Key Takeaways
Google reviews are important for businesses as they improve local visibility, build trust with customers, influence purchase decisions, and enhance local SEO.
- To create a QR code for Google reviews, follow these steps: Go to the Google Place Finder Tool and find your business, copy the “Place ID,” modify the Reviews URL with your Place ID, choose a QR code generator, test the QR code, paste the Reviews URL, and download the QR code.
- There are two types of QR codes: static and dynamic. Dynamic QR codes are recommended for business reviews as they can be edited and offer scan tracking and analytics.
Tips
- Promote your QR code with a clear Call To Action (CTA) next to it, such as “Scan to leave a review.”
- Print your QR code on business cards, flyers, menus, cash registers, books, magazines, coffee mugs, posters, billboards, banners, etc.
- Use your QR code to generate Google reviews by asking customers for reviews, showing them how to leave a review step by step, and reminding them to leave a review within a reasonable timeframe.
Step 1: Go to the Google Place Finder Tool and look up your business in the search box. You can do that here.
Step 2: Copy your businesses “Place ID” from the map’s tooltip.
Step 3: Modify the following Reviews URL and paste in your “Place ID”: https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=PUT-ID-HERE
Step 4: Select a QR code generator you like. A free QR code generator site you can use is Beaconstac QR Code Generator.
Step 5: Do a scan test of the QR code before downloading
Step 6: Copy and paste your new Reviews URL into your QR code website and download your QR code.
Step 7: Print and use your QR code to start getting reviews!
What are Google Reviews?
Google business reviews appear next to your Business Profile in Maps and Search. They provide your customers with valuable information about your business. Helping your company to stand out from the competition and build a positive online reputation.
Good reviews can be a massive benefit to your business as they help to improve your ranking in search results. A higher ranking often leads to more visibility. This, in turn, brings in more visitors to your online business profile, who can be converted to customers.
As you acquire more customers you have the opportunity to collect more reviews, so the flywheel continues.
What are the Benefits of Google Reviews For Your Business:
Improves Local Visibility
As previously mentioned reviews help your business to stand out from other competitors and gain visibility. When a business has a large number of reviews this improves its domain authority and ranking position on Google SERPs. Often, when someone is searching for a particular product or service online they will click on the top links. If your business is listed in the top 5 it is much more likely that a customer will visit your website.
Builds Trust With Customers
91% of 18-34-year-olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations and 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses before visiting their store or buying their products.
Positive reviews, and a good number of them, can build immediate trust with new customers.
Influences the purchase decision of your buyer
Often, online reviews can be the deciding factor as to whether or not a customer will purchase a product or service. Before making a purchase customers will turn to online reviews to help them make a purchase decision.
If your business receives any negative reviews online don’t panic! It is very rare for a business to have no negative reviews online. Instead, use this as an opportunity to express your brands’ personality and impress potential customers with a positive image.
It is important to engage with these reviews and respond to both positive and negative ones in a timely and professional manner. This helps your company to build a reputation online and stand out from other competition.
Improves Local SEO
If you have a small business with an online presence, search engine optimization can lead to greater visibility, which helps people to find your store driving foot traffic to your physical location and increasing sales.
Online reviews play a massive role in boosting your SEO ranking, which helps to generate local organic traffic for your website.
Why Should You Generate a QR Code For Google Reviews
If you want to increase the number of organic customer reviews for your business, a QR Code for Google My Business is an effective way to do so.
QR Codes can be placed almost anywhere and they make the process of locating the google business review page much smoother. When a customer scans a QR code they are directed straight to the reviews page where they can write and leave a review in a matter of minutes.
Customers’ opinions are important and the best way to get reviews is to make the process simple and straightforward.
Static vs Dynamic QR Code
There are two different types of QR codes: Static and Dynamic. When creating your QR code for business reviews it is important to select dynamic.
Static QR codes are recommended more for personal use, once generated they can not be overwritten. Whereas, dynamic can be edited as many times as needed without having to reprint and redeploy the code. You can update details or change the entire URL, and avoid errors.
| Static QR Codes | Dynamic QR Codes |
| Cannot be edited once created | Can be edited even after printing |
| Cannot be used for online retargeting | Can retarget users online |
| Do not offer QR scan tracking | Offer QR scan tracking & analytics |
| Have a long and complicated URL | Have a short and clean URL |
| Cannot deliver different campaigns | Deliver different campaigns based on a set schedule |
| Take longer to scan | Take less time to scan |
How to Use and Promote Your QR Code
Once you have created your QR code for Google it’s time to get it out there for customers to use so they can review their experience with your business.
It is important to include a CTA (Call To Action) next to your QR code. This explains to customers what the QR code is for and encourages them to use it.
Putting a call to action like “Scan to leave a review” will prompt your customers to scan your QR and leave feedback.
Types of businesses that can benefit from a google reviews QR Code:
Hospitality: Hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars etc.
Personal services: hairdressers, beauty salon, physio etc.
Sports and Culture: museums, sports facilities, mini-golf, bowling, swimming pools etc.
Leisure: Night clubs, amusement parks, attractions, pubs, concerts etc.
Home Service Business: HVAC, Plumbers, Gutter Cleaners, Window Washers, Pressure Washing, Cleaners, Electricians, Roofers, Dog Walkers etc.
Where to Print Your QR Code
A few good places to add QR codes
- Business cards
- Flyer or Brochures
- Restaurant/ Cafe Menus
- Back of Cash Register
- Books
- Magazines
- Coffee Mugs
- Posters
- Billboards
- Banners
How to Use Your QR Code to Generate Google Reviews
There are 3 easy ways to use your QR code to generate google reviews.
- Ask For a Review – If you don’t ask you will never receive. It can be a daunting task to ask a customer to leave a review, so here are a few ways that might make it easier:
- Ask after you have completed a job or served a customer
- Ask through email
- Ask when you are ending a phone call conversion with a customer
Take any opportunity you can to ask a customer for a review. If it is something you feel awkward doing start with customers that you already have a good relationship with and build from there. Soon you will be asking for reviews without thinking about it.
Incentivize employees by offering them a gift card or a perk every time they collect a review.
- Show How to Leave a Review – When asking a customer to leave a review it is important to show them step by step how straightforward the process is. By physically seeing how to do it the customer is far more likely to take action and copy the process.
- Remind them – Think about how many times you have been asked to leave a review and forgot the moment you walked out of the shop. Often customers will not leave a review simply because they have forgotten, not because they don’t want to. Make sure you follow up with them within two weeks and remind them about leaving a review.
