Beginners Guide

Why Google Reviews are Important for Real Estate Photographers

Why Google Reviews are Important for Real Estate Photographers

Real Estate Photography is a service based business model. Much like other service businesses, Google searches play a major role in how people decide who to hire.

Using Google reviews is a simple way to give your real estate photography business a leg up on the competition. It’s a passive marketing tactic that will pay dividends overtime.

This article will explain why Google reviews are so important for real estate photographers by highlighting the importance of local SEO and the power of Google search.

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Online Marketing is Increasingly Important

In a past article I outlined Why Your Real Estate Photography Business Needs to be Listed on Google. Choosing to not have a Google business listing is simply denying yourself possible opportunities.

In the article I just linked to, there are several statistics that prove just how important Google business searches are for the service industry and how easy it is to get your own business listed.

You can’t get positive Google reviews if you aren’t even listed on Google yet. And more importantly, nobody can find you, then ultimately hire you, if you don’t at least give them the chance.

Google Reviews and SEO

Getting your business listed on Google is a good first step. It offers a place where prospective clients can find you and hire you completely passively. If you really want to generate some leads via Google searches, you’ll want to be one of the first businesses people see.

A 2019 study shows that ~31% of people will click the first link on Google after they search something. The same study shows that ~75% of people will click one of the first 3 listings. So, ideally, you want your business within the top 3 results.

If you don’t already know, using strategies to rank higher in search results is called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. For local services, like real estate photography, using Google reviews to our advantage helps a lot with local SEO.

Ranking in the top 3 is actually very achievable, especially if you live in a market where there isn’t a ton of online competition. One of the best ways to rank higher on Google as a real estate photographer is to get positive Google reviews.

Now, this might not be the easiest if you live in NYC or LA, but if you’re in a smaller to mid-level market, chances are a lot of your competition aren’t using Google reviews to their advantage, or might not even have their business listed on Google.

Over time, if you are consistently asking your clients for good reviews, you will inevitably rank higher on Google when someone searches for “real estate photographer near me” or “real estate photographer *fill-in-your-city-name*

Again, this is a very passive strategy to gain a larger presence online, to be more visible to prospective clients, and to ultimately land more jobs. I’ve personally used this strategy in the mid-sized market I service and I’ve landed several large clients because of it.

If you really just aren’t into the idea of SEO, or online marketing as a whole for that matter, there are other reasons that it’s a good idea to generate some positive Google reviews…

Using Google Reviews as a Marketing Tactic

If nothing else, having positive Google reviews attached to your business is a great way to show possible clients that you’re the real deal and that they need to hire you, even if they didn’t find you directly on Google.

For example, say a client of yours referred you to a colleague and you get a call from a realtor that’s considering hiring you. If they’re even remotely worried that you might not be the right choice, you’ll have an easily accessible list of positive reviews to show them.

Or, if they choose to do a quick Google search of the photographer that they were just recommended and see that there’s little to no online presence, including no reviews to read through, that doesn’t help convince them to give you a call.

Google is the most visited website on the internet and serves as a first glance of sorts for people looking to hire. Having even just a handful of positive reviews from fellow realtors can help convince possible clients that you’re the right person to hire for the job.

If you don’t want to bother with SEO, online marketing, or trying to out rank your competition, then just consider Google reviews as a place to display how happy and impressed your clients are with your work.

You can absolutely display the same positive reviews on your website, but that doesn’t allow prospective clients to see them unless they’re already on your website. Meet them where they are and let them see your current clients bragging about you.

How to Get Good Google Reviews

Honestly, it’s quite simple. Ask!

Google Business provides you with a link that sends anyone who clicks it directly to a Google review page for you business. All you need to do is reach out to some clients that you know will have good things to say, ask for a good review, and send them the link.

I personally have found that this works best through a simple text message, but I’d recommend you use whatever channel you and your client are most comfortable using. Here is exactly what I write:

“Hi *client-name*! If you don’t mind, would you please consider leaving me a 5 star Google review when you have a minute? It would be extremely appreciated. All you need to do is click the link below and it will bring your directly to the review page. Thank you!”

Include the link to your Google review page and you’re finished. I actually have this saved as a template so it only takes me a few seconds to send this text out. I make sure to only send it to clients that I know are happy with my work and will leave a positive review.

So far, this tactic has had about a 90% success rate, with that 10% of clients forgetting, not having the time, or just not bothering to leave one. Either way, this is an extremely effective and remarkably easy way to start generating positive reviews on Google.

Use this as an easy opportunity to get a leg up on your competition. Most people don’t bother with online marketing because they think it’s too difficult or that they don’t need it. Use that to your advantage. 

If you’re just getting started in real estate photography, check out our Beginners Guide. It’s full of helpful articles and tips that will guide you in the right direction as you begin your real estate photography journey.

You can check out our Gear section as well to see reviews and recommendations on the latest real estate photography gear.

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About author
Matthew Digati is a professional Real Estate and Architectural Photographer. Matthew has worked as a Real Estate and Architectural Photographer since 2015 and has photographed properties and projects all over the United States.
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