According to a recent National Association of Realtors report, about 97% of home buyers start their property search on the internet. Additionally, the Internet accounts for at least 52% of all property referrals.
The highlighted figures underline the significance of maintaining a positive online reputation.
Collecting Google reviews helps enhance your online visibility and build trust.
This article explores the most important information about Google reviews for real estate agents.
Why Are Google Reviews Important for Realtors?
Gathering Google reviews benefits your real estate agency in the following ways:
Online Visibility and Local SEO
Google reviews increase the chances of your agency’s Google Business Profile (GBP) appearing at the top of search results. This makes your business visible to potential tenants and buyers searching for properties.
Additionally, buyers are often specific about the areas and neighborhoods they’d want to move into. Collecting Google reviews boosts your local SEO, helping your agency rank in search results related to areas where you own or lease property.
Establishing Trust
Customers rely on online reviews to evaluate whether your agency is trustworthy. For example, they might check past tenants’ testimonials about your lease process and property conditions.
Google reviews from happy tenants help your business build social proof, encouraging potential tenants and home buyers to trust your real estate company.
Lead Conversion
Like other businesses, real estate agents rely on customer testimonials to close deals. Receiving high-quality Google reviews builds customer confidence, increasing your site’s click-through rate.
Potential tenants and buyers are also likely to schedule house tours, which creates opportunities for convincing them to buy or lease your properties.
Customer Interactions
Google reviews facilitate one-on-one interactions with past, current, and potential tenants. As such, reply to customer feedback, whether positive or negative. Responding to testimonials boosts engagement, attracting users to your GBP.
Additionally, addressing negative reviews shows potential clients that your real estate company is committed to its tenants’ well-being, enhancing your online reputation.
Source of User-Generated Content
Customers often include photos and videos as part of their testimonials, providing user-generated content (UGC) for your Google business profile. This provides invaluable social proof for your real estate agency.
Additionally, UGC content helps generate visitor engagement as potential tenants might seek information about the highlighted properties.
Ready to collect Google reviews for your real estate business and grow your social proof?
Use our Google Reviews widget to embed customer feedback on your real estate site and encourage satisfied clients to appraise your services.
Create a SociableKIT Google reviews widget and enjoy seamless integrations, flexible customization, and regular feed updates!
Real Estate Reviews Examples on Google
Below are examples of real estate reviews on Google:
Example 1: A Positive Testimonial from a Buyer
The client highlights how the agent was personable and helped get a property within their budget.
Such positive customer feedback helps your real estate business attract potential buyers. Interested tenants are also likely to visit your website to learn more about your services and properties, increasing the chances of a successful sale or lease.
Example 2: A Positive Review With a Response
In the example below, the real estate agent replied to the client’s feedback. Responding to customer testimonials shows that your business values feedback, encouraging other clients to submit their reviews.
It also fosters engagement with customers, helping you establish client loyalty.
How to Set Up Google Reviews as a Realtor
You must have a GBP to receive Google reviews and ratings. Below is a detailed guide for setting up your real estate profile:
- Create a Google business profile: Sign in to your GBP to create a business account and list it on Google. Alternatively, check if your business profile is already listed and claim ownership.
- Verify your business profile: Use Google to verify account ownership via phone, text, email, or video.
- Provide essential business information: Fill in necessary details about your business, including the category, location address, and business hours. You might be prompted to re-verify your GBP to confirm the changes.
- Ask for Google reviews: Copy and share your Google reviews link with your real estate clients and encourage them to submit feedback.
- Respond to reviews: Reply to customer testimonials to foster engagement and enhance your real estate business’s credibility.
Google Business Profile Optimization for Real Estate Agents
Optimize your GBP to attract more visitors to your Google business profile and encourage them to share their feedback.
Let’s outline effective optimization strategies below:
Upload High-Quality Media
The real estate sector is visually driven, meaning potential clients will likely be drawn to GBPs with images and videos of the properties on offer. Additionally, clients are often curious to know how a property looks before scheduling a tour.
As such, upload professionally taken photos and videos of your property listings on your GBP for maximum engagement.
You can also include office photos and images of your real estate agents to help create personal connections with potential clients.
Ask for Google Reviews
Collecting Google reviews helps optimize your GBP in several ways. First, it shows your real estate business is credible and trustworthy, attracting potential clients.
Second, you can respond to the testimonials to foster visitor engagement and keep your profile active and relevant to search engine queries.
