How to Manage Google Reviews? A Simple Guide

When you’re looking for a new restaurant to check out what’s the first thing you do? If you’re like 93% of consumers, you check online reviews.

Online reviews have become the new word-of-mouth, affecting consumer decisions and shaping business reputations. Among these, Google Reviews stand out due to their visibility and impact.

Google Reviews appear right alongside your business listing on Google, persuading potential customers even before they visit your website. They are the digital equivalent of personal recommendations, carrying significant weight in a consumer’s decision-making process.

In fact, the BrightLocal survey found that positive reviews make 73% of consumers trust a local business more.

But what does this mean for businesses? It means managing your Google Reviews is no longer optional—it’s a necessity.

This article will guide you how to manage your Google Reviews, a crucial aspect of your online reputation. Whether you’re a small business owner or a large corporation, this guide will provide you with the tools and strategies to manage Google Reviews.

Key Takeaways

• Google Reviews play a crucial role in shaping your business’s online reputation. They impact your SEO, customer trust, and overall brand image.
• Actively managing your Google Reviews can lead to increased visibility, improved customer service, increased sales, and enhanced trust and credibility.
• It’s essential to set up Google Reviews for your business and optimize your Google My Business profile with accurate and updated information.
• Effective review management involves sharing your Google Review link, asking for reviews using best practices, and responding to reviews quickly.
• Businesses with multiple locations face unique challenges in managing Google Reviews. These can be addressed through a combination of centralizing review management and tailoring responses for different locations.
• Automating the review management process and using tools like DemandHub can streamline the process, allowing you to manage and analyze reviews from all your locations from a single dashboard.
• Location managers can play a key role in managing Google Reviews, especially in multi-location businesses. They can provide quick, location-specific responses to reviews, preventing communication crises and enhancing customer satisfaction.

• What Are Google Reviews?
• How Do Google Reviews Impact Your Business?
• The Role of Google Reviews in SEO
• What Are the Benefits of Managing Google Reviews?
• Setting Up Google Reviews
• Tips for Optimizing Your Google My Business Profile
• How to Manage Google Reviews?
• How To Manage Google Reviews for Multiple Business Locations?
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions (Faqs) Related to Review Management on Google

What Are Google Reviews?

Google Reviews are user-generated ratings and comments customers leave on Google Business listings. They range from 1-star (poor) to 5-star (excellent) ratings, accompanied by written feedback about the customer’s experience.

These reviews are visible to anyone searching for your business or related keywords on Google. They provide a snapshot of what to expect from your business.

How Do Google Reviews Impact Your Business?

Google Reviews significantly impact consumer behavior. 72% of consumers will make decisions after reading a positive review, and 88% trust them as much as personal recommendations. Positive reviews can boost your reputation, attract more customers, and increase sales.

Conversely, negative reviews can deter potential customers. However, even negative reviews can be opportunities to demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction through appropriate responses.

The Role of Google Reviews in SEO

Google Reviews also play a crucial role in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Google’s algorithm considers the number and quality of reviews on your Google Business listing when ranking websites.

Businesses with numerous positive reviews are likely to rank higher in local search results. Moz’s Local Search Ranking Factors Survey found that review signals — which include review quantity, review velocity, and review diversity — account for 15% of Google’s local pack ranking factors.

This means effectively managing your Google Reviews can enhance your online reputation and improve your visibility on Google, driving more organic traffic to your website or business listing.

What Are the Benefits of Managing Google Reviews?

Effectively managing Google Reviews can bring a host of benefits to your business. Here are some of the key advantages:

Increased Visibility

Google Reviews can significantly boost your business’s online visibility. As mentioned earlier, Google’s algorithm favors businesses with numerous high-quality reviews.

This means your business is more likely to appear in local search results and Google Maps listings if you have a wealth of positive reviews. This increased visibility can lead to more website visits and, ultimately, more customers.

