your Reputation
Even if your tactics manage to get past Google’s radar, they can still hurt your reputation in the long run. Just because you fooled an algorithm doesn’t mean users can’t spot a fake review from a mile away, and when they do, they’re likely to not do business with you.
Negative Impact on Search Rankings
Google wants to recommend only the best local businesses to users. Because of this, Google often uses reviews as a factor in determining your ranking in search results (Google). Fake reviews can make you look less legitimate to the algorithm, meaning your chances of landing in the Google 3-Pack local ranking results are less likely
What is the Google 3-Pack?
The Google 3-Pack is the list of the top three local businesses that show up when you search for something on Google. It tells you their names, where they are, and how to contact them. Local businesses want to be on this list because it helps them get noticed by people looking for their services in their area.
Do This Instead:
So, what should you do to build a strong online reputation and stay prominent in search results?
When Google determines which local businesses to display in search results, it primarily looks at three things: relevance, distance, and prominence. These factors work together to find the best match for your customers’ searches. Let’s break them down:
- Relevance: Google aims to show businesses that closely match what your customers are looking for. For instance, it might believe a business a bit farther away has what your customers need, so it’ll rank it higher in the results.
- Distance: Google also considers how far a business is from your customers’ location. Too far out, and it might not make it on their list.
- Prominence: This relates to how well-known and respected a business is online. If a business has a strong online presence and good reviews, it’s more likely to appear in the top results when your customers search.
Let’s look at how these three factors apply to getting more 5-star Google reviews:
Encourage Genuine Reviews
Instead of buying reviews, encourage your happy customers to leave honest feedback. Ask them for a review after they have had a great interaction with your business. You can even send follow-up emails or SMS messages with a link to your review page to make it easy for them.
Respond to Reviews
Whether the feedback is positive or negative, always respond to reviews. 82% of users read online reviews for local businesses in their area, and among the folks that read reviews, 97% also read the responses from the businesses (BrightLocal). That’s why it is so important to thank your customers for positive feedback and address the concerns of those who leave negative ones. This shows that you care about your customers’ experiences, want to right any wrongs and make their voices feel genuinely heard.
Provide Excellent Service
The best way to get positive reviews is to consistently provide excellent products or services. When customers have a great experience, they’re more likely to leave positive feedback without any incentive.
Use a Review Management Tool
Consider using a review management tool to keep track of what others are saying about you online. It can help you gather reviews, manage your online reputation, and engage with customers quickly and effectively. Saving you time so you can focus on what you do best: running your business.
Stay Compliant with the Guidelines
Make sure your review collection practices align with Google’s guidelines. For example, don’t offer incentives in exchange for reviews, and never post fake reviews or “review bomb” a competitor.
By following these practices, you can build a strong and trustworthy online reputation that benefits your business in the long term.
How Do You Get More Google Reviews?
You don’t have to wait for customers to leave reviews for your business. A more active approach can encourage customers to leave positive reviews and boost your online reputation.
Keep Your Google Business Profile Updated
The customer experience starts with how customers engage with your business online. Taking the time to ensure that the information on your Google Business Profile, formerly Google My Business, is up to date helps customers have a positive initial interaction with your business.
Check that your business name is consistent in your Google Business Profile, your business website, and your social media profiles so customers don’t get confused. Verify that your address and phone number are accurate so that customers can quickly contact you, and add photos of your storefront to help new customers find and recognize your business.
Pay particular attention to the hours of operation on your business listing. If you change your hours or have special holiday hours, it’s essential to update your profile so your hours of operation are accurate. Customers may check your profile to verify that you’re open and get frustrated if they arrive at your store to find that you’re closed.
Ask Customers for Reviews
Get in the habit of asking every customer for a review. If you interact with customers in person, ask them for a review at the end of the checkout process or after the completion of a project. This simple request often motivates a customer to take a few minutes and review your business.
Automate Review Requests
Consider automating the review request process to make it more efficient. You can add a review request email to your marketing and sales funnels. Your email marketing platform would send a follow-up message checking how they liked the product and asking them to leave a review.
Send a Review Link via Email or SMS
Make it seamless for customers to leave a review. When you reach out via email or SMS, include a link directly to your Google Business Profile. You might provide a brief overview of the steps they need to take when leaving a review. Remember to highlight why business reviews and testimonials are critical to growing your business and thank them for their time.
Respond to All of Your Google Reviews
Take the time to respond to all your reviews, both positive and negative. Responding shows your customers that you value their business and appreciate the time they spend giving you feedback. Reviews are a great tool to see what you are doing well and how you can improve.
Negative reviews give you a valuable opportunity to demonstrate your customer service skills. In your response, apologize for the negative experience, explain that you want to make the situation right, and say that you will personally reach out to them. By publicly responding, other customers can see that you value all of your customers and stand by your work.
Share 5-Star Reviews
When you receive positive reviews from happy customers, celebrate them by posting them on your social media profiles and business website. These reviews are valuable to your digital marketing efforts and help generate additional reviews.
Customers may see something mentioned in good reviews, like how helpful your staff was, and decide to share their own positive experience with your team. In this way, sharing positive reviews can prompt customers to leave additional customer reviews, which you can also share, keeping that cycle going.
How Long Does It Take for New Google Reviews to Show Up?
If you own a local business, you might be wondering how long it takes for new Google reviews to appear on your profile. Here’s a simple breakdown:
Usually 1–2 Hours for Published Reviews
Normally, when a customer writes a review for your business on Google, it doesn’t take long for it to show up on your profile. Normally, they appear near-instantaneously, but you can expect them to be visible to everyone within 1 to 2 hours. This is great because it means that potential customers can see recent feedback pretty quickly.
Sometimes, Reviews Need a Closer Look
There can be situations where Google needs to check a review more closely. This happens when a review seems suspicious or might not follow the rules or guidelines of the platform. When this happens, a real person at Google takes a look at the review and determines whether it should be published or not. Google reviews that are removed cannot be restored. Delays can also occur if your GBP account was reinstated after a suspension or if ownership was recently transferred. This manual process can take longer, usually around 24 to 48 hours (Google).
Following the Rules Helps
To avoid delays, it’s important to make sure all your reviews follow Google’s policies. While you can not control what people say about you online, there are a few strategies you can use to help Google approve reviews.
Encourage customers to be honest and fair when they write reviews. This is something you could mention in passing when they visit your store or in the review request you send them after a transaction takes place. When managing feedback, do not tolerate bad language and remind customers not to include their personal contact information. By doing this, you can help quality reviews show up faster and remain present on your profile.
So, in general, most reviews show up in a few hours. But if a review seems fishy, it might take a bit more time for Google to give it the green light. Make sure you encourage best practices and keep things professional, and you should be just fine.
Are You Allowed to Ask For 5-Star Reviews?
You can absolutely ask for reviews, but you can’t specifically encourage only positive reviews and discourage customers from leaving negative reviews.
According to Google’s terms of service, you can’t give customers any incentive, like a gift card, or pay them to leave you a review. You also can’t ask for reviews in bulk, so you’ll want to avoid sending a mass email to your entire list of customers.
How Do You Get 5-Star Google Reviews?
Getting five-star reviews starts with providing an excellent customer experience. Many elements factor into that experience, from the quality of your products and services to how you engage with your customers and more. Improving the customer experience takes time, and it’s something that good business owners continuously focus on.
You can encourage happy customers to leave you a positive review. Make it quick and easy for them by including a Google review link in your follow-up emails.