Reviews add credibility to a business and play a critical role in ranking in Google Maps. However getting customers to actually write them is another story. For a client to actually find your business record within one of the large directories, identify the review link and often times register prior to leaving a review is a daunting process. Most small business owners throw up their hands in dismay at the prospects of actually getting reviews from their customers.

I have been testing Leavefeedback.org with my clients to determine whether it changes the dynamics of the process. In my limited test of 4 reviewers, its seems to have worked well easing review creation.

Leavefeedback.org is a site created by Michael Jensen of SoloSEO that facilitates review creation by allowing a business owner or marketer to create a single URL like this: leavefeedback.org/go.html?code=MB1111 that directs reviewers to a simple instruction set. From there it takes the user directly into a review creation link at one of several previously entered directories for the given business.

Creating the initial business account in Leavefeedback is straightforward and the biggest amount of time is spent actually locating the direct review url’s in the directory sites that you have chosen. It can be combined with a coupon and it allows for multiple coupons, each with a different URL. Alternatively the user can be taken directly to a review with no instructions and no coupon via a slightly different URL.

I recently interviewed a client that I had given the LeaveFeedBack.org URL to, to understand her impressions of leaving a review by this method.

Me: What directory did you end up at?

Client: What directory I ended up at?  I don’t know.  I clicked on the link you provided, and then clicked on Start Your Review & just typed my stuff.  I didn’t have to register. There was one other review already there – a guy from Topeka KS – with elder services, if I recall correctly.  I just went to the link again to see if I could figure out which directory, and got to a whole different place.

Me: Was it easy?

Client: It seemed really straightforward, and I liked the fact that I didn’t have to register to leave feedback (personally, I hate having to register for stuff unless I plan to go back).

Me: Is the incentive motivating?

Client: Is the incentive motivating?  You bet!

It was interest that the incentive of 1 month added to the year of hosting, a 6% discount, was so motivating. The other point of interest was that she had no idea which directory she ended up at (it was Yahoo). I do not know how she would have responded had she needed to register but obviously there is resistance to registering and that should be a consideration in the review directories that you would choose.