It can not possibly be overstated how important online reviews are. Many businesses even offer credits and other incentives for leaving them reviews online. When businesses are giving away money for reviews, you have to imagine there is something going on there. Online reviews are a great source of traffic from search engines, they add credibility to your business, and allow you to see how happy your clients are.

There are many methods you can try to employ to receive more online reviews, however, we would suggest not offering monetary compensations. Attempting to pay your clients for reviews can give them the wrong impression, and actually make them less likely to leave you a review.

 

  1. Claim your business on multiple sites:

You’ll want to claim your business or set up your business profile on multiple sites. This will not only make it more convenient for customers to find a place to review you online, it will make it easier for potential customers to read about your business as well. There is no shortage of online review sites that you can claim your business for. Here is just a small sampling: Angies List, Bing Places, Facebook ,Foursquare ,Yelp ,Google My Business .

 

  1. Automated Emails:

It’s difficult to keep track of all of your clients and even more difficult to remember to ask each one of them a review, not to mention exhausting. A much simpler and more effective technique is to send an automated email reminding your client to kindly leave you a review.

 

  1. Be prompt:

If people just used your service or purchased your product, give them the opportunity to review your business right away, while that is something they are still interested in doing. Try to reach out within 24 - 48 hours in order to see the best results. When you ask a client to review your business promptly it shows your care and value their opinion, this will increase their likelihood of leaving your business a review.

 

  1. Make it easy:

Add links to your review platforms on your website, in your emails, and anywhere else that makes sense. If you’re sending an email to a client to ask them for a review, send them a link to a review site that will be convenient for them. For example, if the client doesn’t have a gmail account, don’t send them a link to review on Google My Business.

If you are looking for a review on Google you can easily create a link for your customers to write a review. Here is Google’s explanation of how the process works.

 

  1. Request a review over the phone:

If you close a deal with a client over the phone or help them with an issue ask them if they would mind leaving a review. If they are open to leaving you a review give them simple directions how to do so. Prompting your customers to leave a review on the spot will increase the likelihood that they will actually do so.

You can also try contacting loyal customers who have not yet left you a review over the phone. Your loyal customer will be happy to leave you a great review, and will appreciate the personal touch of a phone call.

 

In order to increase your online reviews, your business needs to be visible from as many review platforms as possible. Make it is easy for your customers to leave a review and be sure to ask them to do so, you’d be surprised how willing they can be.