Reviews are incredibly important for success both in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Social Media Marketing? Why? Well, here’s why:
- Reviews propel your company to the top of local Google searches. In combination with good SEO – both On Page and Off Page – having a high quantity, and steady stream of reviews is a huge boost. Do some relevant Google searches and you will see companies that have MORE reviews outrank companies that have fewer.
- Ditto for Yelp. Within the Yelp system, companies that have MORE reviews are also favored in Yelp search results.
Technically, both systems forbid you from asking for reviews. This is all well and good, but the reality is that if you do not ask for reviews you generally will not get reviews. If you are something “fun,” especially a restaurant, bar, or nightclub, this isn’t necessarily so. But if you are something “not fun,” like a plumber, lawyer, or account, it is definitely true.
Watch this on YouTube, here.
Do Not Do Anything Sneaky!
I am NOT advising that you pay for reviews, nor that you do anything sneaky. However, at the end of an engagement, when you have a HAPPY client, it is well worth it to simply ask: “Hey, could you do us a favor? Go to either Google or Yelp and write us a short honest review. That will really help our business if you share your experience. Thanks.”
Even better, send a short follow up email. Here are the steps to create one for both Google and Yelp
Google:
- Find your business on Google by going to Google and typing into Google search your company name and city or even the full address. Here’s an example using ‘Clint Elliott CPA Tulsa.’ NOTE: I have NO relationship with this CPA – this is for EXAMPLE purposes only!
- Click on the blue ‘ 1 Google Review‘ or ‘Be the First to Review’ Button
- Go to http://bit.ly and shorten this URL. For example, this becomes: http://bit.ly/1QAPARf.
- Copy this URL into a TEXT / Notepad file.
Yelp:
- Find your business on Yelp by going to Yelp and typing in the name and city. Here’s an example with Clint Elliott of Tulsa, OK.
- Click on your listing, and get the URL. For example: http://www.yelp.com/biz/clint-elliott-tulsa.
- You can shorten this URL on http://bit.ly, for example to: http://bit.ly/1nu5ouK.
- Copy this URL into a TEXT / Notepad file.
Next, take the URL’s (one for Google, and one for Yelp), and use them to draft a template email you can send to a happy client after they have a service engagement. For example, you’re the CPA and they get a big fat refund, or you’re the waiter at Tealuxe and they exclaim that they “love your tea.”
Here’s an example email:
Greetings!
Thank you for using {YOUR COMPANY NAME}.
If you have a moment, we would REALLY appreciate a review
on one, or both, of the sites below.
GOOGLE
* Go to {http://yourlink via the process above to your Google reviews}
* Click on the BLUE ‘Write a Review’ Button
* You may need to “sign in” to your Google account / Gmail
account.
YELP
* Go to {http://yourlink via the process above to your Yelp reviews}
* Click on the RED ‘Write a Review’ Button
* You may need to “sign in” to your Yelp account.
Thank you!
