Any web designer or developer worth their salt will tell you referrals are key to getting new business. Learn about the proven methods and templates for getting social proof quickly and effortlessly, so you can spend more time doing what you love. To get started, try out these strategies for better testimonials.
We all know the feeling of needing a little help getting our foot in the door.
That’s why getting better testimonials for your web design or development business is the best way to show prospects that you’re a high-quality business. The more of them you have, the more people get the impression that you’re a great business with customers for life.
Building trust with your website visitors matters. Honest reviews are the best way to turn those curious visitors into happy customers.
Start with your Google My Business listing
Before you can begin building better testimonials, it’s crucial to make sure the correct information appears on your company’s GMB (Google My Business) page for current and potential customers alike.
If your prospects are researching something, they’re most likely going to Google it.
If your customers want to find your new opening hours or call you to inquire about your services, they may also Google it instead of going directly to your website.
And, if you’re not showing up in the right-hand panel of Google, your competitors probably are. If your listing isn’t there, they will look elsewhere. Don’t wait until after something goes wrong to get started.
Set up your GMB listing
GMB is an essential part of any business’s online presence and a key to better testimonials, and all companies should have a relevant and robust listing at the bare minimum.
When someone searches for your business online, they are more likely to click on the company with reviews. The more honest and positive the reviews are, the more exposure your business will receive.
If you don’t already have a profile, follow the instructions from Google and begin by signing up and reviewing your business information. Ensure you have the most updated and relevant information included, so it’s clear for prospects and customers what to do next (e.g., go to your website, call you, learn more about what you offer, and so on).
If you have multiple locations, open the location you want to manage.
In the left menu, click Home.
Scroll to the “Get more reviews” card.
Copy your short URL to share with customers.
Two additional listings that can be beneficial to your business
If you operate out of a brick-and-mortar shop and Yelp is prevalent in your area, you should have a Yelp listing. First, search to see how popular Yelp is in your area.
If you’re an online business, you’ll want to get set up on LinkedIn with a great profile or business page. While LinkedIn isn’t the most major social media network, a staggering four out of five people on LinkedIn drive business decisions.
Start collecting better testimonials
Now you can use the Short URL you just created to ask customers to review your business! Please remember never to offer incentives to get reviews (like showing a gift card or something similar) — this is against Google’s policies. Additionally, if you offer incentives, it’s less likely you’ll receive an honest review. Instead, send friendly emails to customers asking them to review your business after they’ve used your services.
Testimonial email templates
While there are many methods to collect reviews, we’ll take a look at three series of templates and email subject lines that have been proven time and again to work well for securing better testimonials. Each series is a little different.
Series 1: Why Us?
This first series of testimonial email templates include two emails in total with one optional follow-up. The Why Us series intends to open with an honest question and close with a review request if the review is a positive one.
This series works well for:
Service businesses
Gathering testimonials, you can also use on your website
Customers who are reliable communicators
If there’s a chance that the review is lacking the detail or overall feedback you’d anticipated — the first email in Series 1 gives you a chance to mitigate before sending the follow-up request for a review. If the review was not a positive one, you’d have an opportunity to show your customers how invested you are. Following up on a negative review also gives you the chance to dig in a little more and find out what went wrong or how to make your offering better in the future.
If you’re satisfied with the reply, move on to the second email.
If they don’t reply, try sending the Optional Follow-Up Email about two weeks after Email 2. If they become non-responsive, it’s OK to move on. There will be more opportunities to collect better testimonials in the future.
This second series of testimonial email templates include one email in total with one optional follow-up. The Direct Ask series intends to open with direct ask and close out with a review left on your GMB page.
This series works well for:
Products and/or Services
Customers you already know had a great experience and will have no problem leaving a testimonial
Reliable customers that have little time
If they don’t reply, try sending the Optional Follow-Up Email about two weeks after Email 2. If they become non-responsive, it’s ok to move on. There will be more opportunities to collect reviews in the future. However, If this is a great customer, set a reminder on your calendar to follow up for a third and final time in about 30 days.
This third testimonial email template includes one email for you to send after they’ve reviewed you on Google. Wait about a month after they added the initial review. The intention behind the Additional Reviews series is to obtain additional reviews on other platforms outside of GMB.
This series works well for:
Anyone who has already left you a positive review.
Make sure you also add the reviews to your website. Doing this will help fuel the connection of social proof between an external review site and your website.
