How to Get More Google Reviews (A Simple Guide)

What your customers say about you online matters as online reviews help build trust! Online reviews do not only help in converting the visitors into customers but they also aid in giving a nudge or reminder to the visitors that they need to share their opinion of the business too with the world. It is true that 88% of the customers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

Of these, Google is one of the most well-known and widely used giants. It accounts for 57.5% of all reviews worldwide. In fact, 63.6% of consumers visit Google to check for reviews of a business.

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Even if your business is doing well on Google by getting more reviews, it must be kept in mind that 85% percent of the customers do not really rely on reviews that are three months old while 40% are only interested in looking at the reviews from the past two weeks.

Surely, one has to constantly work towards increasing reviews on Google day by day from the customers.

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To help you achieve this goal, we have simplified things in this framework:

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That being said, here are a few highly proven steps under each of these categories that will help you get more Google Reviews:

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1. Provide a Great Guest Experience

Nothing can beat the exquisite experience that you can provide to your guests during every touchpoint in the customer mapping journey. These touchpoints include the pre-arrival, mid-stay/during the stay and check-out/post check out experiences where you can check on your guests to see how they are doing or is there anything they need at the moment which will allow you to make their stay even better. Guests will surely remember that and this, in turn, will help generate more reviews.
• Add Delights along the wayThough an indirect way of asking the guests for their feedback, delights along the way like greeting the customers and presenting a complimentary drink to them on their arrival, by offering a warm cookie or water bottle upon check-in or by providing them a special experience on their big day or any other occasion in their life will surely make a difference as it is always about creating an experience, however small it may seem. Guests remember the special things you do for them and this, in turn, might just encourage them to leave you a review on Google.
• Make good use of your Guest Messaging tool

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Text messaging plays an important role at every touchpoint for the seamless guest experience. Especially, a text message post-check-out will not only make the customer happy but at the same time, will remind them about reviewing their experience with you. For the best results, it is better to send this message right away and even a few days after the checkout.

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• Leave a ‘personal note’ to the guestsAnything that has a personal touch to it is loved by all. A personal note welcoming your guests or bidding them goodbye will be highly appreciated. Make sure that you include the reminder for sharing feedback at the end of this note to encourage the guests to share their experience with you.
• Compile a ‘Welcome Pack’ for the guestsAnother way in making the review writing process easier for the guests is to present a booklet or brochure to them on their arrival which gives out all the details about your property including the facilities, timings for using them, explains the house rules and offers tips about local restaurants and attractions. But remember to make it short and sweet as guests would not have the leisure time to go through it all. Make sure you also include the review link or review process which makes it easier for them and reminds them to share their feedback.

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2. Ask For Feedback

Though it qualifies as one of the most conventional or traditional methods of getting reviews, ‘asking’ can still never go out of fashion. The best way to get customer feedback is by asking for it. Look for the ways in which you can very strategically ask for customer’s feedback: it can be through text messaging, e-mails or even in person by making your staff your mouthpiece which will help you approach the customers directly for their feedback. But avoid being coming across as too clingy and make sure that you keep adding“delights” along the way ( more on this later) for encouraging the guests to leave you a review on Google, out of the highly elated experience that they’ve had during their stay.

Again, there are various ways of asking feedback from the customers:

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• Let your staff do the honors by asking the guests in person about their experience as well as for the feedbackWith adequate staff training, you can always ask your staff to participate in the process of asking for more reviews and feedback from the customers. Allow them to do it courteously and with a smile on their face. This might be one of the traditional ways of asking customer feedback, but again, this hasn’t really gone out of fashion.
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• Ask feedback through text messages or follow-up emails.One of the best ways to ask for feedback is through guest messaging where you are able to communicate with your guests easily, again at every touchpoint to know their requirements better. Even a short text message will help remind the guests for reviews and it would be easier in redirecting them to the review interface to pour in their feedback as mobile phones are more preferable over emails.

On the other hand, even if text messaging takes precedence over emails, you can still continue to make your email game stronger by carrying it on side-by-side and sending a quick, short email asking for customer feedback to generate more reviews. Remember that in your emails:

-Sound professional
-Thank the customer for choosing your property,
-Let the customer know that you read and value all their feedback,
-Provide a direct link for the visitors where-in they can leave a Google review.

• Asking for feedback by leaving behind a Google Review CardA Google Review card is more of a marketing collateral that will act as a reminder to your customers that they are to review you on Google. During check-out, you can very courteously present a Google Review Card to them which should have the follow-up indicators: your contact details and the direct link to Google Review Platform. Again, we are not really recommending this as a 100% effective way of gathering reviews on Google as sometimes the customers might choose to ignore it or forget to get back to it later on. But you can still include it as a part of your review-generation campaign.
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• Asking by adding a review link to your websiteAnother way of generating more reviews on Google is by leaving a Google review link on your hotel website clicking on which might lead to a box pop-up, giving out an easy way in which they can leave you a review.
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• Provide visual reminders to the guestsThe biggest problem with most of the guests is that even when they are interested in leaving a review, they keep it on hold and forget about getting back to it later on due to other preoccupations. Hence, the task is to make the process easier for guests by leaving visual reminders like flyers or posters here and there, reminding the guests to post a review.
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• Add your Google My Business profile link in the footer of your newsletterThis is one of the highly proven ways in which you can generate more reviews on Google. In the footer of your newsletter, you can add this link as a possible call to action as it is highly likely that the users in your mailing list liking your products or services would be interested in leaving you a review.

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3. Make the Review Process Easier For Guests

One of the things about Google is that even the non-verified users can leave a review as Google is not really an OTA in the true sense of the term. Basically, anyone can click on the link to provide their review on Google. Hence, keeping this in mind, it is required to send a link that will redirect your guests to the actual interface or page where-in they need to post their reviews. Again, an easy link will save time and cut the process short for guests as they wouldn’t really have to navigate too much to find the page for posting their reviews all by themselves.
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• Send a link that makes it easy for the guests (QR Code/NFC Tags)Some businesses use QR codes scanning which the guests will be redirected to the page or box where they are required to post their reviews. Again, it is a quick and short process that will encourage the guests to review you. This technique is also ubiquitous as every customer today has the ability to use a phone and this, in turn, can assist them in scanning the QR codes which you can just get printed on your promotional material, receipts or any other location that a user can see.
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• Opt for an automated solution which can aid you in review generation, via email and SMS

An effective and technology-driven end-to-end solution like Instant Review invite or Guest Messaging will be the most effective in helping you with your reputation management which, in turn, will help you increase your Google Reviews. Again, a review generation tool will help streamline the entire review process and drive more business. It is also one of the most effective means of a reminder to the guests and also presents them with an easy process of review-writing where they just have to click and leave their review. In short, an easy, time-saving and simple technique of review-writing

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Additional Tips

• Timely respond to the reviews on Google as this can also encourage the guests to leave you a review by conveying the message that you consider their feedback valuable and care to respond to each of them. • Handle the negative reviews pretty well by deploying a personal yet professional tone in curating your response which acts as a great indicator of your reputation as a hotel or business. • Make sure that you also include the Google review link in your hotel’s email signature.

• Register on the GoogleMyBusiness page and completely fill out your business details.

• Avoid Buying Fake Reviews, as this is against Google’s policy and it will harm your property’s image. • Finally, provide a review-worthy service to your customers which is the real prerequisite for the ultimate review generation on Google.

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Following the above steps with diligence and dedication will surely work wonders and aid in increasing Google reviews for your hotel or business. Obviously, you can also opt for an automated solution or review generation wizard to strengthen the process even further.

Looking to increase the reviews on Google for your hotel or business today? We can help!