These days, everyone is online and more often than not, their first impression of your business will be online, either through Google Reviews, Yelp or some other online review service. Did you know that you can actively improve your online reputation for free, and virtually put your best foot forward?

Google Reviews will often be the first impression that future tenants will get of your business as a landlord or property owner. So it’s important that you have as many 5-star reviews as possible so you can attract quality tenants and keep your units full. Luckily, it’s not hard to get 5-star reviews: assuming that you’re already providing a positive tenant experience, just follow up with tenants at the ideal time (timing and ease of request are critical), and ask for reviews.

Read on to find out more ways Google Reviews will help you and the best ways to get them.

Why you want Google Reviews

As future tenants decide where they’d like to live, they’ll research online. Not surprisingly, tenants will do a Google Search and be naturally attracted to the property management company or community that has the most positive reviews. These reviews can often make the difference between having all your units filled and finding the best quality tenants possible.

Not only will you be influencing tenant decision making, solid Google Reviews also help you build trust and credibility. People are social animals so when they see that others had positive tenant experiences, they will trust you and be more willing to work with you.

Google Reviews will also help you show up higher in Google searches and allow you to show up in Google Maps. In addition to that extra visibility, having 5 stars next to your business name sure looks good!

Okay, now that you see the benefits of having a lot of good Google Reviews, how do you get them?

How to get 5-star Google Reviews

Did you know that getting your business listed on Google and getting Google Reviews is 100% free? Google wants to provide the best search results so when someone types in “apartment complex” or “house for rent”, they want reputable landlords to show up. That’s why they provide this service for free when other services may actually charge.

First though, are you a good landlord? If you can honestly say that you are and that your tenants enjoy renting from you, then you’ll have a lot more success at getting positive reviews. If you’ve had issues dealing with tenants in the past, don’t worry - even the best landlord will still have issues from time to time. Either way, the trick to getting more good reviews, is simply to be selective and just ask happy tenants for reviews! If you know the tenant enjoys their home and the service you provide, they’ll be more willing to leave a good review.

1. Before you ask for reviews, you’ll need to set up your Google My Business Profile. Go to Google.com/business and set up your account, enter your business details, and verify your listing.
2. After you create your business profile, optimize your listing by entering in information about your business that would attract tenants. Include keywords, your hours of operation, and of course high quality photos. You need to sell the tenant on the features of your community or property!
3. To make it easy for your tenants to leave reviews, you’ll need to find your unique review link. You can find it within your Google account. First, go to Google My Business and click on Home. Next, click on the “Share review form” button on the right of the page. Next, copy that link. This is what you’ll share with customers.
4. Now ask. Make sure to focus on your satisfied tenants and give them your unique review link. If you don’t get a review on the first ask, then ask again. Don’t ask more than a few times though since you don’t want to be pushy. When they do leave a 5-star Google Review, make sure to leave them a gracious public response letting them know how much you appreciate them!

If you’re a landlord using Handy Tenant, you’re in luck since we make it even easier to get these 5-star Reviews. When your tenants use the resources available to successfully solve maintenance issues in Handy Tenant, if we see a thumbs up, we’ll ask them to also leave you a positive Google Review at that exact moment and provide them the link! This will increase the chance they will substantially!

In Summary, we hope this helps your business and improves your tenant relationships. We hope that you’re able to put this information to good use and that you have many 5-star reviews in your near future.