GoodReviews: My favorite Google reviews tool
Over the course of my work with Google Business Profiles - I’m constantly exposed to new tools and platforms.
GoodReviews is easily my favorite tool this year.
I recently connected with their founder, Saul Edwards.
My goal was to get a better understanding of the platform, and where it’s going in the future.
The full interview is below (I’ve done some light editing).
Important: I’ve been recommending GoodReviews without any compensation or connection to the company - but this will probably change soon.
What is GoodReviews?
“GoodReviews provides a combination of tools that helps businesses dramatically increase the amount of Google reviews they receive every month.
The tools include:
- Customizable email campaigns
- Automated follow-ups
- Dedicated review landing pages
- Review automation
Last - but not least - we provide in-depth analytics to track everything along the way.
GoodReviews also helps businesses use their hard-won reviews to turn more browsers into buyers. That’s done with our review widget.”
What’s the problem - or "job to be done" - that GoodReviews solves?
“There is a unique opportunity that exists for local businesses right now:
90% of customers read reviews before making a purchase. But about half of local businesses still don’t think reviews are important. It's pretty crazy.
That disconnect means two things:
- Reviews have moved from “nice-to-have” to make-or-break in consumers’ buying decisions.
- Local businesses that focus on reviews are winning more customers - simply because they have more reviews than their competitors.”
(More Google reviews are also an important ranking factor for Google Business Profiles.)
It doesn’t matter if your products/services are online or offline - the buyer's journey looks like this:
What makes GoodReviews different from competitors?
“Our competitors usually fall into two buckets:
Bucket #1: Barebones tools that can only collect reviews.
Bucket #2: Overly complex tools that cost $300+ per month and have too many bells and whistles.
Our difference is at the core of why I started GoodReviews:
Turning reviews into revenue.
Our customers see a 45% uplift in their on-site conversion rate.
So - we offer the same features as most competitors - but our widget is proven to drive increased revenue.
Something that our competitors don’t offer.”
Who is GoodReviews for?
“GoodReviews was made for businesses that serve a local area.
This includes businesses with multiple locations.
An easy way to think about it:
If you have a Google Business Profile - then GoodReviews is probably a great fit.”
Can agencies use GoodReviews for clients?
“Yes. We’ve designed a multi-client function, similar to Google Ads.
We also offer volume discounts, depending on the amount of clients they onboard.
We see many agencies use GoodReviews as a bolt-on to their services - especially SEO.”
Is GoodReviews compliant for professionals like doctors and lawyers?
“We adhere to GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
All review requests have unsubscribe options for users - and only receive communication if they have registered for it.
This is within our T&Cs and our customers must select the appropriate legal checkboxes before sending out communications.
That said - GoodReviews is a global company with customers from Barcelona to New York. As such, the legalities of review collection and showing reviews differ per the legal requirements.
We recommend all our users know and understand their region's legal framework and what laws are applicable to them.”
Personally - what's your favorite feature of the platform?
“The widget. Hands down.
I love making a measurable impact for our customers - and the widget proves it with battle-tested data.
Most business owners underestimate just how much a small increase in conversion rate can impact their revenue.
It's crazy. The conversations I've had with business owners saying things like:
- 'This made me an extra $5,000 a week.'
- 'I was able to hire more vans on the road.'
- 'I was skeptical but this is one of the best tools I use.'
Ultimately, it just feels great to create something, put it out in the world and see it have the sort of impact it does.
I've been in digital marketing for over a decade and could never understand why other tools on the market weren't leveraging reviews like this - especially when consumers are actively looking for them."
Where do you see GoodReviews in 3 years? Any upcoming features you're excited about?
“Most review tools only focus on collecting and responding to reviews.
GoodReviews goes much further.
Our core focus is turning reviews into revenue.
In the future our users will be able to run hands-off experiments which will show them the exact impact displaying reviews can have on their business.
With a click of a button, they will be able to note the exact dollar value linked to displaying reviews on their website (with our Google review widget).
We will also run AI-driven learning in the background that will display the reviews most likely to have the biggest impact on turning a browser into a buyer.
We are also excited to introduce video reviews into our platform. These will be shareable on social media, allowing our customers to amplify them across relevant channels.”
What are the top case studies you have - for how GoodReviews has helped businesses grow?
1) An electrician made an additional $30,000 in the first month by leveraging his reviews across his website.
They are now also the top-rated electrical service business in their area with 175 reviews, resulting in a huge increase in web traffic and inbound calls from customers searching online.
They spend less on paid search ads and other marketing efforts because of the increase in their onsite conversion rate.
2) A dentist gained 69 new patients within 3 months.
Those are patients that would have otherwise gone to their competition.
In the first month, they also increased their review collection by 700%. They are appearing higher in Google Maps and getting more inbound calls than ever before.
3) A national door supplier broke all company records of reviews collected - two months in a row.
That’s a pretty huge milestone considering they have 24 stores and have been in business for over 30 years.
They’ve also been able to use their review feedback to improve their service offering across the board.”
You talk a lot about the increased revenue that GoodReviews drives...
How do you run these tests? Can you share some details for my readers?
“These are real tests. Not 'finger in the air' numbers.
We run 50/50 tests where half of website visitors see the GoodReviews widget - and half don’t.
Then we track which visitors took revenue-driving actions on the website. We do this by mapping key goals in Google Analytics.
Some examples are:
- Calls
- Quotes
- Contact Form Submissions
After we've reached statistical significance, we assess what the conversion lift was.
Finally, we calculate the revenue lift using lead-to-customer close rates and average order value.”
Click here to try GoodReviews for free.