Google reviews provide several benefits. With so much competition online, anything that can help you stand out should be used to your advantage.

• Google Reviews give customers insight into how other customers feel about you.
• They can also help highlight why you are a better choice over your competition.
• Businesses with reviews on Google rank better in search results.

One of the most important reasons to acquire Google reviews is because they have significant impact on whether you will show up in local search results.

Businesses with reviews are more likely to show up in what is referred to as the “local pack” on desktop as well as mobile.

Don’t have a Google My Business account? Read our tip: Google My Business – Drive Customer Engagement on Google.

Google used to require at least 5 reviews to show the review stars, but as you can see from the screenshot above that is no longer the case. You can have as little as 1 review for the stars to show up in your results. And as little as 1 Google review will help your chances of appearing in the local pack.

1. Make it timely

Ask for Google reviews right after services have been completed. If you are already sending out an email to clients after you perform services or deliver products to them, then this would be a good time to also request a review. If you wait too long, the customer may lose interest and if you ask too soon, they may not have had your full customer experience.

2. Make it easy

If a customer/client has to spend too much time to give you a review or the review process is confusing, they will be less likely to bother. To make it easy, add a short name to your Google My Business account. After you add a short name, you can get a short link that you can share with your customers.