How Revolution Career Counselling turned Google reviews into a one-person marketing department
“Real social proof works! It inspires confidence in people looking for a service they can trust.”
John Hogan
Owner and career counsellor, Revolution Career Counselling
About Revolution Career Counselling
Revolution Career Counselling is a career counselling practice run by John Hogan, its owner and only counsellor. There is no marketing team. John has used EmbedSocial for about two years to show the practice’s Google reviews on revolutioncareers.com.au.
The challenge: growing a solo practice without ads or a marketing team
The solution: Google reviews and a Book Now button where visitors decide
The result: about 25% more clients a year, by John’s own estimate
The challenge: growing a solo practice without ads or a marketing team
Before EmbedSocial, new clients found the practice through SEO, its Google Business Profile and John’s LinkedIn profile. John chose never to promote the business with pay per click ads or social media. The organic route worked, but slowly.
“This way of operating does work, but it takes a very long time and time is a luxury I did not have!”
Clients were already leaving reviews on Google, and John saw them as the most powerful form of social proof the practice had. The task was to put those reviews to work on the website, where visitors decide whether to get in touch.
The solution: Google reviews and a Book Now button where visitors decide
John chose EmbedSocial as “the most highly regarded and incredibly easy to use method to display my client feedback”. Two widgets now do the work:
- A Google reviews carousel at the top of the homepage, with a “Book Now” button. A visitor can go from reading a review to booking an introductory call in one click.
- A Google rating badge on every page, in the site footer, that updates automatically as new reviews are posted.
Setup was straightforward and the widgets need no maintenance, which matters when one person runs the whole business. The Book Now button is the part John calls key to the carousel’s success:
“It helps busy people make a quick decision to contact me for an introductory call.”
What changed, in John Hogan’s words
- Reviews start the conversation. “Nearly everyone who gets in touch for an introductory call, or who books directly, says they saw my Google Reviews at the top of my website.”
- About 25% more clients a year. “In toto, as a direct result of adopting EmbedSocial as my marketing partner, I have seen around a 25% increase in my yearly client numbers.”
- From around 400 to around 500 unique visitors a month, with total visits, page views, views per visit, bounce rate and visit length improving alongside.
- From page 3 or 4 of Google search results to page one, plus a place in the Google 3 Pack. “My EmbedSocial carousel, along with the Google rating badges placed on each page of my site, have contributed largely to all these results.”
These figures are John Hogan’s own estimates from the practice’s website analytics, shared for this story. EmbedSocial did not measure them, and results depend on each business.
What this can mean for your practice
If you run a service business on your own, your Google reviews already answer the question a new visitor has: can I trust this person with my problem? A Google reviews widget puts those answers where visitors decide, and a booking button right next to them removes the next step. For a team version of the same idea, read how Industrious uses Google reviews and badges across its locations.
“Working as a sole businessperson means filling every role on the org chart (!) whilst trying to avoid going nuts in the process! My business is my vocation and I want to do it as well, as enjoyably and as efficiently as possible. EmbedSocial will lift your business and make your life easier.”
John Hogan
Owner and career counsellor, Revolution Career Counselling
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Put your Google reviews where visitors decide to book
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