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How much of a difference do Google reviews make to your business?

Paul David

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Google reviews make a massive difference. For starters at least 15% of the ranking is based on number of reviews, relevance and recency.

Unless one of your friends recommends a new business to you, what do you do before deciding whether to use them? 92% of consumers read online reviews.

It's also important the reviews are genuine. NEVER BUY THEM.

You get them by either manually asking every customer or by using an app like this LeadTalker | Get More Reviews & Referrals which automates the whole process.

If you've got a database of previous clients you can upload them into that app and it will send out bulk requests and you can get lots of new real reviews very quickly.

Reviews are extremely important these days.
 

Paul David

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Be careful with any big change in review volume from what's been normal for your account though.

It's suspicious to Google if you go from 2 or 3 reviews per week for the last year to all of a sudden having 50 a week, even if legit.

I've done this lots of times now and not had any issues, sometimes what can happen is that the reviews don't show up immediately. Google staggers them over a week or two.

I've recently helped someone go from 1 Google review to 57 in 4 days. They've now got over 120, all showing up fine.
 

MattR82

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Be careful with any big change in review volume from what's been normal for your account though.

It's suspicious to Google if you go from 2 or 3 reviews per week for the last year to all of a sudden having 50 a week, even if legit.

@Paul David do you warm your accounts up gradually? I'll def look into lead talker. I'd like to find something for a good review funnel.
 
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David Fitz

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Yes they make a massive difference. I think it's the first thing people check for now. Even if I'm buying something on Amazon I'll check the reviews.

How to get more reviews? Do a very good job and ask for the review. Make it easy for them to leave a review by giving them your review link.
 
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MattR82

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Yes they make a massive difference. I think it's the first thing people check for now. Even if I'm buying something on Amazon I'll check the reviews.

How to get more reviews? Do a very good job and ask for the review. Make it easy for them to leave a review by giving them your review link.
Yeah man, I'm seriously amazed when people don't ask for reviews.

A Google Ads client of mine has had success with putting a QR code with a link to leave a review on the back of his business card.

He finishes the job, asks if they're happy and would consider leaving a review and if they are, gives them the card and QR code right then and there before he starts the 5 mins of clean up. They are way more likely to do it then and there while he is still there finishing packing tools away etc.

People are a lot more lazy about it if he gives them the link on his way out the door.

I've also heard that different quality reviews can have a different impact. Reviews with photos and that mention the brand names used (in his case Samsung, LG, Sony etc) are potentially better in Googles eyes (or so I've heard on a few different gmb YouTube channels).
 

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Potential customers see even one 1 star review without any description and they'll never be a customer. That's obvious.
The only thing obvious about this is how ridiculous that statement is.

In fact, I've found more often than not, phone calls go up when a 5 star business gets its first bad review.

My theory is the a bad review makes the other good reviews suddenly seem more credible.

There are industries in my town where the top ranked companies are a 3.8 on Google. But these companies are still in business and people still call them.
 

Bekit

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A friend of mine is building a local internet service provider (ISP).

He is running two different companies.

Let's call one of them, "Rural Broadband." It uses Fixed Wireless technology to deliver internet from a tower in the local area to a dish on the customer's roof. A typical plan is 50-75 mbps for $55/month.

Let's call the other one, "Fast Fiberoptic." It uses Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) technology. A typical plan is 300 mbps for $49/month.

Rural Broadband and Fast Fiberoptic are run by the same ownership. They use the same technicians. They share the same customer service team. They operate on the same primary circuit to the tier 1 internet backbone, so if anything happens to that circuit, both companies go down simultaneously. Everything about the customer's interaction with the company is the same except for the logo on their invoice.

But wait, actually, Fast Fiberoptic's customers get faster internet for a cheaper price. They have more uptime (because Rural Broadband's service can be affected by rain, hail, snow, refraction, high winds that push a customer's dish out of alignment with the tower, and more). Fiber is intrinsically more stable.

So you'd think that Fast Fiberoptic's customers are super happy with that.

But no.

Why?

One reason:

Google reviews.

