Why Google Reviews Matter

With all of the hats that small business owners wear, it can be hard to find the time to do everything–and, unfortunately, high-return marketing efforts like gathering Google Reviews can fall to the wayside. We’re here to share some insight into why you should prioritize getting Google Reviews–and how we can help you get them easily.

But really - why are Google Reviews so important?

A Majority of People Use Them Regularly

More people are using Google Reviews to research businesses than ever before–81% of them, in fact–up from 63% in 2020. That means that if you don’t have a strong presence with a good number of reviews and high star rating, people may not only skip over your business entirely when searching, they will likely choose a competitor with a higher rating. It’s even been shown that people trust online reviews as much as they do personal recommendations, so having a robust presence isn’t a nice-to-have any longer–it’s necessary for the health of your business.

They Pack SEO Power

Your website was designed with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics in mind. Google’s algorithm uses that, plus other factors like reviews, to give searchers the most relevant results. Translation? Having good reviews shows Google that you’re a reputable company that offers a good experience to its clients; in turn, it will boost your rankings when people conduct searches. Best case scenario, it elevates your business above your competitors.?

One of our customers, Susquehanna Insurance, saw a 470% increase in organic website traffic as a result of the Google Review campaigns they sent through Levitate.?

?Their first campaign in July 2021 netted a 186% increase in 5-star Google reviews.?

?Their second campaign in July 2022 netted a 94.3% increase in 5-star Google reviews.

?These two campaigns brought their total number of reviews to 239.?

Bringing in those additional 5-star reviews gave their website the boost it needed, resulting in a large increase in organic traffic. Not bad for two email sends, huh?

They Build Connections?

Aside from SEO and awareness, Google Reviews are a great way to receive genuine feedback from your clients. You can easily see what your clients think you do well and incorporate those things into your marketing efforts as selling points. When you receive negative feedback, it can be an opportunity to learn and help inform improvements.?

Reviews provide another avenue for connecting with your clients. When they take the time to leave a 5-star review, you can reply with a thoughtful response, further building trust and rapport. Responding to negative reviews allows you to fix issues with one client AND demonstrate to potential clients that you really care about service and will work to make things right. Both of these instances give you a great opportunity to show the kind of authenticity people are looking for.

Now that you know the importance of Google Reviews, you may be wondering: how can Levitate help you generate more?

Easy. We have a couple of different options to get those coveted 5-star reviews going…

First, we have a survey feature that makes it super simple. Designed with small businesses in mind, our exclusive small business surveying tool will help you keep a pulse on every client. The best part? We’ll share industry benchmarks so you can take advantage of lessons learned from peers in your industry.

The survey feature automatically prompts clients who give you a certain star rating and above to leave a review online. Getting them to take the extra five minutes to leave a review when they’re already willing to answer a quick survey (and hopefully gushing about how great your business is) will only lead to more great reviews.

The second option for gathering reviews quickly is using one of the tried-and-tested templates in our content library–all of which can be sent at the push of a button. You can also create your own or have our content team write up a custom email tailored to you.

We hope this has shed some light on how important Google Reviews are for your business and will motivate you to prioritize gathering some additional stars on your profile.

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If you’d like to learn more about how Levitate can make it simpler for you, drop us a line! We’d love to help.