Improved Customer Service

Google Reviews provide valuable feedback about your customers’ experiences. By actively managing these reviews, you can address customer complaints, and clarify misunderstandings. They can also help improve your products or services based on the feedback.

This proactive approach to customer service can boost your business’s reputation and lead to more positive reviews. In fact, according to a study by Harvard Business Review, replying to customer reviews results in better ratings.

Increased Sales

Positive Google Reviews can directly impact your bottom line. According to a study by Spiegel Research Center, displaying reviews can increase conversion rates by 270%. By managing and improving your Google Reviews, you can boost your ratings, attract more customers, and increase sales.

Enhanced Trust and Credibility

Google Reviews contribute to your business’s online credibility. Consumers tend to trust businesses with positive reviews more than those without. By managing your reviews and maintaining a high average rating, you can build trust with potential customers.

Setting Up Google Reviews

Before you can manage Google Reviews, you need to set them up for your business. Here’s how to do it:

How to Set Up Google Reviews for Your Business

1. Create a Google My Business Account: Go to Google Business Profile and click on “Manage Now.” Enter your business name. If it appears in the dropdown menu, select it. If not, click on “Add your business,” and follow the prompts to create a new business listing.
2. Verify Your Business: Google needs to verify your business is legitimate and that you’re the rightful owner. This is usually done by mail, where Google sends a postcard with a verification code to your business address. Once you receive the code, enter it in your Google Business account to complete the verification process.
3. Complete Your Business Profile: Fill out your profile with as much information as possible, including your business name, address, phone number, website, hours of operation, and photos. The more complete your profile, the more useful it will be to potential customers.

Tips for Optimizing Your Google My Business Profile

Use High-Quality Photos

Photos can significantly impact a user’s impression of your business. Use high-quality photos that accurately represent your business. You can include photos of your products, services, team members, and physical location.

Post Regular Updates

Use the “Posts” feature to share updates, offers, and news about your business. This can help engage your audience and keep your listing fresh.

Keep your GBP Updated and Accurate

Keep your Google Business profile accurate and updated. Incorrect information can lead to customer frustration and harm your reputation. Regularly check your listing to ensure all information is correct and up-to-date.

This includes your business hours, contact information, and location. If you make any changes to your business, such as moving to a new location or changing your phone number, update your profile immediately.

How to Manage Google Reviews?

Once you’ve set up Google Reviews for your business, it’s time to start managing them effectively. Here’s how to do it:

Find the Google Review Link to Share

To encourage customers to leave reviews, you need to make the process as easy as possible for them. One way to do this is by sharing a direct link to your Google Reviews page. You can do this quickly by using our Google Review Link Generator or manually by using Google business:

1. Search for your business on Google.
2. Click on “Write a review” in the Google My Business box on the right side of the search results.
3. Copy the URL from the address bar. This is your Google Review link.

You can share this link with your customers via email, text, social media, or your website to encourage them to leave a review.

Ask for Reviews

Encourage your customers to leave Google reviews. You can do this in person, through email, SMS, or via social media. Remember to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, to show that you value customer feedback.

However, asking for reviews can be a delicate process. Here are some best practices and strategies:

• Timing is Key: Ask for reviews when the customer’s experience is still fresh in their mind. This could be immediately after a purchase or service, or a few days later.
• Personalize Your Request: Personalized requests are more likely to get a response. Use the customer’s name and mention the specific product or service they used.
• Make It Easy: As mentioned earlier, provide a direct link to your Google Reviews page. The easier you make it for customers to leave a review, the more likely they are to do it.
• Incentivize: While you should never pay for reviews, offering a small incentive, like a discount on their next purchase, can encourage customers to leave a review.

Respond to Reviews

Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, is a important for managing Google Reviews. The importance of timely responses cannot be overstated.

When you respond to reviews, it sends a clear message to your customers that you value their feedback and take their experiences seriously. This can help build trust and foster a stronger customer relationship.

Negative reviews, in particular, offer a unique opportunity. They allow you to address any issues or misunderstandings that may have arisen.

