For several years now, Google has been relying on customer ratings to determine which businesses should go at the top of its local search results.
And that's good news! Because whether your business is brand new or 50 years old, you can always get more eyeballs on your business by increasing the number of 5-star ratings on your Google Business Profile.
You won't get ratings if you don't ask, so here are a few easy ways to make sure your customers are leaving rave reviews for your business:
1. Give your customer a heads up
Tell each customer - in person - that you'll be asking for a rating to learn how you did.
When you tell someone face to face that you want their feedback, they're more likely to give it. Just think about how you feel when you get a text or email out of the blue asking for feedback. If there's no personal connection or expectation, you'll just ignore it.
The same is true here. By talking with the customer beforehand, you're creating a social expectation for them to follow-through and leave a rating for the work you did.
2. Send a text immediately after finishing the job
Your customer should always receive a text within a few minutes (or an email if you don't have access to their phone number) so that the work you did is still fresh in their minds.
Here's an easy text template you can modify for your own business:
[First name], thanks for trusting me with your [specific service]. Would you be willing to share a quick rating of how I did? It won't take more than a minute, and every rating we get helps a ton.
Here's where you can leave your rating: [Link goes here]
Thank you, I really appreciate it!
[Owner's name]
[Business name]
3. Always include a link to rate your business
For the sentence "Here's where you can leave your rating" make sure to include a link to your Google Business Profile's review page.
You can get a link by going to your Google Business Profile and clicking on "Ask for reviews" which is typically found last in the row of icons available:
Google will show you different options for sending a link - for a text, you can just copy/paste the Review Link that Google gives you:
If you're brand new and don't have ANY customers to ask for ratings yet, there's still an easy way to get your first few customers (and your first few great reviews):
4. Start with friends and family
Offer a big "friends and family" discount to get your first few jobs finished. Do everything exactly as if these were customers you didn't already know, and send them a rating request once the job is finished.
You're pretty much guaranteed a good rating as long as you do a good job.
With a few good ratings right off the bat, you should see your business show up higher in Google's local searches for your business keywords after just a few days.
If you've completed jobs for clients in the past, send them a text too. Even if only a few of them respond with a rating, there's no real downside!