How to Ask For Google Reviews (With Best Practices and Templates)

Google reviews can do wonders for your business. They can boost credibility, reputation, and prove that you’re as kickass as you say you are. Who doesn’t want that?

Beyond that, collecting reviews on your Google Business Profile (previously called Google My Business) can actually improve your SEO.

Google Business Profile is a free tool that allows your business to promote itself on Google Search and Maps. Use Google Business Profile to control what shows up in your business' search results and see how your customers are interacting with your company on Google.

It’s also a place where customers can leave reviews about your business.

What Do Google Reviews Have to Do With SEO?

Yes, you might think a review stating, “I really liked their cheese pizza, it was delicious,” is absolutely pointless. But, think about it like this.

In link building, you work to attain backlinks from other businesses. When a search engine crawls and discovers these backlinks, it tells Google that the content on that linked webpage is trustworthy and valuable.

When comparing this to reviews, it’s like the exact same thing. A positive review will signify to Google that your business is authentic and trusted, tallying an extra notch on your SEO score.

Google pays attention to several factors when it comes to reviews and their impact on ranking. The search engine is interested in where your reviews are left, so make sure they are in a verified location such as your Google Business Profile or directly on your website.

With a verified Business Profile, your information (including reviews!) will appear in search, Maps, and other Google features. 

Google also takes into account the recency, velocity, diversity, and authority of reviews. 

Plus, the more positive reviews you get, the more stars you get, meaning more traffic you’ll likely receive. People like websites that are trusted by others!

Reviews affect user experience, click through rate, and how others perceive your business. Here’s a few statistics that speak to the power of online reviews:

• 63.6 percent of consumers are likely to check Google reviews of a business before visiting their website — this is more than any other review site (Yelp, Facebook, etc).
• 94 percent of people say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business all together.
• 90 percent of consumers read 10 or fewer online reviews until they can trust your business.
• Positive customer reviews can increase conversions by 270 percent.

Nowadays, buyers and consumers turn to reviews for validation of your product or service. Reviews also help your company stand out among your competitors and deliver insights on what your business is doing well and what you can improve on.

But, unfortunately you can’t just get a few reviews and be done with it; 85 percent of consumers don’t trust reviews that were written more than three months ago, and 40 percent will only look at reviews from the last two weeks.

This is why it’s important to regularly ask your customers for Google reviews. The social proof is in the numbers; now it’s just a matter of getting them! 

But, how do you ask current or recent customers to leave a review?

How to Get More Google Reviews

Honestly, just ask!

Don’t beat around the bush when it comes to asking for a review. Sending them a direct email with your request is the best way to feed a response.

However, there’s a few things to consider before hitting send when asking a customer for a review on Google.

Which Customers Should You Ask?

While you think it might be a good idea at first, don’t blast out a review request to every single customer you have.

You want to request reviews from your happy customers – they’re the ones most satisfied with your business, and their reviews can in turn transform them into brand advocates for your company.

You don’t want to risk the chances of getting a poor review, so think carefully about the people you are sending a review request to.

A good way to find your brand advocates is to monitor who is talking about your products on social media. If they’re already saying kind words to all their friends and followers, they’ll be more likely to leave a great review for you, too!

When Should You Ask For a Review?

The key to getting your customers to submit good reviews is to ask them at the right time. They are more likely to submit a review when you've proved your worth to them in some way. 

Here are some great moments to ask your customers for a review:

After a Specific Milestone

Customer milestones may seem small, but they make the perfect time for you to ask for a review. Milestones can include situations like:

• When a customer returns to your shop and makes a purchase.
• When they've used your service for a specific amount of time.
• When they receive a discount from a loyalty program because they've purchased your items a set amount of times. 

These milestones are likely a good indicator that customers enjoy the products or services you offer. There's no better time to ask for a review than when your customers demonstrate that they enjoy doing business with you. 

After You Release New Features

If your products or services gain new features that make your customers' lives easier, then asking for a review after a few weeks or months once the features are released is a good idea.

