Google Business Pages and Google Reviews
This Page Supplements Our Presentation on Google Reviews
You can download our slideshow presented during the meeting as a PDF file by clicking the icon at right.
Why Care About Google Reviews?
- People can find your business on Google and give you bad (or good) reviews, even if you pay no attention. Problem is, if you have bad reviews, consumers and clients will pay attention.
- Your Google reviews contribute to your business reputation online.
- Google Reviews affect how well your business shows up online.
What About My Google Business Page?
- If you control your Google Business Page, you can respond to negative reviews.
- You can updated your information, link to your website, advertise online, and more.
- You can send a link to your customers and encourage them to Review Your Business
So, Let’s Start at the Beginning
Your Google Business Page and Google Reviews
https://www.google.com/business/
Sign In using your Google Login. (Google has one universal login, so if you have a Gmail account, you would use that email and password.)
Possible Complications
ONE – Once logged in, if Google doesn’t recognize your account as having a tie directly to a Google Business page, it will give you the opportunity to find your page.
TWO – Once you find your page, a verification process may be necessary. Google might send an email, a post card, or make a call to a phone number with a code to enter.
THREE – Google might say someone else has control of your Google Business page and you have to request access from them. Often this is an employee, perhaps a former employee who thought they were being helpful. There is a process to regaining control of the site.
Customizing and Sharing a Review Link
Once you log in, the control screen looks like the image below.
When you scroll down, there is a Share Review Form block.
When you select Share Review Form, you have both the opportunity to share a link via Social Media and Email, you can also edit the link (click the pencil icon).
The link shown in the box is the one you can properly send to anyone. When they click it, it will take them to Google’s review page for your business.
Editing the link allows you to customize it with the name of your business. For example:
Original link: https://g.page/r/CVbYJdi6_6IQEAg/review
Edited Link: https://g.page/r/ChromaMarketing/review
When Your Customer Clicks the Link
Whether customized or not, when your customer clicks the review link, a review pop-up appears directly.
Possible Complications
ONE – Google Reviews can only be left by people with Google Accounts (such as Gmail, Google Docs, or YouTube)
TWO – If you are not signed in to your Google Account when you click the link, the Google pop-up changes – presenting a Sign-in box to allow you to log in.
THREE – If you forgot your password, Google gives you a link to try to reset your password. Of course, this requires the user to be able to check the email associated with their Google account.
FOUR – If you don’t have a Google account, the pop-up gives you the opportunity to create an account. This too may require you to have access to an email account to complete your signup.
Leaving a Good Google Review
The biggest thing to know is this – don’t leave general comments. When your review is generic, as in “Bob does a good job, and I highly recommend Bob’s company anytime you need your TV fixed,” then Google sees this as spam.
Google reviews should be specific to an experience you had with the company. Example: “I took my old Panasonic TV to Bob, the one none of the other fix it shops could get running again. Bob brought the TV back to life with perfect color.”
In all cases, fake reviews are a violation of Google policy and in some cases may be illegal and punishable by both State and Federal Law, including substantial monetary fines (A car dealer in 2017 was fined $3.6 million by the FTC for deceptive online reviews.)
Leaving Reviews without Links
Customers can leave reviews without having a link from the company. To do this, they need to search Google for the name of the company.
If the company has a Google Business page, it will appear to the right.
Click the link next to the Review Stars.
This starts the same process as described above, as if they have clicked on the custom link sent by the company.
For Help with Google Business Pages
When you have trouble claiming or updating your Google Business page, it is usually not a technical issue so much as confusion about claiming the page and making sure it is under your control.
Your web developer or computer IT person can likely help you with most issues. At Chroma Marketing we’ve had a fair amount of experience in this area, even to the point where a client needed to update the directory signage in their building to satisfy Google’s requirements for proof of location.
The biggest takeaways for all this are:
- Be aware of what Google Reviews you do have.
- If they are bad reviews, you may wish to take some action, like responding or soliciting good reviews from some of your best customers.
- Whether you want it or not; whether you control it or not, your business probably has a Google Business Page, which you can edit and update, use to solicit Google Reviews, and help promote your business.
Links for more information at Google Support
How to Add or Claim Your Business on Google My Business (includes a short video).
How to Create a Google Account
