Reviews matters for all businesses.

The power of testimonials and its influence to other potential customer can’t be underestimated. Online reviews from existing customers are one of the best ecommerce strategies to connect with potential clients and customers stories about your brand or business help you build credibility. Customer testimonials and case studies are considered the most effective content marketing tactics, identified by 89% and 88%, respectively, of B2B marketers. (2013 B2B Content Marketing Trends Report) 

Your potential customers don’t care what your company is saying about your product or service – they want proof from other customers. 88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts. (BrightLocal).

What are Google Reviews?

Google Reviews are an integrated feature within Google My Business and Google Maps. Through the post of a  review that will be displayed on specifics Google search queries (those matching the keywords of the company, product or service they are reviewing), it allows customers to publicly express their opinion and experience about one product or service or even about a the whole brand or business.

Google Reviews are key in your SEO strategy. In fact, Google Reviews are one of the most important ranking factors for SEO, and even a bigger factor for local businesses, whether or not they sell online, thanks to their prominence in local search results. Indeed, Moz gives review signals 8.4% of its ranking factor.

Create a link to ask for Google Reviews.

Now you can easily share a link with your customers to encourage them to write a Google Review. When clients click your link, they’ll be able to rate your business and leave a review. This is how you do it:

Create a link from Google Search:

To create a link from Google Search:

1. On your computer, search for your business on Google.
2. Find your business listing and click Write a review.
3. Copy and paste the URL you see in your address bar.

If these steps don’t work for you, you’ll need to use the PlaceID Lookup Tool instead.

Create a link using the PlaceID Lookup Tool:

To create a link using the PlaceID Lookup Tool:

1. Use the PlaceID Lookup Tool.
2. Enter your business name in the “Enter a location” field at the top of the map.
3. Click your business name in the list that appears.
4. Copy your Place ID, which you’ll see beneath your business name.
5. Add your Place ID to the following URL to create your link:  https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<place_id>

Keep in mind that it’s against Google review policies to solicit reviews from customers by offering incentives or setting up review stations at your place of business. Reviews that violate the policy may be removed.