Every business owner knows the importance of customer reviews when it comes to generating social proof and establishing a positive reputation. However, the benefits of online reviews go beyond social proof and reputation. With enough positive reviews on Google, you can both make your personal care business more appealing to customers and reach more potential customers by boosting your SEO ranking.
In this in-depth guide to leveraging Google reviews for better search rankings, we’ll explore the important role that reviews play in local SEO and how personal care businesses like chiropractors, personal trainers, and physical therapists can boost their visibility by encouraging reviews.
Why Google Reviews for Personal Care Businesses Matter
Google reviews for personal care businesses matter for a couple of distinct reasons: impressing potential customers and impressing search engines. Establishing trust and catching the attention of potential customers is the most obvious benefit of Google reviews; when customers find your business online, seeing a high number of positive reviews next to your name immediately establishes credibility and social proof.
However, a large number of Google reviews will also make it more likely for potential customers to find your business in the first place. Local search results can be highly competitive, and when a customer searches something like “physical therapist near me” or “cosmetic surgeon in [city]”, the first page of the results is prime real estate. Unless they’re looking for something highly specific, most customers won’t take their search beyond this first page.
While Google uses numerous factors to evaluate how listings get ranked and which ones get especially prime positioning, such as in the Local Pack, reviews play a major role in the process. The number of reviews you have and your average rating are heavily weighted in Google’s algorithms.
When you combine the persuasive power of Google reviews with the impact they have on local search rankings, you get a powerful combination. This makes getting more reviews one of the most impactful goals a personal care business can focus on if it wants to reach more potential customers and convert more of them into actual customers.
How Google Reviews Influence Local SEO for Personal Care Businesses
Google has explicitly stated that local search results are influenced by three main factors:
- Relevance
- Distance
- Prominence
“Prominence” refers in part to how well-known your business is, and one of the primary ways that Google evaluates this is by looking at the number and quality of your reviews. There’s also the fact that the reviews themselves end up acting a lot like SEO content for your business. When a review contains keywords that your customers are likely to search, Google is able to index them and associate your business with those keywords. So, if a customer leaves a review that says something like “This chiropractor helped my herniated disc after just two sessions”, then Google will associate your listing with “herniated disc” searches and rank it higher for those searches.
Local SEO for personal care businesses is a cake that requires a lot of different ingredients. Engagement, backlinks, and content all play a role. However, quality reviews are one of the most important ingredients and present an excellent opportunity for personal care businesses to increase their online visibility.
Getting More Google Reviews (Without Breaking the Rules)
Google has strict policies against incentivizing reviews and posting fake ones. If you want to get Google reviews for your brand, it’s important to go about it the right way. Fortunately, satisfied customers are often more than happy to help—as long as you know how and when to ask.
If you want to get more Google reviews for your personal care business without breaking the rules, here are some key tips and best practices:
1. Ask at the Right Time
When it comes to requesting reviews, timing is everything. By far, the best time to ask for a review is directly after a positive customer experience. When customers are feeling satisfied and your services are still fresh on their minds, they’re not only a lot more likely to follow through with leaving a review, but they’re also more likely to go into detail and write the kind of keyword-rich review that really helps boost SEO.
The ideal time to request reviews will ultimately depend on your business and the kind of services you offer. For chiropractors or physical therapists, it might mean requesting a review after a successful session or at the end of a treatment plan. For fitness trainers, it might be after a client hits a milestone or completes a program.
2. Ask in the Right Way
Tone matters almost as much as timing. Asking for a review should feel like a natural extension of your relationship with the client, not a pushy request for a favor.
Be sure to keep it conversational and appreciative. Let customers know that you’re happy they are happy, and that you would highly appreciate it if they left a review on Google to let others know about their experience. This kind of warm, conversational dialogue can go a long way toward encouraging reviews when properly applied by the staff who interact with customers. Which brings us to our next point…
3. Train Your Staff
If your front-desk team or service providers are interacting with clients every day, they’re in the perfect position to ask for reviews, especially when a customer is clearly pleased with their visit. But those conversations can feel awkward if your team isn’t sure what to say.
Make sure your staff is trained on how to ask for reviews in a way that feels friendly, organic, and non-pushy. Provide them with a simple script they can use or personalize, such as:
“We’re so glad you’re feeling better! If you have a minute, we’d really appreciate you leaving a review on Google. It helps us out a lot.”
A simple line like this from staff who interact with customers at the point when they are most pleased can go a long way. And when your whole team understands why reviews matter and how to ask, it becomes part of your culture instead of just another responsibility or canned line.
4. Make It Easy
Even when people are willing to leave a review, they won’t always follow through. If the process is confusing or complicated, the odds of them following through go down drastically. That’s why it’s crucial to remove friction whenever possible.
One example of what this looks like is including a direct link to your Google profile in your follow-up emails or text messages. You can also generate a QR code that takes clients straight to the review form and display it on signage at your front desk or in waiting areas.
Even if they’re highly satisfied with your services, most people aren’t going to jump through hoops to leave a review. Use ideas like these to get rid of the hoops, and you should start getting a lot more reviews.
5. Use Passive Methods
Not every review has to come from a direct request. You can also use passive methods to gently nudge happy clients toward sharing their experience, without you or anyone in your staff having to say a word.
For example, you can:
- Display signage that says, “Love your visit? Tell us about it on Google!”
- Add a review link to your email signature
- Include a review button on your website or client portal
- Frame printed reviews around your office with a small note encouraging others to share their story
These passive cues serve as reminders and normalize the idea that leaving a review is simply part of the experience.
Generate More Google Reviews With Surefire Local
When it comes to local SEO for personal care businesses, Google reviews are crucial. By getting strategic about how your business encourages reviews, you can improve your online visibility and start bringing in new clients.
At Surefire Local, we understand the value of Google reviews for local businesses. That’s why we built user-friendly review management tools into our comprehensive digital marketing platform. These tools allow you to set up automated flows for requesting reviews from customers via email and SMS, manage and engage with reviews from a single dashboard, and more.
Want to see for yourself how Surefire Local helps personal care businesses scale their marketing efforts and boost online visibility? Sign up for a free demo today!