One powerful tool that can help connect your farm to your community is Google Business™ Profile. After the initial set up, there is some maintenance work to be done throughout the year. You’ll want to engage with customer reviews as they come in, add updates when something new is happening at the farm, and look at your Insights at least quarterly to see how customers are interacting with your profile.
Encourage & Respond to Reviews
Google Business™ Profile has a large amount of space dedicated to customer reviews. Profiles with many positive reviews offer new customers social proof and can lead to more folks finding and buying your farm products. Throughout the year, you can actively encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on your Google Business™ listing. To make this easy for customers to do, you can:
- Create a link to put in the bottom of customer emails at the end of CSA season or after an online purchase. To create a link:
- With Google Search, select Ask for reviews.
- With Google Maps™, select Customers > Reviews > Get more reviews.
- Create a QR code for customers to scan with their smartphone at an event. Google does not provide a QR code, so you’ll have to use a free QR code generator. One easy option is built into Chrome. From the Ask for reviews, or Get more reviews page, right click and select the Create QR Code for this page option.
There are rules to be aware of when soliciting reviews. The Federal Trade Commission has specific guidance for collecting online reviews. It’s also well worth reviewing Google’s policy on prohibited and restricted content. There are 21 categories of deceptive or inappropriate content not allowed in reviews; find them here.
Once you have reviews, it’s best to respond promptly to both positive and negative reviews. Express gratitude to those who leave positive feedback and address any concerns or issues raised in negative reviews professionally and constructively. This not only shows your commitment to customer satisfaction but also demonstrates transparency and accountability.
You may also want to use positive Google reviews in other parts of your marketing like on your website or social media. Before you do, remember that the reviewer owns their review, so you’ll need to reach out to them for permission. Google states, “You can reply to customer reviews to ask if you can use them in your marketing materials. Google cannot provide you with additional contact information.” More on user reviews here.
Update Often
Search engines prioritize businesses that provide up-to-date and accurate information. Google wants to give their customers (the searchers) the best search results and Google’s customers won’t be happy with results that are inaccurate. By consistently updating your Profile with the latest details about your farm, products, events and services, you signal to search engines that your information is reliable and current. While there’s not likely a need to post daily, be sure to add updates at least quarterly. Include photos, upcoming events or special offers.
Update Ideas:
- When your CSA sales open for the season, post an update with a photo of a CSA share from last year. Include a testimonial from a happy customer (with their permission) and add a “Sign Up” Button that links to your website.
- When you’re a week out from the first farmers’ market of the year, you can add a photo of your booth from last year.
- When you post to social media about tapping the first maple trees of the year, also post that photo and caption as an update.
Leveraging Business Profile Insights
Google Business Profile provides valuable insights into how users interact with your listing in Search and on Maps. To view your Insights, go to your Business Profile, click Performance and select a date range for your report and select Apply. In Insights you’ll see:
- How customers find your listing: Discover the sources that drive customers to your farm, whether through searches or by finding you on Google Maps™.
- Searches breakdown: See the search terms that showed your business profile in the search results.
- Customer actions: Gain insights into the actions users take after discovering your listing, such as visiting your website, requesting directions or making a call.
