How To: Use the Review System to Get More Church Reviews

What This Solves

Online reviews are one of the strongest drivers of visibility for your church. When someone searches “church near me,” platforms like Google use both the number and quality of reviews to decide who shows up. The Review System helps you request reviews consistently, guide people to leave meaningful reviews, and automate the process so new reviews come in regularly without extra work.

What You’ll Learn

Why reviews matter for search visibility and discovery
How the Review Hub helps people leave better, story-driven reviews
How to add people to the review queue using imports or Smart Lists
How the automated review request system works
How to stop requests after someone leaves a review
How to maintain a steady flow of reviews all year

Quick Steps

1) Understand the Review Hub

The Review Hub is a landing page designed to help people leave reviews that:

Support search visibility
Share real stories and experiences
Help future visitors decide where to attend

The hub includes guidance on what to write and direct links to your:

Google review page
Facebook review page

This moves people beyond generic five-star ratings toward meaningful reviews.

2) Add People to the Review Queue

You can add people to the review system in two ways.

Option A: Add Existing Contacts

Go to Contacts
Select individual contacts or a Smart List of members
Select all contacts you want to add

You will tag them in a later step.

Option B: Import Contacts by CSV

Click Import in the top right
Choose Contacts, then click Next
Upload your CSV file
Choose Create and Update Contacts, then click Next
Map required fields like name, email, and phone
On the final step, add the tag review queue
Confirm consent and start the import

Anyone with the review queue tag is added to the Review System automatically.

3) How the Review Automation Works

Once someone has the review queue tag, they enter the automated Review System.

The system uses a daily drip, typically five people per day, and sends:

An email request
A text message request

After the first request, the system adds the review ready tag.

Anyone with the review ready tag receives:

A follow-up email
A follow-up text

If there is no response, the system sends a limited number of reminders.

After that cycle:

The contact waits about 90 days
They may be asked again later

This cycle repeats a few times before the contact is removed from the queue.

4) When Someone Leaves a Review

When a review is submitted, you receive an email notification with:

The reviewer’s name
Their rating
The text of the review

There are two important next steps.

Respond to the Review

Responding builds trust and signals that your church is active and engaged.

Add the Review Received Tag

Go to Contacts and find the person
Scroll to Tags
Add the tag review received

This removes them from future review requests.

5) Maintain Ongoing Review Growth

Continue adding people to the review queue as they:

Join your church
Complete a Connect Card
Attend a Welcome Event
Complete surveys

A simple goal is one new review per week.

That adds up to roughly 50 reviews per year and significantly improves visibility.

Notes

Not everyone will leave a review, and that is normal. A few reviews each month is enough to make a real impact.
Never request reviews from people who have not opted in to communication.
Personal stories help future visitors decide whether your church feels like home.
The system handles importing, dripping, reminders, and delays. Your role is to add people and respond to reviews.