Read now: 17 Positive Review Examples and Response Templates

By providing a thoughtful and professional response, you can turn a negative experience into a positive one. This can help you retain dissatisfied customers.

Moreover, responding to reviews can give your SEO a significant boost. Google’s algorithm favors businesses that actively interact with their customers. Therefore, regularly responding to reviews can improve your search rankings, making your business more visible.

In essence, every review, whether positive or negative, is an opportunity to engage with your customers and build stronger relationships. Effective management of your Google Reviews is, therefore, key to enhancing your online reputation and growing your business.

How To Manage Google Reviews for Multiple Business Locations?

“Multi-location” refers to businesses operating in more than one geographical location. This could mean a business with multiple stores, restaurants, offices, or branches in different cities, states, or even countries.

Multi-location businesses face unique challenges because they need to monitor and respond to customer feedback for each of their individual locations.

However, with the right strategy and tools, it can be streamlined effectively.

Corporate Management of Google Reviews

Businesses with multiple locations, such as franchise models, face unique challenges in managing Google Reviews. These challenges include:

• maintaining consistency in responses,
• dealing with location-specific issues,
• managing the sheer volume of reviews across different locations.

However, these challenges can be addressed with a well-designed and well-executed strategy.

For instance, businesses can adopt a centralized review management approach, where a corporate office manages all the reviews. This approach allows for consistent communication with customers and efficient control of the brand image.

Individual Management of Google Reviews

Alternatively, businesses can opt for individual management of Google Reviews. It is where a location manager is responsible for monitoring and responding to reviews.

While the corporate office provides the broad strategies for handling Google reviews, the location manager plays a key role as the primary contact for monitoring and responding to these reviews.

This approach allows the location manager to provide quick responses to feedback and immediately correct any mistakes or miscommunications.

Consider a scenario where your franchise business operates 100 stores across various locations. Ninety of these stores have stellar online reviews, but the remaining ten are struggling with negative feedback.

Despite the majority of your stores adhering to your online review management strategy, these ten poorly-reviewed locations can disproportionately impact and define your brand’s perception, leading to potential brand dilution.

In such situations, having a location manager can be highly beneficial. They can swiftly gather all relevant data, adapt your strategy to the local context, and respond promptly to negative reviews. It will mitigate any potential damage to your brand’s reputation.

Centralizing Review Management with DemandHub

Centralizing review management can be achieved through the use of reputation management tools like DemandHub. These tools allow businesses to manage reviews for all their locations from a single dashboard, saving time and ensuring consistency in responses.

Demandhub, for instance, allows businesses to add multiple Google Business profiles to one unified dashboard. It also provides features like pre-built responses template with multi language support for common types of reviews, and real-time notifications for every review received.

Tailoring Responses for Different Locations

While centralizing review management can streamline the process, it’s also important to tailor responses for different locations. This is because each location have unique issues or customer concerns that need to be addressed in a specific way.

For instance, a corporate team may not be aware of the ground scenarios for each location, leading to potential errors. In such cases, having a location manager who understands the local context can be beneficial. They can respond to reviews in a way that’s more relevant and effective for their specific location.

Conclusion

Managing Google Reviews is essential for any business, regardless of its size or the number of locations. It’s an opportunity to engage with customers, address their concerns, and improve your business based on their feedback.

And remember, every review is an opportunity to build stronger relationships with your customers and enhance your online reputation.

For businesses with multiple locations, managing Google Reviews can be particularly complex. But with the right strategy and tools, you can streamline it effectively.

Centralizing review management, tailoring responses for different locations, and leveraging the expertise of location managers can make this process more manageable.

Moreover, automating the complete review management process can make it even easier for you to effectively manage multi-location Google Business reviews.

With DemandHub, you can manage and analyze reviews from all your locations from a single dashboard, saving you time and ensuring consistency in your responses.

So, are you ready to take control of your Google Reviews?

Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation with multiple locations, effective review management is within your reach.