Once you have the review you’d requested, you may want to ask your customer whether they’d like to submit a headshot or use their company logo along with the review.
If they have a LinkedIn profile, you can also ask if they’d like to use that.
Don’t quite have an official spot to add customer testimonials on your website? Consider using other methods to collect, monitor, and display customer reviews, such as reviewsonmywebsite.com.
With this type of review collection tool, you can manage all of your reviews from one place and easily add them to your website with a small piece of code. It’s relatively easy and also inexpensive for what you get out of it.
The lowest tiered plan provides a variety of easily embeddable and customizable widgets and badges you can add anywhere on your website. Other plans include additional features, like creating a testimonial page for customers to share reviews.
Respond to your Google reviews
Last but certainly not least, you can increase your conversion rates and value by responding to customers who have left you a review. Google even confirms this on their support page with a note that says, “To improve your business’s local ranking, use Google My Business to claim and update your business information.”
3 ways to respond to positive reviews
Just say, “Thank you” — Saying thanks is a simple yet impactful way to show gratitude for their business and the time they’d spent leaving your business a good review.
Talk about the future — Give them a reason to come back for more business. Did the reviewer mention anything about future plans?
Be specific, B-E specific – Recall something that stood out to you about your experience in working with them, too. It will give your response a personal touch that won’t go unnoticed.
Respond to negative reviews
Not ALL reviews are going to be positive. Someone may leave a negative review that you did not ask for or was unexpected. It’s also essential to respond to negative feedback.
Thank them for their feedback, and apologize. After all, any feedback is valuable information that you can use to improve current business practices.
Do not argue! Focus on the “what” of the issue, and never place blame.
Provide them the opportunity to get in touch with you offline to discuss and potentially turn the review into a positive one.
Try not to say more than what’s needed. Handle quickly and politely.
However, if the review is entirely false where someone is trying to rustle your feathers for the heck of it, you do have the option to report it.
FAQ about getting better testimomials
Can I automate my review request emails?
While automation can work so well for email marketing, we don’t recommend automating email requests for service businesses or businesses directly contacting their customers.
If you want to receive honest feedback, submit a legitimate request. Otherwise, you may encounter challenges such as a third-party email automation service not being verified with your website domain. In other words, this means that your customers could potentially get an email that looks like it comes from MailChimp, for example, and not necessarily you. And these days, those emails go right to spam.
What if my customer asks me to write the review for them?
Composing your customer’s review is a great opportunity. An excellent approach to this would be to hop on a call with your customer and ask them why they chose to work with you and your services or products in the first place.
Tip: Use Email 1 in the Why Us Series like talking points for your call. Then, after you’ve written the testimonial, edit and use Email 1 from the Additional Reviews Series. Edits: Include the copy you’ve written for the customer, and ask them to copy/paste it at the included link to the review site you want them to post it on.
If I customize the templates, will they still be effective for collecting reviews?
Yes, make them your own! As long as you follow the general idea of each template and the timing of when to send them, have a blast with the content. It’s also not uncommon to include something fun, like adding an occasional emoji or GIF!
The facts are clear: Startups are finding funding increasingly difficult to secure, and even unicorns appear cornered, with many lacking both capital and a clear exit.
But equity rounds aren’t the only way for a company to raise money — alternative and other non-dilutive financing options are often overlooked. Taking on debt might be the right solution when you’re focused on growth and can see clear ROI from the capital you deploy.
Not all capital providers are equal, so seeking financing isn’t just about securing capital. It’s a matter of finding the right source of funding that matches both your business and your roadmap.
Here are four things you should consider:
Does this match my needs?
It’s easy to take for granted, but securing financing begins with a business plan. Don’t seek funding until you have a clear plan for how you’ll use it. For example, do you need capital to fund growth or for your day-to-day operations? The answer should influence not only the amount of capital you seek, but the type of funding partner you look for as well.
Start with a concrete plan and make sure it aligns with the structure of your financing:
Match repayment terms to your expected use of the debt.
Balance working capital needs with growth capital needs.
It’s understandable to hope for a one-and-done financing process that sets the next round far down the line, but that may be costlier than you realize in the long run.
Your term of repayment must be long enough so you can deploy the capital and see the returns. If it’s not, you may end up making loan payments with the principal.
Say, for example, you secure funding to enter a new market. You plan to expand your sales team to support the move and develop the cash flow necessary to pay back the loan. The problem here is, the new hire will take months to ramp up.