Leverage Google Business Posts
Publish Google Business Posts regularly to attract clients to your GBP. Examples of Google Business Posts for real estate agencies include:
- New property listings
- Open house announcements
- Updates on real estate trends and market insights
- Promotions and offers, such as price drops and limited free consultations
Add Secondary Categories
Select relevant secondary categories to help your real estate business rank in local searches.
For instance, suppose you are a commercial real estate agent. Use secondary categories to specify the types of properties you handle, such as industrial real estate, special purpose properties, or Class A, B, and C office spaces.
Monitor Performance Metrics
Track your GBP analytics and modify your profile to attract more visitors. You can access the metrics on your GBP’s manager dashboard. These metrics can include:
- Number of visitors, including unique users who viewed your profile
- Search queries and keywords used to find your business
- Total views on your product listings
- Number of completed bookings
How to Get Google Reviews as Real Estate Agents
Below are six effective ways to get Google reviews as a real estate agent:
- Link your reviews to your site: Embed your best testimonials on your web pages to encourage website visitors to share their experiences.
- Ask in person: Request clients to submit feedback after a successful sale. The client will likely be excited about acquiring the property, prompting them to give a stellar review.
- Share your review link on social media: Promote your Google review link through your social media platforms and encourage past clients to share their experiences with your real estate business.
- Send follow-up and thank you messages: Use email and SMS to follow up on clients and include a Google review link. Encourage clients to submit testimonials to help other clients find your business.
- Respond to customer feedback: Thank customers who review your real estate business to entice more users to submit reviews. Also, acknowledge clients who had a negative experience and request them to reach out through official channels for effective follow-up.
- Keep your GBP visible: Update your GBP regularly, especially the business information, to keep your profile relevant to search engine queries. Additionally, upload rich media to encourage visitors to engage with your business profile.
Use SociableKIT for Google Reviews Widget
Our SociableKIT widget offers a convenient way to gather Google reviews and showcase your best testimonials on your real estate website. Our add-on is easy to use and does not require coding to set up or customize.
Even better, our Google reviews code generator modifies the embed script to match your web builder, guaranteeing compatibility and optimal performance.
A common concern among website owners is that new customer reviews take excessively long to appear on their web pages. This is not a concern when using our SociablekIT widget, as the add-on refreshes regularly, ensuring new reviews reflect on your site.
Finally, we have a responsive customer support desk. Reach our support team via email or live chatbox and expect a prompt response during business hours and a 24- to 48-hour turnaround during weekends.
Ready to collect more Google reviews? Join other satisfied real estate businesses that use our add-on to display their best testimonials on their web pages.
Create a free Google Reviews widget and display your best customer feedback on your real estate website!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Let’s answer the most common questions we receive about Google reviews for real estate agents.
How Can Realtors Respond to Negative Google Reviews?
Negative reviews are an opportunity to showcase how your real estate business handles customer concerns. Below are practical tips for responding to negative Google reviews:
- Reply timely: A swift response allows you to address the raised issues before they gain public traction.
- Acknowledge the review: Thank the reviewer for sparing time to submit feedback about your services.
- Express regret about the negative experience: Apologise to the reviewer about the unfortunate incident and commit to addressing the concern.
- Request the reviewer to reach out: Provide official/formal communication channels that the client can use to follow up on the issue.
Is it Ethical for Real Estate Agents to Request Google Reviews from Clients?
Yes. It is ethical to ask for Google reviews from clients.
However, Google encourages businesses to collect feedback from a representative customer pool rather than just satisfied clients.
What Are the Best Practices for Managing Google Reviews?
Use the following best practices to manage your Google reviews:
- Encourage clients to submit their testimonials
- Respond to customer feedback timely
- Update your Google business profile regularly
- Monitor your GBP analytics to gain actionable insight
- Comply with Google’s policy and guidelines about collecting reviews
Conclusion
As a real estate agent, you must grow your online reviews, considering that at least half of property referrals come from the Internet. You must also interact with customers by responding to feedback to boost engagement and promote your online reputation.
We have outlined effective ways to set up and optimize your Google business profile to encourage customers to submit testimonials.
We also recommend linking your Google reviews with your site so your visitors can see what past customers say about your business and services.
Use our SociableKIT Google Reviews widget for seamless integrations and flexible customizations. Our add-on also updates regularly, helping you keep a fresh stream of content for visitors to engage with when they visit your site. Sign up for SociableKIT and use our Google Reviews widget to promote your real estate business!