Because of a few vocal Karen's in the neighborhood Facebook groups where Fast Fiberoptic provides service, the Google reviews for Fast Fiberoptic are terrible. Tons of one-star reviews that all complain about how horrible the service is, and how it's down "all the time" and how it's totally unreliable. Overall star rating: 3.5.

The Google reviews for Rural Broadband, on the other hand, are fantastic. Reviews mention how awesome the service is, how stable it is, how happy they are with the service, and how glad they are to have switched. Overall star rating: 4.7.

New potential customers who call in to Fast Fiberoptic express concern about uptime and outages.

New potential customers who call in to Rural Broadband express how they've seen how highly rated the company is, so they want to be on the service.

Sometimes, Fast Fiberoptic's customers even call Rural Broadband to inquire about signing up because they're looking for a better provider.

It's funny.

It's JUST perception. But the whole general public's perception is shaped by this one thing.

Which leads to a snowball effect.

Any little blip in the service, and Fast Fiberoptic's customers are freaking out. Their initial perception is confirmed. "I knew it! The service is unreliable! This is ridiculous! I'm going to shout at someone about this!!"

Meanwhile, Rural Broadband's customers don't make a peep. "Oh, it's probably nothing. It'll be right back on. Not a big deal."

Interestingly...

The Google reviews have NOT stopped Fast Fiberoptic from customer acquisition. Out of all the available homes in their service area, more than 75% of them have signed up for service with Fast Fiberoptic over the competition.

Why?

Because there is only one other provider in the area, and they're way worse.

So this goes back to CENTS. Particularly...

E - Entry. Launching an ISP is HARD. And expensive. And once a neighborhood is built, it is very difficult to retroactively go in and install fiber lines. So whatever went in the ground when the neighborhood was brand new is probably all that is going to be available for decades or possibly forever to people who live there.

N - Need. Internet is a utility. People need the internet for EVERYTHING. Working from home, doing school from home, entertaining themselves, entertaining their kids ...

T - Time. Once you install a customer on the service, the amount of additional time you will ever spend with that customer again is minimal. Yet you get the MRR every month without fail.


Anyway, I just thought this was an interesting glimpse into a real business and how Google reviews have affected them.
 

Tiago

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It probably depends on the type of business. A client of mine has over 50 reviews with 5 stars, and she gets about 50% of her clients from Google. But it is a very local type of business.
 

alexkuzmov

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Google reviews make a massive difference. For starters at least 15% of the ranking is based on number of reviews, relevance and recency.

Unless one of your friends recommends a new business to you, what do you do before deciding whether to use them? 92% of consumers read online reviews.

It's also important the reviews are genuine. NEVER BUY THEM.

You get them by either manually asking every customer or by using an app like this LeadTalker | Get More Reviews & Referrals which automates the whole process.

If you've got a database of previous clients you can upload them into that app and it will send out bulk requests and you can get lots of new real reviews very quickly.

Reviews are extremely important these days.
Indeed reviews are very important, but its so easy to fake them that literally hordes of people get tricked/scammed by fake reviews and testemonials.
I wonder if this practice will catch up to us in the future and make the reviews obsolete.
Like no one would trust them anymore.
 

Paul David

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Indeed reviews are very important, but its so easy to fake them that literally hordes of people get tricked/scammed by fake reviews and testemonials.
I wonder if this practice will catch up to us in the future and make the reviews obsolete.
Like no one would trust them anymore.

Yes this has always been a problem but Google have spent a lot of money now to detect things like that in order to protect the system.
 
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Paul David

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I'm sorry didn't specify let me explain 500 reviews in less than 2 years.

By looking at bad reviews it helps figure out what's wrong with the business Cloud Kitchens, Yelp & McDonald's are examples.

ahh your 500th review. Congratulations!
 

t15

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I've also heard that different quality reviews can have a different impact. Reviews with photos and that mention the brand names used (in his case Samsung, LG, Sony etc) are potentially better in Googles eyes (or so I've heard on a few different gmb YouTube channels).

Could you share a few of these GMB channels?
 

