Missing Google Reviews
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, online reviews play a crucial role in shaping your business's reputation and attracting new customers. Recently, Google announced an update affecting the display of reviews on Google My Business profiles, which may have significant implications for your business.
Google Reviews disappearing into space.
Why does Google remove reviews?
Google may remove or filter reviews that:
Violate their content policy.
Are deemed off-topic or not related to the business.
Appear to be fake reviews which are created by either a competitor or are fraudulently produced by the business by non customers or through gating.
Generally these removals are generated by algorithm updates or are part of a concerted effort to remove Spam/Fake reviews. Sometimes valid reviews can get caught up in these updates or the algorithms can have a technical glitch which causes reviews to be lost.
How the updates impact you.
Discrepancy in Review Counts:
Some businesses may notice a mismatch between the number of reviews displayed and the actual count. This discrepancy can affect how potential customers perceive your business's credibility.
Potential Loss of Reviews:
In certain cases, businesses have reported a sudden drop in the number of visible reviews. This can impact your online presence and customer trust.
What to Watch Out For:
Monitor Your Review Counts: Regularly check your Google My Business profile to ensure the number of reviews displayed aligns with your expectations or better yet, utilize software that can record your existing and lost reviews.
Stay Informed: Keep an eye on updates from Google regarding this issue. Being informed will help you understand any changes and adapt your strategy accordingly.
Follow proper Guidelines: Make sure that your reviews are actual customers and also avoid any efforts that may be viewed as “review gating” where you only let positive reviews through.
Request Review Reinstatement: If valid reviews are lost, you can request that Google reinstate the review.
Layline Commitment:
We understand the importance of maintaining a strong online presence and are here to provide you with the appropriate tools to succeed. Our review generation and reputation management software follows all Google policy requirements. We also maintain a record of all existing and deleted reviews to help provide insight into any algorithm updates or review reinstatement opportunities.
Contact Us:
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to Layline. We are committed to assisting you and ensuring your business continues to thrive.