Book a free demo today to manage Google Reviews easily. Take the first step towards enhancing your online reputation and growing your business!

Frequently Asked Questions (Faqs) Related to Review Management on Google

How Can I Respond to Google Reviews as a Business Owner?

To reply to reviews as a business owner, you can use Google Search or Google Maps on your computer. Here’s how:

1. Open Google Maps or Google Search.
2. If you’re using Google Maps, click on ‘Business’ at the bottom right.
3. If you’re using Google Search, enter your business name in the search bar.
4. Select ‘Reviews’ from the options that appear.
5. Find the review you want to respond to and click on ‘Reply’ next to it.
6. Write your response in the provided text box, ensuring you address any specific comments or concerns raised in the review.
7. Once you’re satisfied with your response, click ‘Submit’ to post it.

How Do I Manage My Google Reviews?

Managing your Google reviews is an ongoing process. It is an ongoing process and involves several steps:

1. Set Up Google My Business: First, you need to set up and optimize your Google Business Profile. This is where your reviews will appear.
2. Ask for Reviews: Encourage your customers to leave reviews. You can do this in person, through email, or on your website and social media platforms.
3. Monitor Your Reviews: Regularly check your reviews to see what customers are saying about your business.
4. Respond to Reviews: Respond to both positive and negative reviews in a timely and professional manner. This shows that you value customer feedback and are committed to improving your services.
5. Analyze Your Reviews: Use the feedback from your reviews to identify areas of improvement. This can help you enhance your products or services and provide a better customer experience.

Can I Delete or Remove Negative Google Reviews for My Business?

As a business owner, you cannot directly delete or remove negative Google reviews. However, you can flag inappropriate reviews for removal by Google if they violate Google’s review policies. You must also respond professionally to negative reviews and address the customer’s concerns.

What Should I Do if I Receive a Fake or Spam Review on Google?

If you receive a fake or spam review on Google, you can report it to Google for violation of their review policies. Here’s how:

1. Navigate to Google Maps and find your business.
2. Click on ‘Reviews’ and locate the fake or spam review.
3. Click on the three vertical dots next to the review and select ‘Flag as inappropriate.’

Google will then review the flagged content and may remove it if it violates their policies. It’s also advisable to respond to the review professionally, stating you believe it to be inaccurate and that you’ve reported it to Google.

Is it necessary to respond to Every Google Review I Receive?

Yes, it’s considered best practice to respond to every Google review, both positive and negative. Responding to reviews shows customers that you value their feedback and are committed to improving their experience.

Are There Any Tools or Software Available to Help Manage Google Reviews?

Yes, there are several tools and software available to help manage Google reviews. One of the top review management platforms is DemandHub.

It provides a centralized dashboard for managing reviews across multiple locations and platform. It helps businesses attract new clients by incorporating state-of-the-art customer experience tools into your websites. For example, Text Messages, Web Chat, Online Scheduling, Contactless Payments Processing, and much more.

Other tools include Birdeye, Podium, and ReviewTrackers, each offering a range of features to help businesses manage and respond to their online reviews.

Should I Ask Customers to Remove or Update Their Negative Google Reviews?

Yes, if you’ve addressed a customer’s issue that led to a negative review, it’s acceptable to politely ask them to update or edit their review to reflect the resolution. However, it’s important to ensure this is done respectfully and without any pressure.

Can I Remove My Business from Google Reviews?

Unfortunately, you can not remove your business from Google reviews as they are an integral part of your Google Business listing. However, you can manage your reviews and respond to them to improve your online reputation.

You can also report inappropriate reviews to Google. They can remove reviews that violate their policies.

Can you delete Google reviews as an owner?

No, as a business owner, you cannot directly delete Google reviews. However, you can flag inappropriate reviews for Google’s review if they violate Google’s review policies. Google will then remove reviews if they violate their policies.

Can I turn off Google reviews?

Google does not provide an option to turn off reviews for a Google Business listing. Reviews are considered an essential part of the information about a business.