DoingDeals

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We're a recruiting & customer service company even though it's a restaurant. Also, if people like you they will care more about leaving a good review than the food that's what I tell my employees.
 

MattR82

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Potential customers see even one 1 star review without any description and they'll never be a customer. That's obvious. So reviews matter, even though the products and services may actually not be as you would feel about then.

I have found that the more people you sell to the more likely someone is going to take to the internet. So you sell to 10,000 people you cab guarantee 100 reviews or something like that.
I disagree. I think most people these days realise there are loons out there that give 1 star reviews when it's not deserved. It's easy to drown the odd whack job review out with a tonne of great reviews.
 

Paul David

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Potential customers see even one 1 star review without any description and they'll never be a customer. That's obvious. So reviews matter, even though the products and services may actually not be as you would feel about then.

I have found that the more people you sell to the more likely someone is going to take to the internet. So you sell to 10,000 people you cab guarantee 100 reviews or something like that.

Our system gets around 4 reviews from every 10 requests. Most people don't leave a review until the 3rd request.

Thats why an automated system always performs better than manually asking once.
 

MattR82

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Almost all people do not know how to read reviews anywhere to accurately judge the product or service. I heard a well regarded doctor say they were going to purchase a food product online because it had really good reviews!
Maybe 5 years ago.

Myself, and everyone I know actually, are well aware of the world's Karen's leaving unfair bad reviews. To say "almost all people" don't know how to read google reviews is waaaay off the mark.

I base most of my local buying decisions off Google reviews. The first thing I do is check how many there are, how recent they are, if anything is written on those recent 5 star reviews. Then I maaaayyy check out the 1 star reviews and see if it was a total crackpot and how the business responded to them. Literally takes 5 seconds.

It annoys me to no end when people get wound up over one bad review when they have 50 or a few hundred good google reviews. People know the deal these days.

One bad review amongst a lot of good ones definitely DOES NOT affect you.

And yes, that of course means you have to have a good business that also has a lot of good reviews.

To be clear I'm talking specifically about google reviews where it's easy to filter. Reviews on other platforms is a whole other story.
 
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D

Deleted85763

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Maybe 5 years ago.

Myself, and everyone I know actually, are well aware of the world's Karen's leaving unfair bad reviews. To say "almost all people" don't know how to read google reviews is waaaay off the mark.

I base most of my local buying decisions off Google reviews. The first thing I do is check how many there are, how recent they are, if anything is written on those recent 5 star reviews. Then I maaaayyy check out the 1 star reviews and see if it was a total crackpot and how the business responded to them. Literally takes 5 seconds.

It annoys me to no end when people get wound up over one bad review when they have 50 or a few hundred good google reviews. People know the deal these days.

One bad review amongst a lot of good ones definitely DOES NOT affect you.

And yes, that of course means you have to have a good business that also has a lot of good reviews.

To be clear I'm talking specifically about google reviews where it's easy to filter. Reviews on other platforms is a whole other story.
"One bad review amongst a lot of good ones definitely DOES NOT affect you"

One review, depending on what is said, can definitely affect you. I did research on a company and they had all good reviews except a couple of negative ones. One of those reviews said to check news articles about the company from years ago. I did. It took a bit of doing but I found them. There is no way I would ever buy from that company. The good reviews may have been fake or maybe the company learned from their mistakes. Even then I would not take the risk. There are other companies that provide the same service.
 

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That's assuming you also have a tonne of great reviews.

Most people do not know how to accurately judge reviews. Me included but I have gotten better. A few months ago I bought a product with thousands of mostly 4 and 5 star reviews. The product was actually junk. It was designed poorly and broke within weeks. I learned that all the reviewers, who were actual buyers, were given a free substantial gift immediately after purchase to review the product. It didn't have to be a good review but most people felt obligated in this instance to leave a good review.
This is actually a potential fastlane opportunity. I thought of it the other day when buying a safe. I found one on Amazon that had a 4.9 star rating, but before buying I checked to see if The Lockpicking Lawyer had reviewed it... and he had! It was rubbish. The 4.9 stars were won by delivering quick etc. The opportunity that I saw (But am not interested in pursuing myself) is to create a review platform that professionals in the field of that product can review. Eventually you could have it as an add-on for Amazon, Alibaba, Ebay etc (So you can see customer reviews as well as professional reviews). You could also have the option for businesses to register that they want their product reviewed, and get paired up with a suitable pro. There is something like it already, but not very developed in my opinion.
 