Your existing customers may very well be pleased with the updates and bug fixes you made, and are likely to put forward the effort to submit a good review while the new features are still fresh on their minds. 

When You Are Checking In With Customers

Your customer support reps should be checking in with customers every so often to see how they are liking your products or services. This invites verbal feedback from the customer and allows your customer support rep to help them with any further issues.

If there are no problems or if the customers' problems are solved, it's a great time to ask for a review so customers can share their awesome experiences. 

When Product Delivery Is Complete

Most people get excited when they receive a package in the mail. A great time to ask a customer for a review is right after they open their package.

If you send out packages to your customers, then you may include a nice note in their package asking them to submit a review. A nice handwritten note, an aesthetically appealing card, or anything that catches your customer's eye helps you increase your chances of getting a review from them.

After You Provided a Service or Sold a Product

When helping customers over the phone or in-person, it is a good practice to ask for a review once you finish the phone call or transaction. If your customers needs are met well and you provide them with great service, then they are likely to submit a review, especially if it is fresh on their minds. 

The Email: What to Include When Asking For a Google Review

Once you've decided the who and when to your review requesting strategy, it's time to get drafting. Be sure to keep these best practices in mind when asking your customers to review your business.

1. Personalize Your Message.

Make your customer feel special – you're not going to get a review with a boring, desperate email saying, "Review us please!" (and if you do, hats off.)

Personalize your email to customers by including their first name, their company’s name, and even mentioning the specific product or service that they used.

If you’re using HubSpot’s personalization tokens, then making an email personal won’t take any extra time while still making a huge impact on your customer.

Remember to keep a casual tone when asking for a review – if you sound desperate or needy, it'll only divert customers from following through. No one likes a pushy person!

2. Keep It Short.

The most important thing about asking a customer for a Google review is to keep it short, simple, and to the point. You’re already asking them to take the time to leave a review, so don’t take any more of their time by having them read a novel of an email.

Your email should thank them for their business, mention why you’re asking for a review, explain how to leave a review, and let them know roughly how long it should take.

3. Include a Review Link.

Make it as easy as possible for your customer to leave a review – give them a link!

If you ask for a review but don’t provide a link they can easily click on, then they probably aren’t going to take the extra time to search for your Google Business Profile in order to leave one. It's best to be clear and let your customer know how to leave a Google review to make the process quick and easy.

You can easily generate a Google review link that will then take your customer to a page where a review form will pop up automatically.

4. Test Different Messaging to Find Your Sweet Spot.

You don't know what messaging will work until you actually try it. Test out different emails to different customers, and track and compare results of each. 

But remember to modify each email to every individual customer. Not every customer is the same, and you don't want to treat them like they are.

Use your top-performing messaging as an overall guide for how to write review request emails later on. This A/B testing method can help you identify and lock down your top-performing email template to use in the future and (hopefully!) guarantee new reviews with each send.

Google Review Email Templates

Now that you know some best practices, you’re ready to draft up your own email and start bringing in some Google reviews for your business.

Here are a few generic templates you can use to help get you started!

1. Product Review

Hi [FIRST NAME],

Thank you for your recent purchase of [TYPE OF PRODUCT] with [YOUR COMPANY NAME]! We really appreciate your business and truly value you as a customer.

Customer satisfaction is extremely important to us, and we'd love to hear your feedback on how you feel about your product once you get to use it for yourself! If you could take a few minutes to leave us a review on Google [INCLUDE LINK] for us, we'd be so happy.

To submit your review, simply click below and let us know what you think!

[INSERT CTA/BUTTON WITH GOOGLE REVIEW LINK]

Thanks in advance for taking the time to leave a review! If you have any questions or would like to speak directly about your [TYPE OF PRODUCT], feel free to contact us [INCLUDE LINK] at any time.

Sincerely,

[YOU/YOUR SALES REP'S NAME]

2. Service Review

Hi [YOUR AMAZING CUSTOMER HERE],

Thank you for your recent [TYPE OF SERVICE] with [YOUR COMPANY NAME]. We truly value all of our customers that come to us for help – that includes [CUSTOMER’S COMPANY NAME]!

