How to Get More Online Reviews
Online reviews can have a big impact on your business. They have the power to boost your brand and drive sales. In fact, 90% of consumers read online reviews. 88% of customers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Studies have shown that for every additional star local businesses gained on Yelp, they saw a 5-9% increase in revenue.
How do you get more online reviews? Here’s a step-by-step guide guaranteed to get more of them, faster.
1. Collect Review Links
The top three places to collect reviews are Google, Facebook and Yelp. You can substitute Facebook or Yelp depending on your style of photography. For example, if you do wedding photography, you’d want reviews on theknot.com. Otherwise, sign up for a Yelp.com free business account and start collecting reviews there too. Yelp reviews show up on Bing.com, which are used when Amazon’s Alexa is asked about photographers in the user’s local area.
Get the Google review link:
- On your computer, search for your business on Google.
- Find your business listing and click Write a review.
- Copy and paste the URL you see in your address bar. Here’s an example of the URL for JDLab:
https://www.google.com/search?q=JD+Photo+Imaging,+3018+Corunna+Rd,+Flint,+MI+48503#lrd=0x882378787b43ce91:0x9e9de79764285cee,1,,, - Save the Google review URL to your studio in a tab on your browser to use later.
- If this process doesn’t work for your studio, you may need to search by PlaceID on Google Maps. here’s how to find PlaceID.
Get the Facebook review link:
- Go to your Facebook business page.
- Copy and paste the URL you see in your address bar. Here’s an example of the URL for JDLab:
- https://www.facebook.com/pg/jdphotoimaging/reviews/
- Save the Facebook review URL to your studio in a tab on your browser to use later.
Get the Yelp review link:
- If you have a Yelp account, log out, then go to Yelp.com
- Find your business on Yelp. If you cannot find it, create a free Yelp business account, the go back to step 1.
- Click on the review button.
- Copy and paste the URL you see in your address bar. Here’s an example of the URL for JDLab:
https://www.yelp.com/writeareview/biz/Mw_i0jtTB4f73lNas0wugg?return_url=%2Fbiz%2FMw_i0jtTB4f73lNas0wugg&source=biz_details_war_button - Save the Yelp review URL to your studio in a tab on your browser to use later.
2. Create a Review Email Template
Use any email program to create a sample email. Keep it simple. Here’s an example:
Dear ——-
It was a pleasure working with you and your family on ——————. I remember shooting your —————–.
I’d like to ask a favor. If you’re satisfied with the work we did for you recently, please consider writing an online review for my studio. This will not only help me, but it will help your friends and family when they search online for a professional photographer.
Rate my studio on Google.
Rate my studio on Facebook.
Rate my studio on Yelp.
It will only take 2-3 minutes of your time, and it will really help me.
Thanks in advance,
Your name and studio
In each of the 3 blue links above, copy and paste the links you’ve saved from Google, Facebook and Yelp. Save the email as a draft.
3. Using the Review Email
Update your draft email with your clients name and personal information. Personalized email will make a world of difference. Mention the product they bought, their name and any personal interaction you had with them, too.
Send it the day your clients receive their prints while they’re still excited.
4. Additional Ideas
Immediately after you get a review, you should send a thank you email. It will make clients feel like you’ve heard them, and will improve your chances for positive word of mouth marketing to other potential clients.
Didn’t get a good review? Click here to learn how to deal with it.
Clients searching for your studio online only find reviews relevant for three months. For reviews to have the most impact, you need to constantly add new reviews. Here’s a trick: if you start getting too much of one review, remove it from the email and add another review link.