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BizyDad

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This is actually a potential fastlane opportunity. I thought of it the other day when buying a safe. I found one on Amazon that had a 4.9 star rating, but before buying I checked to see if The Lockpicking Lawyer had reviewed it... and he had! It was rubbish. The 4.9 stars were won by delivering quick etc. The opportunity that I saw (But am not interested in pursuing myself) is to create a review platform that professionals in the field of that product can review. Eventually you could have it as an add-on for Amazon, Alibaba, Ebay etc (So you can see customer reviews as well as professional reviews). You could also have the option for businesses to register that they want their product reviewed, and get paired up with a suitable pro. There is something like it already, but not very developed in my opinion.
I think this idea has some legs.

Review sites are getting harder and harder to rank in Google. This could be an alternative traffic source for them.

But how do you avoid poor reviews? As in, professionals who just want to make some affiliate money so they leave a good review of a crap product?
 

runnaboi

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But how do you avoid poor reviews? As in, professionals who just want to make some affiliate money so they leave a good review of a crap product?
I haven't thought too much about it, but you would have to make sure that the reviewer is rewarded by the platform, not the company... but other than to note it as something that someone could do I haven't thought through the logistics much!
 

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Google Reviews has surpassed Yelp as the authority about what businesses are trusted or not. So I'd expect Google Review to make a big difference for most, if not all, businesses today.

Unfortunate really, as it further concentrates power into Google's hands but...it is what it is.
 
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t15

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How do you know whether they make a difference and how do you get them now?
 
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MattR82

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I've done this lots of times now and not had any issues, sometimes what can happen is that the reviews don't show up immediately. Google staggers them over a week or two.

I've recently helped someone go from 1 Google review to 57 in 4 days. They've now got over 120, all showing up fine.
Is lead talker your business Paul? I can see some reviews thanking someone named Paul on the website.

I'll definitely be checking it out more in the morning. I was looking for something a few months ago that would help me prompt not only a review but how they construct it, kind of like asking a few short survey questions that are then collated that they can copy paste to a review but no such luck.
 
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MattR82

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Indeed reviews are very important, but its so easy to fake them that literally hordes of people get tricked/scammed by fake reviews and testemonials.
I wonder if this practice will catch up to us in the future and make the reviews obsolete.
Like no one would trust them anymore.
I think many people still go in and look at the actual reviews on Google maps and read them. I think you can still get a really good idea of what's legit in gmb.
 

Paul David

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Is lead talker your business Paul? I can see some reviews thanking someone named Paul on the website.

I'll definitely be checking it out more in the morning. I was looking for something a few months ago that would help me prompt not only a review but how they construct it, kind of like asking a few short survey questions that are then collated that they can copy paste to a review but no such luck.

yes. We not only help get more reviews but has a feature enabling your clients to refer your company to their friends and family on Facebook. Only available in UK and US at the moment.
 

DoingDeals

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It definitely helps for most business like food service restaurants, but I've seen several million & billion dollar companies have trouble getting genuine good reviews they're still profitable.

The first thing I do is filter out the lowest ratings when researching, not sure if anyone else does this, as well.
 

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500 reviews in one day? how?
I'm sorry didn't specify let me explain 500 reviews in less than 2 years.

By looking at bad reviews it helps figure out what's wrong with the business Cloud Kitchens, Yelp & McDonald's are examples.
 
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D

Deleted85763

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How do you know whether they make a difference and how do you get them now?
Potential customers see even one 1 star review without any description and they'll never be a customer. That's obvious. So reviews matter, even though the products and services may actually not be as you would feel about then.

I have found that the more people you sell to the more likely someone is going to take to the internet. So you sell to 10,000 people you cab guarantee 100 reviews or something like that.
 
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