4 Tips To Get the Most from Google Reviews
Get the Most from Google Reviews
Google is willing to take risks and remain forward thinking! As a result their search engine strategy has created a lot of attention and value. Now millions of users depend on them Internet searches.
Their #1 philosophy is to “
focus on the user and all else will follow.” http://www.google.com/about/corporate/company/tenthings.html The majority of users are consumers looking for business/services/information, which means Google gears its Internet Marketing tools to helping consumers find what they want, hence keywords (a whole other topic).
Google Reviews – let’s focus on this hot topic since it has become the bane of some businesses’ existence! As mentioned in our last newsletter,
Google is shifting away from to user generated content, therefore placing more emphasis on consumer reviews posted on business map listings.Reputation Management is all about minimizing your exposure to any chance of negative reviews while capitalizing on obtaining positive reviews. The only way to truly remove a negative review from Google is to ask the person who posted it to remove it. We've learned that Google is not responsive to negating bad reviews. Since their map listings are free, they’re not obligated to providing a dedicated customer service department to resolve issues. Yes, anyone that has a Google account can add a review, so the risk of getting negative reviews exists no matter what. However, posting any sort of review takes time and effort….use that to your advantage and minimize your risk!
Tips to get the most out of Google Reviews:
- Minimize exposure. Don’t ‘spoon feed’ OR make it easy for everyone to post reviews.
- Use a smart strategy to personally invite satisfied clients to post reviews.
- Use the ‘flag as inappropriate’ link next to a review to report it as inappropriate. Google will check if the review violates their guidelines listed below.
- If you receive a review you do not agree with, we encourage you to use business owner responses to reconcile the situation with the customer diplomatically. You have a chance to turn a negative into a positive.
According to Google’s actual policy and procedures, “Google Places reviews are a forum for users to share both positive and negative opinions. We do not arbitrate disputes and more often than not, we leave the review up.” Google’s guidelines for removing reviews:
- Inappropriate content
- Advertising and spam
- Off-topic reviews
- Conflict of interest
Google’s policies & procedures pertaining to Places for businesses, click HERE:
http://www.google.com/support/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=187622
