17 Mar Google or Facebook Reviews: Which is Better?
The short answer is Google…by a LONG shot!
Google reviews help with SEO and are much more likely to increase your business with new leads. When a consumer does a Google search, reviews are so prominently displayed that it proves the value Google has placed on them. Google reviews are valuable because they are much more challenging to get. Each review must come from a user that has a Gmail account.
What I have found is most people use a Google account to log in to YouTube, so they don’t realize this is the same account that is used for leaving a Google review. If they watch YouTube videos on their phone, they are most likely already logged into their Google account, so sending them a link by text or email that they can open on their phone is the easiest way to get them to leave a review.
Google has recently implemented an effort to remove fraudulent reviews from its platform by not allowing more than one Google review from a single IP address. This means if a business has an iPad or a laptop set up in their place of business and is encouraging people to sign in to leave them a review, Google will detect the IP address the review was left from and mark duplicates as fraudulent and not display them. It’s ok to send a text message or email with a link to your Google account to a cell phone for your clients to leave a review, but if they are in your office while they are leaving the review, you need to make sure their device is not connected to your WIFI.
We find that we receive one new Google review for every 17 requests we send out. Consumers trust Google reviews and are 80% more likely to visit or do business with a company that has good, recent reviews. We recommend that our clients concentrate their efforts on Google reviews before any other platform. If you can get one review a week, you will have 52 reviews in a year.
Facebook reviews are not as highlighted for consumers, so they are not used to research companies as often. When you receive a Facebook recommendation from a client, all their friends see is this review on their newsfeed. Facebook reviews can be useful for lower price point sales, including entertainment centers or restaurant type businesses. However, Google reviews are better for companies with long sales processes and high price point sales.
It’s crucial to have a strategy in your business that is consistently requesting Google reviews. In the event you do receive a negative review, you want to make sure you have enough positive to balance it out so this won’t negatively impact your business. Life in Motion offers a CRM system that can automate this process for you to request reviews from every client. Contact us for a demo.