If there’s not enough delta between when you start ramping up and when you begin repayments, you’ll be paying back the loan before your new salesperson can bring in revenue to allow you to see ROI on the amount you borrowed.
Another issue to keep in mind: If you’re financing operations instead of growth, working capital requirements may reduce the amount you can deploy.
Let’s say you finance your ad spending and plan to deploy $200,000 over the next four months. But payments on the MCA loan you secured to fund that spending will eat into your revenue, and the loan will be further limited by a minimum cash covenant of $100,000. The result? You secured $200,000 in financing but can only deploy half of it.
With $100,000 of your financing kept in a cash account, only half the loan will be used to drive operations, which means you’re not likely to meet your growth target. What’s worse, as you’re only able to deploy half of the loan, your cost of capital is effectively double what you’d planned for.
Is this the right amount for me at this time?
The second consideration is balancing how much capital you need to act on your near-term goals against what you can reasonably expect to secure. If the funding amount you can get is not enough to move the needle, it might not be worth the effort required.
Elon Musk said Sunday he “somewhat agonized” over the font designs for his companies Tesla and SpaceX.
The billionaire businessman added he “loves fonts” and has tweaked the logos over the years.
He revealed the SpaceX logo also holds a hidden meaning, representing a rocket’s arc to orbit.
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In a series of Sunday tweets, Elon Musk said he “somewhat agonized” over his choice of fonts for his businesses and revealed a hidden meaning behind the SpaceX logo.
Responding to a tweet about serif and sans-serif fonts, the billionaire businessman took a break from posting cryptic memes and discussing politics to say he loves fonts and put significant consideration into how his companies are presented to consumers.
“I somewhat agonized over the Tesla & SpaceX font design (love fonts tbh),” Musk tweeted. “There are some similarities, particularly use of negative space. We’ve made many little tweaks over the years.”
The Tesla logo — a T-shaped design with a custom, sans-serif font spelling out the brand name — is meant to resemble a cross-section of an electric motor. The SpaceX logo, written in a similar font with an extended X, references the reusable rockets made by the company.
“The swoop of the X is meant to represent the rocket’s arc to orbit,” Musk tweeted.
Other business logos have also held hidden messages: Baskin Robbins, a chain that sells 31 flavors of ice cream, has a secret ’31’ hidden in the letters of its logo. Likewise, Amazon’s arrow logo is meant to represent a smile, while the circular ‘B’ logo for Beats by Dre represents a person wearing the popular headphones.
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The internet has revolutionized the business world and changed how we conduct business. Any business that aims to increase its visibility and boost profit needs to pay much attention to top ranking factors, including local SEO — which introduces the topic of the local search algorithm.
Local SEO is one of the top practices that help boost a business’s visibility and generates more sales.
However, achieving better local SEO rankings is not a walk in the park, especially due to increased competition. To appear higher on local results, businesses and marketers need to understand how the local search algorithm works.
Knowing this helps guide the steps for improving rankings in the local pack.
The competition gets stiffer as more businesses open and optimize for local searching. Besides, Google is updating its algorithm consistently, meaning only businesses that can keep up with these updates can appear at the top of local search results.
Luckily, you have come to this post as this article looks at everything you need to know about Google’s local search algorithm and what you can do to get that top spot in the local pack.
Understanding the local search algorithm
Google aims to provide the best results that match a specific local search query. It constantly updates the local search algorithm to determine which business to rank on top of local search results.
Ideally, Google wants to provide local content that is relevant and valuable to users. As with search engine optimization, keyword stuffing cannot give you that top spot in local search results.
SEO specialists and marketers should consider Google’s local search algorithm updates and make the necessary changes to rank higher. Failure to consider these updates means losing your local search presence, resulting in fewer leads and conversions.
Local algorithms check the Google My Business (GMB) listings to determine where to rank a business in local search rankings.
Ideally, Google’s local algorithm ranks businesses with information that matches a searcher’s query. And the higher a business ranks in local search results, the more chances a potential customer will click on it.
This post looks at the three major pillars that determine local search results to better understand the local search algorithm: proximity, prominence and relevance.
Of course, other factors make up Google’s local search algorithm, but since we cannot identify all of them, we’ll focus on the most crucial ones in this post.
By understanding these pillars, marketers can better position themselves for local search success.
1. Proximity
Proximity is one of the major ranking factors when it comes to local search. That means the distance between a business and a searcher is a ranking factor in local search.
