Positive or negative evaluations have a significant influence on companies. With the advanced technology we have nowadays, more people than ever use Google Search or Google Maps to discover products and services.
Google reviews help businesses rank better and serve as social evidence that clients adore a local business or service provider. You probably have something to say about a particular business or want to know more about reviews as a business owner. Today, we will guide you through the basics of Google Reviews and show you how to leave a Google Review step by step. Let’s get into it!
What Are Google Reviews?
A Google review is a voluntarily submitted, unpaid internet comment made by a client regarding a company they have visited or services they have purchased.
Google Search, Google Maps, and your Google Business listing are all intimately connected via Google reviews. People may provide feedback, upload photos, and share stories about their experiences at local businesses with others using Google reviews.
You can use Google Maps to let people know what a terrific dinner you had or what a bad experience you had, whether you do so by uploading pictures of your meal, giving it a basic rating, or writing an in-depth review. It also allows you to read user reviews and ratings and get recommendations based on your tastes.
How Do Google Reviews Work?
Consumer evaluations from various properties are used to generate the one- to five-star ratings on Google, and the number of stars that are displayed is decided by a Google algorithm and an average.
Google Reviews works with Google My Business and Google Maps. A brand must first have a Google My Business account to be featured and accessible for customers to use this function. The more positive reviews they get, the more customers will visit their website or buy their products.
Keywords, industry categories, notability, and distance are some of the factors that Google considers when picking a list of businesses to show you. Let’s dig deeper into those factors:
Keywords
The more industry-specific keywords you include in your online evaluations, the simpler it is for Google to recognize and rank companies for those phrases. Google’s local search algorithm, which chooses which businesses show up in the local pack of search results, can also take review content into account.
Relevance
Google’s main objective is to present users with the most relevant information or businesses depending on their search criteria.
Notability
Google considers the quantity, caliber, regularity, and recentness of your internet reviews when assessing them. That implies that companies with a high star rating and a significant number of consistent positive evaluations will be given more weight than those without.
Visuals
You can also upload a picture of the experience when you leave a review. Google Reviews containing images or videos can increase their authenticity and trustworthiness with future buyers. Images aid in the reader’s ability to visualize the scene. These visual components evoke an emotional response in viewers that motivates them to book.
Distance
You have no control over where someone searches, but it has a significant impact on local searches. Google strives to present the closest and most pertinent businesses to the individual doing the research.
Relevance of Google Reviews
More than ever, Google reviews influence consumer decision-making. 88% of customers use online reviews to find local businesses.
Before engaging with it, the majority of customers will look for company evaluations online. That is because consumers place greater faith in other consumers’ opinions than they do in marketing messages. Internet reviews have grown to be a crucial part of the internet reputation of a business since, in their eyes, they provide a more genuine and accurate depiction of the experience.
How to Leave Google Reviews
On Android
- Make sure to be signed into your Google account.
- Go to your Google Maps App or the Google Maps site in your web browser after signing in.
- Search for the business. If you can see it, tap on its name on the map.
- Scroll past the images section and click “Write a review”.
- Give the place a star rating by tapping on the relevant star to get to the reviews page.
- There will be a text box on the review page in addition to check boxes for specific details such as the meal type, costs, and other details. That will be useful for anyone looking for, for example, Italian food for under $20.
- Add relevant pictures of your experience if you want to provide further information
- Once you’ve finished writing your review, click the “Post” button to complete the procedure. Your rating and review will now be visible to anyone who searches for this business.
On A Desktop Browser
- Open your preferred browser.
- Go to the Google Maps website.
- In the search box, enter the name of the company you wish to review.
- Click on the business name in the left panel.
- Scroll up until you see “Write a review”, and click on it
- Share your ideas, feedback, and business-related experiences.
- Click the camera button to upload pictures of your visit if you want to share them. There are many different ways to add photos to Google Maps.
- Once you are done with everything you want to share through your review, click “Post” to submit it.
Google Maps will post your review on the business website once you publish it. It will take some time before the set of photos you posted is accessible to other users.
Editing Google Reviews
You can amend your Google review if you realize you’ve left out any important details. This option is helpful because we know that any company’s level of customer service is subject to alteration over time.
You must use Google Search to find the company. Click on the “Reviews” link next to the business’s rating to access a more specific collection of reviews rather than searching through all of them to discover yours.
You should notice a button labeled “Edit your review” in the top right corner of this new page after it has loaded. When you click it, a new page with your review of the company will open. Similarly, on Maps, you must locate this edit button, which must be present directly below the listing’s reviews section.
As a customer, you can modify their reviews and change the rating they gave them. After editing, the review’s timestamp will change, but there is no other way to let people know that it has been altered.
If You’re Using a Google Business Profile
Your initial reaction could be to erase a bad Google review of your company. Instead, think about responding to your Google reviews and requesting that they be edited or removed.
It’s also simple to edit for the GMB user or business owner. Finding the edit button beneath the review response you want to modify will make it straightforward to make the desired changes. The option will send you to another screen where you can alter the response’s text to reflect your current opinions.
If you receive a fake review, consider saying that none of the interactions described there were real and reassuring the customer that your company takes customer concerns seriously.
Flagging the review for policy violations is one of the quickest actions you can take. Google frequently responds quickly to warnings raised by business owners and investigates particular problems. You can also try Google’s small business service to have a bad review removed or corrected.
If it is a legitimate complaint, it would be pertinent to invite them to get in touch and continue the conversation. This will demonstrate to other potential clients how much you value good customer service and positive client interactions.
FAQs
How to Become a Local Guide on Google?
Write a review of a place you visited and share it if this volunteer work appeals to you.
The Google Maps app will then often give you an invitation to sign up as a Local Guide. You will be given a Local Guides Program’s Terms of Service; we suggest carefully reading it.
Once you read it, select “I Understand & Agree”. Remember that the Maps program disapproves of slurs, vulgar language, and emoticons on reviews. If you violate any of these rules, your reviews can be flagged by anyone and you would get banned as a local guide.
Why Should You Post a Review on Google?
According to BrightLocal, out of all the main review-containing platforms, users check Google the most. By reviewing a local business, you are helping many other people to have a pleasant experience or to avoid certain situations.
For example, if you have a toddler and want to take your family to a beautiful restaurant you heard of, checking their Google reviews would let you know if they have toddler chairs or activities for children.
Is It Possible to Post an Anonymous Review on Google?
Not anymore. Google has recently disabled the option to leave a Google review without an author. They took this action to safeguard businesses and stop dishonest companies from posting fictitious negative assessments of their rivals or soliciting other people to do so.
Wrapping It up
Online reviews are a resource that everyone uses while doing research, whether they want to buy a new computer or find a show to watch. All reviews are valuable because they inform businesses of their strengths and areas for improvement as well.
Knowing how to post a review on Google lets you help others decide if they would have a positive experience somewhere. We hope this article has provided you with the necessary knowledge to start confidently leaving reviews at the businesses you visit or services you acquire.
