This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
Google Addresses Missing GMB Review Issue
Some businesses recently noticed that authentic reviews posted on their Google My Business account were missing. Google addressed the issue stating the reviews were accidentally removed during their efforts to clean up fake reviews. Others speculated it was related to the short name incident from a few weeks ago.
In some instances, only a few reviews were taken down, while others had all of them removed.
In response to the mishap, Google released the following statement:
“In our ongoing efforts to remove fake reviews from Maps, we’ve experienced an increase in reviews being removed from businesses. We are inspecting our tools and systems to ensure that any legitimate reviews are reinstated.”
As of right now, there’s no way businesses can recover missing reviews, and there’s no telling whether they will be restored in the future. Watch out this will impact local SEO.
Source: Search Engine Journal
Businesses can now Update GMB Directly from Google Maps App
The Google Maps App for iOS now allows businesses to update their Google My Business listing directly through the app. If a verified owner of a business searches their company on a Google Maps, they can edit their information within the app instead of switching over to GMB to do so.
This comes in handy for business owners who may notice an error on their GMB listing while looking at their business in Maps. The update allows businesses to quickly and efficiently update hours, edit their list of services, add photos, and more.
Sources: Search Engine Journal
Analysis:
3 Ways to Increase Business Reviews
A recent survey shows 97% of shoppers say customer reviews matter to their buying decisions, while 73% said written reviews were more useful than star & number ratings.
- Make sure your business pages are claimed and reviews are enabled
- Pages to include are GMB, Facebook & Yelp
- Focus on platforms customers are likely to use
- eCommerce – Amazon
- Restaurants/bars – Yelp
- Services – Angie’s List
- Respond to reviews
- People who get a response are more likely to have a positive outlook on your business
- How to respond to negative reviews:
- Address the complaint directly
- Take responsibility
- Be polite
Source: Search Engine Land