When a searcher searches for something, Google considers how far the searcher is from the location of the term they use in the search. When a searcher doesn’t specify the location, Google calculates the distance based on the information they have regarding their location.
Ideally, Google aims to provide the most relevant results to a search query. For instance, why would Google provide a list of coffee shops in Los Angeles if the searcher is searching from Colombia?
That would be irrelevant local search results that won’t benefit the searcher.
Unfortunately, while proximity is a major local search pillar, it’s one of the factors that businesses have little control over. After all, you cannot change where your business is located, right?
You can only ensure your business location is as clear as possible, so that it appears for related nearby queries. Here are steps you can take to achieve this:
Claim and verify the Google My Business listing
Ensure local listings are accurate and optimized for local products or services
Get the Google Maps API Key and optimize for your location and routes
Set up your profile correctly (for Service Area Businesses) to avoid violating Google’s guidelines
Users can perform several types of local searches, including:
Geo-modified searches
Users will perform geo-modified searches when they are planning to visit somewhere. For instance, a searcher in Los Angeles planning to visit Toronto, Canada, may search for a “coffee shop in Oakville.” The results will differ from if they searched for “coffee” while physically in Oakville.
To be specific, geo-modified searches are mainly based on relevance and prominence as opposed to proximity when a user searches for something when outside the city included in the search.
Non-geo searches
Searchers perform this type of search when looking for something around them. For instance, a user in Los Angeles performing a local search for “coffee.”
Ideally, the user only needs to search for something and is shown results based on proximity. They will get the results that are closest to them.
“Near me” searches
“Near me” searches have been so popular in recent years. Although their popularity has significantly declined, users still perform this type of search when looking for something locally.
For instance, some users could add “near me” when searching for a coffee shop, hoping to get the most relevant results near them. As we’ve stated, this trend has lost popularity because when you perform a local search, you are searching for something near you.
It is not necessary to add “near me” to what you’re searching.
2. Prominence
Prominence refers to how important Google thinks your business is, which gets factored into the local search algorithm.
In other words, it refers to how well a business stands from the rest in various aspects, including directories, links, reviews, mentions, among other things.
If search engines view your business as trustworthy and credible, they will likely show it on top of related search query results.
The local search algorithm views businesses/brands with a stronger online prominence as credible and trustworthy. Some of the factors that determine prominence include:
Citations
A local citation is the mention of a business’s information online. The mention can include the partial or complete name, address, and phone number (NAP) of a local business.
Citations are an excellent way for people to learn about local businesses and impact local search results.
A business with high-quality citations can rank better in local search results, although businesses must continually manage citations to ensure data accuracy.
Inbound links
Backlinks play a crucial role in local business prominence. Gaining relevant backlinks from high-quality sites is an excellent way to build a business’ online reputation.
If you’re trying to outrank your competitors without much success, your backlink profile could be the reason.
In that case, you should check your competitor’s backlinks and compare them with yours. When doing this, pay attention to the number and quality of their backlinks.
As a rule of thumb, aim to have high-quality local backlinks pointing to your site to improve your page’s authority.
Reviews
Next, you need to pay much attention to reviews to improve local prominence. Many customers look at a business’s online reviews before deciding whether to engage more with the business or not. Besides, many positive online reviews can increase a business’ ranking factors.
Consider this scenario. A potential customer is looking for a pub around Oakville. When they perform a search, they are presented with two results: one with over 100 reviews and another with less than 10 reviews.
Which business do you think the searcher would trust? The one with 100 reviews, obviously.
As with search engines, customers need to trust a business before they decide to do business with it. Similarly, search engines can view online reviews and analyze them to determine a business’s online prominence.
That said, here are strategies you can use to boost your online review signals:
Have a strategy
You won’t have a strong online prominence if your products or services are not of a high standard. So, the first step to having many great reviews is to develop great products and services.
After that, develop a strategy to encourage your happy customers to leave honest but valuable reviews of their experience doing business with you to help boost your online reputation.
Monitor and manage the reviews
Having many reviews is one thing; you need to develop a plan to engage with your customers for better results. Responding to reviews shows people that you care and are genuine about your products and services.
People will avoid businesses that don’t respond to customer reviews (whether positive or negative).
Search engines, too, can tell whether you engage with customer reviews or not and will use the information to determine where to rank on local search results.
