Everybody wants their business to rank high on Google. Ranking well on Google means more exposure for the business, which will in turn provide more clicks and eventually more business leads and even customers. However, in order to do so, you need to play by Google’s rules.
One such way to rank higher on Google is to have Google+ page reviews for your business. Google reviews matter the most. You may have tons of Yahoo reviews or reviews from other such sites, but without a Google+ Local Page or Google Places Review, your local business is unlikely to rank well on Google.
Download our Google+ Guide for marketers
How do Google Reviews for Local Businesses appear on Google?
Here’s an example. I searched for ‘Chinese restaurants‘ in my area in the Google search box. Reviews and ratings on Google would typically appear like this:
Good ratings and Google Reviews for Local Business is what every marketer must aim for to rank well on Google.
How can I get customers to write Google Reviews for Local Businesses?
Here are a few best practices:
- If you don’t have one already, create a verified Google plus local page for your business. Take a look at this post for the steps.
- Encourage all your customers to write reviews for your Google+ Local Business Page and Google Places Account.
For example:
Liked our food? Please give us your feedback ‘here’.
(Hyperlink ‘here’ to your Google Plus Local or Google Places page)
1. Customers will rate and review your product or service only if it is of value to them. Work towards that.
2. Provide links to your Google plus local page so it’s easier for customers to land on that local business page.
3. Respond to all reviews, whether they are negative or positive. Customer satisfaction should be at the top of your agenda.
Given below are the steps in involved in writing reviews. You could share this with your customers, in case they have trouble doing so.
Steps involved in writing a review for a Google Plus Local Business Page and a Google Places Account:
Step 1:
Sign in with your Google+ Account (Only members with personal Google+ Accounts can write reviews).
Step 2a:
In case of Google Places Account – Go back to Google Search once you have signed in. Let’s take ‘Chinese Restaurants‘ as the example. After you have searched for ‘Chinese Restaurants‘ on Google Search, select the restaurant you want to review and click on ‘ Write a review‘ (encircled in red). Thereafter. proceed to Step 5 directly. (For the purpose of this post, we have taken ‘Mainland China‘ as the example.
Step 2b
In case of Google plus local page – Go to ‘Home‘ in your personal Google+ account and click on ‘Local‘ (encircled in red), to review a local business.
Step 3:
Here, you have to search for the local business you want to review. Type the name of the business in the search box. (For the purpose of this post, we have taken Hard Rock Cafe as an example)
Step 4:
Click on the ‘pencil icon‘ (encircled in red) to write a review for Hard Rock Cafe
Step 5:
Rate, review and publish! The step is the same, whether you want to review Google Places (Mainland China) or a Google plus local page (Hard Rock Cafe).
Now that you know how important reviews are for your business, encourage your customers to write reviews today!