Customer satisfaction is extremely important to us, so we'd love to hear your feedback on how you feel about your recent service! If you have a few minutes, we would really appreciate a quick Google review [INCLUDE LINK] letting us know how [we/name of employee who worked with them] did.

To submit your review, click the link below and let us know what you think!

[INSERT CTA/BUTTON WITH GOOGLE REVIEW LINK]

Thanks in advance for taking the time to leave a review! If you have any questions or would like to speak directly about your [TYPE OF SERVICE], don't hesitate to reach out [INCLUDE LINK] at any time.

Sincerely,

[YOU/YOUR SALES REP'S NAME]

3. Experience Review

Hello [#1 FAN'S NAME],

How did you enjoy [TYPE OF EXPERIENCE] at [YOUR COMPANY NAME]?

We're always looking to improve our service, and we love getting feedback from our visitors on what they enjoyed most.

Do you have three minutes to leave a Google review [INCLUDE LINK] for us? We'd be so excited to read it!

To submit your review, simply click below and let us know what you think!

[INSERT CTA/BUTTON WITH GOOGLE REVIEW LINK]

Thanks in advance for taking the time to leave a review! If you have any questions or would like to come enjoy [TYPE OF EXPERIENCE] again, feel free to contact us [INCLUDE LINK] at any time.

Best regards,

[YOU/YOUR SALES REP'S NAME]

5 Other Proven Techniques for Asking for More Google Reviews

While emails are your best bet for connecting with customers and getting reviews in return, there are a few other methods you could try, if they're applicable to your business.

Ask in Person.

If you meet with customers and clients in-person on a regular basis, then you have the option of asking them in person. Although it may seem easier to just send a link later, asking in person may be more impactful. 

When you ask for a review in person, it is helpful to have a card or some other collateral that has the Google Business Profile review link on it to give your customer. This serves as a reminder in case they forget about the review later on. 

Add Review Links in Various Locations.

It may not always be feasible to have long conversations with all of your customers. Include requests for reviews on miscellaneous business collateral, on your website, on a bulletin board, or on other items that are used every day. 

For instance, if you owned a coffee shop, you may have a request for reviews included somewhere on your coffee cup. 

Request Reviews in Your Newsletters.

Newsletters are a great place to include review requests. They allow you to update your customers and prospects about what's going on with your business, and reviews provide them with the opportunity to let you know what's going on with them. 

Make the section where you request reviews small but obvious, and include a CTA that says something like, "Tell us your favorite thing about your most recent experience with our business."

Mention It on Social Media.

A large amount of people spend most of their time browsing on social media. If your business spends time engaging with customers on social media, then you may find success by requesting sincere reviews on social media platforms. 

Consider posting the review link in your bio or directly on one of your posts to make it easy for customers to click and leave a review. 

Include Review Requests on CTAs.

A great way to ask for a review indirectly is to include requests on CTAs throughout your website. You may include different touchpoints such as on your homepage, in your blog, or on a page with your menu or products. Make sure the CTA is relevant to the touchpoints so you can start to see an increase in Google reviews. 

It feels good to receive positive reviews from customers. It makes you feel like you are doing things the right way with your business. To go the extra mile for your customers that submit reviews, respond to them directly. This shows them that their opinion matters to you.

Also, did you know that responding to reviews can improve your SEO?

It can! On the Google Business Profile support page, Google encourages businesses to respond to reviews because it shows that you value and appreciate the feedback from your customers.

“High-quality, positive reviews from your customers will improve your business’s visibility and increase the likelihood that a potential customer will visit your location.”

If Google is telling you to do it, then you probably should.

While other SEO efforts are built upon getting you that #1 search result spot, getting high-quality business reviews can help establish credibility behind your brand.

Focus on your happy customers to receive positive reviews for your business. Soon, you'll have those five beautiful stars attached to your business search results – and consumers love to see that.