Google Review Monitoring

Google Review Monitoring

Everything you need to know about Google Review Monitoring

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’re running, when it comes to the digital world, online reviews can make or break your reputation. Customer reviews on Google or Yelp are of paramount importance for brand reputation, because that is where people go to learn more about services or how a company operates and treats customers. 

Nowadays, online reviews hold great value because they are vital for online visibility and attracting prospective customers. Studies show that 4 out of 5 customers will think twice about doing business with a company with negative reviews online. These type of numbers can clearly have a major impact on whether or not your business thrives or dies.

Online reviews are important since they are now featured in the top of search results. This means that they are generally the first thing that customers will see about a business. Therefore, reviews are an issue that no business can ignore, hence, the importance of Google review monitoring. 

You need to constantly monitor the reviews that are being posted about your business and services, because they are vital for your business and brand reputation online.

How Negative Reviews Impact Search Results

Google has its own algorithm for reviews, and filters them based on what review sites they are being posted on. There are certain qualities that it looks at, which include unique and fresh content, and whether the review being posted is negative or positive. Negative reviews will have a great impact on the general standing and reputation of a business, as well as the search results on Google. 

Businesses sometimes assume that by publishing fresh content, they will be able to counteract the impact of negative reviews on Google, but it doesn’t work like that. Fresh content will renew the topic, and push it upwards, but negative reviews will hit the business rankings.

Responding to Reviews and Customer Relationship Management

You can take inspiration from other businesses, who have been successful in Google review generation, but don’t copy the ideas and tactics of businesses that cheat. 

Try to catch a pattern of how people are reviewing your business, and what type of reviews they are writing, and then capitalize on that. If all the reviews you are getting are in the same pattern, then it will throw up red flags on Google.

For instance, if the reviews are coming from the same location, and are posted within a couple of days of one another, with similar phrasing, it will seem orchestrated. This will lead to Google penalizing your reviews, and you won’t profit from anything. 
  1. Make sure you are setup to receive alerts about your Google reviews
  2. Respond quickly to both positive and negative reviews
  3. Resolve negative customer feedback promptly and with a positive attitude - often times negative reviews will be changed by customers who get their issue(s) resolved quickly and fairly
  4. Publish and share your positive reviews on social media to market to new customers
If you end up doing all of this in the proper manner, you will be able to reduce negative reviews, enhancing your business reputation for marketing to new customers.

Understanding, Tracking and Monitoring Google Reviews

It can be confusing to look for reviews on Google, because the algorithm is constantly changing. It can be overwhelming when trying to track down and monitor reviews on Google, especially if you are new to building your online presence. However, this article is going to show you how you can easily track and monitor Google reviews.

It is important that you get serious about tracking Google reviews.  If you do it properly, you will have tremendous insight into how customers perceive your brand, and the quality of your products and services. 

The first thing you need to know about tracking Google reviews is understand where the reviews are posted. To see Google reviews, you need to sign into your Google My Business account.

Why are Google Reviews So Important?

Google reviews hold tremendous importance because they can influence your existing and potential customers and whether or not they will ever consider doing business with you again. Therefore, it is important to focus on Google review monitoring, because it helps you showcase your business in a positive light, while minimizing the impact of negative opinions that customers have about your business.

Google reviews hold great importance for local searches because the quality and quantity reviews will determine where your business name appears on Google search results. Additionally, Google reviews are what is being pulled into the "Map Pack" right below your maps listing.

Google has made it easier than ever for consumers to compare your star rating and reviews to your closest competition.

Therefore, you need to be on your toes and monitor your reviews properly. This will allow you to catch and resolve negative feedback quickly, generate new 5 star reviews, and impact your organic search ranking.

Can Negative Google Reviews be Deleted?

Most business owners can become discouraged with negative reviews on Google, and think about deleting them to preserve their online reputation. However, there really isn't a way to simply "delete" a Google review.  Google does have a way to "flag" (contest) reviews that you believe are fake or out of line, but to be honest, it is incredibly difficult to get a review removed.  

To have a negative review removed or taken down usually takes obvious proof that the review is fake, or the review must blatantly violate one of Google's review policies.  Both of these scenarios are hard to prove.   

Even if you truly believe competitors are posting fake reviews about your business,  it is really difficult to do so and thus Google will like not take the review(s) down.  

The Importance of Knowing What Your Customers are Saying

In the digital world, you need to know what your customers are saying about the business, your employees, your products and services. It makes all the difference between competing or failing completely in your industry. 

The latest review statistics indicate that: 
  • 97% of review readers find the reviews to be completely accurate. Therefore, if your business gets bad reviews it can destroy its reputation online.
  • 84% of Americans say that reviews online influence their decisions to do business with a company.
As you can see, it is incredibly important to monitor your reviews everywhere.  Your reviews can appear on several different sites including Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, or TripAdvisor.  The review sites that are critical for your business may vary slightly depending on the type of industry you're in.

Although it may seem like a hassle, Google reviews are a real game-changer for local businesses.  Google reviews can allow your business to quickly stand out against the competition, even those that have been around for years. This is the reason why it is so important you monitor all the reviews about your business, especially Google reviews.

Monitoring Your Online Reputation

To monitor your online reputation, you need to understand what your customers are posting. You can do this by setting up automated alerts, which will be sent to you, whenever your business is mentioned or review on the internet. You can do this easily by setting claiming your Google listing through your Google My Business account

Make sure your alerts are configured properly so that you're alerted promptly when new Google reviews come in, especially negative reviews. You don’t want negative reviews about your business going viral, because that will be a major blow you may never recover from.

In Conclusion, Simply Start Monitoring Your Reviews Today

It isn’t that difficult to manage and monitor your reputation online. Google review monitoring allows you to always be on top of things people are saying about you on the most highly visited site on the internet, Google. 

Make it a point to deal with negative and positive reviews as soon as possible since that will only enhance your online brand reputation. If you want to attract customers you need to get your online reputation to a level where it is appealing for people and stands out within Google search results.
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