Let’s say you’re looking for a business. You’re looking to find a good doctor, or a new tailor, so you go online to find one in your area. When comparing businesses, you see one with 50 glowing reviews, and another with 2 reviews. Where would you choose to take your business?

According to a study by BrightLocal, 84% of people surveyed trusted online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family. This is because reviews posted online come off as more honest and unsolicited than the claims of “We are the #1 real estate group in Austin!” plastered all over your website.

Even people making purchases online will scour through pages of reviews on Amazon to “research” different products and brands before spending money on it. A house is a much larger purchase than a microwave or a widescreen TV. Why wouldn’t consumers also research real estate agents just as much, if not more?

Here’s the fool-proof method to getting awesome agent reviews.

Establish Your Online Presence

Create Your Profile On Major Websites

Make sure you have a profile on all the major sites like Google+, Yelp, Facebook, Zillow, Trulia, etc. It may even help to set up or claim your business on smaller real estate review websites.

Claiming your Google+ business profile is especially important as it affects SEO and search results. According to SEO specialists Moz, Google local reviews were responsible for 8.4% of a local business’ ranking in Google search results.

Your page ranking is partially determined by the number and quality of reviews on Google. This means reviews on Google can be an important factor in how well your site ranks on Google and how high it shows up.

Have a Testimonials Page on Your Website

Many agents have a dedicated page on their website to house their client testimonials. This way, visitors who land on your website have easy access to your reviews. But first things first: make sure your website is user-friendly and visually appealing. People rarely choose to do business with companies that have clunky or outdated websites.

Once you do decide to add a testimonials page, you need to make sure it looks presentable. Visitors rarely read through blocks of boring text, so spice it up to make it easy and enjoyable to read. For instance, include names and headshots of your clients next to their testimonials (after asking permission of course!).

Another way to spruce things up is to add short 30 second video testimonials from your clients. According to a study by Insivia, online video will account for 74% of all online traffic by 2017. And 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.

How To Ask For a Review

Many agents find it uncomfortable to directly ask clients for a review. They fear that clients will think they are too pushy or find the situation awkward. Sprinkle in mentions of online reviews throughout the time you are working with them. Here are a few ways to ask for an online review.

Remind them of “hero” moments

Don’t wait until closing to mention of even ask for a review. Whenever you have a “hero” moment–when your clients are particularly impressed with your service or when they thank you for doing something exceptionally helpful, casually let them know you would appreciate a review as they are important to you and your business.

This makes writing a review seem like a natural part of the process rather than something you ask for last minute. After closing, you can even remind your clients of these hero moments as something they can mention in their review in an email making the ask.

Make It Easy: Provide Links in the Email

Don’t just send an email to a client asking for a review without directing them where. First, decide where you would like to have the review written. Zillow? Trulia? Yelp? Google? It’s a good idea to cycle through different websites so you’re not loading one avenue with tons of reviews and leaving all the others sparse.

Provide a direct link in the email to your profile on the review website so they don’t have to go searching themselves. Make it easy for them so all they have to do is click, write, and submit.

Provide questions they can answer as a guide

One thing that keeps people from writing reviews is that they are not sure what to write. Give your clients some guidance by providing a few questions they can answer about their experience. Here are some example questions, but you can include any questions you feel would fit your company.

• What did I do best to help your home sale or search?
• What could I have done better to help you buy or sell?
• Why did you decide to work with me as your agent?
• How did I go above and beyond to serve you?

Include Links to Review Pages in Your Email Signature

Even if you are just going back and forth in conversation about something small, including links to review pages in your email signature allows clients (and prospective clients) to see it more often, and increases your chances of getting that review.

Your clients may have more down time prior to closing and may be more likely to click that link and write you a review, particularly if it was soon after a “hero” moment.

[ Generate More Leads With an Agent Review Strategy ]

Give Incentives For Writing a Review

It may be difficult to get reviews, especially if you are just starting out. Give yourself a jump start by offering a small incentive to clients who write a review. For example, you can offer a $5 coffee gift card in exchange for a review. Or, host a giveaway for bigger prize for all clients who write a review before a certain date.

However, be careful when you offer incentives! Sites like Google or Yelp will flag your business profile if it senses that too many reviews have all been submitted within a short time period. So don’t try to cram in as many reviews you can in a week. Have a strategy in place to stagger out your reviews.