When responding to online reviews, pay special attention to negative reviews and how you respond to them. While no business likes getting negative reviews, how you respond to them can positively impact your business — respond positively to turn the negative reviews around.
3. Relevance
As earlier stated, Google wants to provide the most relevant results to a local search query. This key ranking factor will determine a business’s position in local search results — how well does a local business match a search query?
Even if your business ticks the above pillars (prominence and proximity), if the content on your page isn’t well structured and doesn’t cover the topics that a searcher is looking for, you won’t appear on top of local search results.
Here are factors that businesses should consider to create a relevant listing:
Local page signals
Local listing categories and attributes
Social posts and responses to online reviews
Local listing signals and categories
A business GMB listing and category can impact its relevance score for local searches. As such, complete your business profile carefully and continually add quality content to the web page to ensure it is relevant for proximity searches.
More specifically, ensure that all information on all listing pages, including Yelp, Bing, and Google, is complete and accurate. Aside from these factors, here are two crucial features you should pay attention to:
Category selection
Selecting the right categories for your local business listing is among the crucial factors for ranking locally. With over 4000 GMB categories, you want to choose categories that best describe your business — ensure they are relevant and specific.
Here are guidelines to follow when selecting a category:
Describe your business as opposed to your services
Be specific to minimize competition
Reduce the number of GMB categories to describe your business better
Business description
Without a proper description, users won’t know what your business is about. This section is about adding an introduction to your business so that customers and search engines can know more about your business.
However, don’t use this section for marketing your business. Just give users and search engines descriptive info that can help determine whether your business matches their needs.
Local page signals
Another way a business can improve its standing in the local search algorithm is by optimizing web pages for specific keywords. For multi-location businesses, it’s essential to have separate, localized pages for each location, with relevant information and contact details for customers to reach you.
Performing competitor research is advisable to determine what terms or keywords to use for a specific query. Here are top on-page signals to consider when trying to gain relevance for a given topic:
Keyword research — Before creating local content, you need to find keywords that matter to your business. Perform keyword research to determine highly relevant keywords with high intent. When finding relevant terms to use in your content, base your research on the customer perspective; think about what they search for and the type of content they are looking for.
Create local content — After finding the right keywords, it’s time to create your content. Google values the quality of content more than the length of the content, so keep this in mind when creating content. Another crucial thing to pay attention to is localizing the content. For example, you can create content on local news and events or use your city’s name within your content.
The goal is to create a connection between what’s happening in your local area and your business. Also, use pictures with your specific geolocation to increase your content relevance.
Creating quality and relevant content is only the start. You need to optimize your content for on-page signals so local search algorithms can discover and rank them better. Here’s how you can optimize your local content for on-page signals:
Meta descriptions — Include keywords in your meta descriptions to encourage searchers to click through and increase visibility
Title tags — Title tags are some of the factors that search engines use to determine where to rank content. Incorporating keywords naturally in your title tags can help boost local rankings
Image tags — Another way to improve local rankings is by including relevant keywords in your image tags. Including geotags also comes with an added advantage
Headings — Users and Google value pages with clear structures. Consider creating headings within your content to capture readers’ attention and encourage them to read on. However, ensure your heading tags describe the content that comes after them well. Also, include keywords in your heading tags to help search engines understand them and their importance.
Off-page local signals
Gaining high-quality backlinks is a great way to boost credibility and trust. Backlinks refer to external links from another website to your site. Aim to have more high-quality backlinks to boost your website authority.
Ideally, having many quality backlinks shows search engines that your website or page is credible and trustworthy, which boosts the chances of ranking it higher in search engine results.
Guest posting is one of the best examples of link-building strategies you can use. Finding great guest posting opportunities provides an excellent opportunity to share your content to a new but relevant audience, which helps boost your website authority.
Another strategy you can use is to create longer and better content than what is already available on the web. When your content is high quality and relevant, it will be easier to get high-quality backlinks.
Review and social signals
Online reviews can also help boost relevance for your local business. Aim to get as many positive reviews from your happy customers as possible.
Remember, when customers perform a local search, they get not only the relevant businesses but also reviews related to the search. The more positive reviews a business has, the higher chances a potential customer will do business with them.
Closing thoughts on the local search algorithm
Ranking on top of local search results can seem daunting, but it shouldn’t when you know the vital things to focus on. As you have seen above, the local algorithm is based on three pillars: relevance, proximity, and prominence.
Of course, other factors determine local search rankings depending on your industry and competition.
