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Guide to Google Reviews: Everything to Know

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Four friends leaving Google reviews for a business on their mobile phones

<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Google Reviews Explained</span></h2>
<p>If you&#8217;re looking to grow your online presence, you&#8217;ve come to the right place. Nowadays, if people can&#8217;t find business reviews and testimonials about your company, they might night find you at all. We&#8217;ll teach you everything you need to know.</p>
<h3>What are Google Reviews?</h3>
<p>Google Reviews are a popular and reliable way for customers to give feedback and they are crucial for local SEO. They are a powerful tool for both businesses and customers. On the one hand, they help consumers decide which business they want to buy from or hire. On the other hand, reviews help these businesses get found in Google search by potential customers.</p>
<h3>Why are Google Reviews Important?</h3>
<p>Positive reviews are fundamental for the success of any business. They add credibility and illustrate a business&#8217; commitment to outstanding products, services, and customer experience. Even negative reviews (they happen to the best of us) can be used as a tool to strengthen your online reputation.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">survey</a> conducted by BrightLocal in 2022 revealed that an impressive 81% of customers used Google to assess local businesses in the last year &#8211; up from only 63% in 2021. This means Google reviews are more important than ever for businesses and customers alike.</p>


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<h3>4. Say Thank You Before They Leave a Review (and After!)</h3>
<p>Studies show that requests sent via email are <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/your-emails-are-36-percent-more-likely-to-get-a-reply-if-you-close-them-this-way.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">36% more likely to get a positive response</a> if the email includes some expression of gratitude before the task or favor has been complete. (Example, &#8220;Thank you in advance for your time on this!)</p>
<p>If we apply the same principle to review requests, it is logical to include some gratitude in your request to customers for an honest review, as well.</p>
<p>When customers do leave a review on Google, make sure you follow up and respond to the review to thank them publicly.</p>
<h3>5. Get the Right Tools to Automate Review Requests</h3>
<p>Asking for Google reviews can take a lot of time, especially for small business owners. That’s why tools that make it easy for small businesses to ask for reviews and make it easy for customers to leave reviews are so important. Not only do they help small businesses get more Google reviews (and reviews on other platforms), but they hep customers more easily and effectively share their experiences with other buyers.</p>
<p>With a tool like Podium Reviews, you can just send a review invite over text. That takes the first three steps out of the process—all they have to do is tap the review link you sent, then share their experience. It’s so easy, they can post a new five-star review while they’re still in your store—and so convenient, they can do it from anywhere on their own schedule.</p>
<h3>6. Train Your Team to Ask for Reviews</h3>
<p>Consistency is one of the best ways to ensure you&#8217;re getting as many honest reviews from customers as possible. To ensure that each customer is asked in the same way and given a positive experience, it&#8217;s important to create a process and culture around asking for reviews.</p>
<p>Set up some time to teach your team how to professionally and politely ask customers for reviews while emphasizing the importance of responding quickly to both good and bad feedback. Doing so will help ensure that your team can give the highest quality customer service, as well as build trust with customers.</p>
<p>This is especially important if you are asking for reviews in person. If your team isn&#8217;t 100% comfortable yet, you can practice using the scripts below. This will help them understand how to respond to both positive and negative responses to their requests and remove the uncertainty or discomfort of asking for a review.</p>
<h3><strong>Example Scripts: </strong></h3>
<p><strong>Script 1:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Team Member: &#8220;We&#8217;d love to hear about your experience with our services. Would you mind taking a few minutes to leave us a Google review?&#8221;</li>
<li>Customer: &#8220;Sure thing, sounds great!&#8221;</li>
<li>Team Member: &#8220;Fantastic! We really appreciate it and we&#8217;re so glad you had a positive experience.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Script 2:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Team Member: &#8220;We appreciate your patronage and would be grateful if you left us a Google review sharing your experience.&#8221;</li>
<li>Customer: &#8220;No, I&#8217;m sorry. I don&#8217;t have time right now.&#8221;</li>
<li>Team Member: &#8220;No problem at all, we understand. If you change your mind, you can find us on Google anytime and leave a review. Thank you for your time and we hope to see you again!&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


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<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to Manage Google Reviews</span></h2>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to Respond to Positive, Neutral, and Negative Google Reviews?</span></h3>
<p>Responding to Google reviews is an important part of managing your online reputation and building trust with potential customers. Here&#8217;s how to respond to positive, neutral, and negative Google reviews:</p>
<p><strong>Positive reviews:</strong> When responding to positive reviews, be sure to thank the customer for their support. You can also highlight specific aspects of their experience that they mentioned in their review. This shows that you value their feedback and are committed to providing excellent service.</p>
<p><strong>Neutral reviews:</strong> Neutral reviews may not necessarily require a response, but if you do choose to respond, take the opportunity to address any concerns the customer may have mentioned. You can also thank them for taking the time to leave a review and invite them back for another visit.</p>
<p><strong>Negative reviews:</strong> Negative reviews get left for even the best businesses. Although no one likes to see a negative review of their business, it&#8217;s important to respond in a professional and courteous manner. Start by acknowledging the customer&#8217;s concerns and apologizing for any negative experience they may have had. Then, offer solutions or ways to make things right.</p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to Hide Google Reviews?</span></h3>
<div class="break-words markdown-formatted-text">
<p class="my-0.5">As a business owner, you may be concerned about negative reviews on your Google Business Profile—understandably so. However, it is not possible to hide or delete reviews that are left by customers on your profile. Google&#8217;s policies prohibit businesses from manipulating or removing reviews, as they strive to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the review system.</p>
<p class="my-0.5">That being said, there are a few situations where you may be able to request removal of a review. If a review violates Google&#8217;s policies, such as containing hate speech or personal attacks, you can flag it for removal. Additionally, if you believe that a review is <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/how-to-spot-fake-google-reviews/">fake or spammy</a>, you can report it to Google for investigation.</p>
</div>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to Delete Google Reviews?</span></h3>
<p>As mentioned above, you can&#8217;t delete reviews that people leave of your business. If you&#8217;re dealing with unfair, spammy, or fake reviews that violate Google&#8217;s <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-review-policy/">review policy</a>, you can request a review removal.</p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to Add Google Reviews to Your Website?</span></h3>
<p>Adding Google reviews or a review widget to your website can be a great way to showcase positive feedback from satisfied customers and build trust with potential new customers. It&#8217;s important to note, however, that displaying Google reviews on your website requires technical expertise and knowledge of programming languages. If you&#8217;re not comfortable doing this yourself, you may want to consider hiring a web developer or using a third-party review management platform that offers review widgets or plugins.</p>
<p>If you believe you have the technical know-how to get the job done, here is a brief overview of what you&#8217;ll need to do:</p>
<ol>
<li>Go to the Google Places API page and sign up for an API key.</li>
<li>Once you have your API key, use it to create a request URL that will retrieve the reviews from your Google Business Profile.</li>
<li>Use a programming language such as JavaScript or PHP to create a function that will parse the data from the request URL and display it on your website.</li>
<li>Customize the appearance of the reviews using CSS, HTML, or a pre-made plugin or widget.</li>
<li>Test your code and make any necessary adjustments before publishing it on your live website.</li>
</ol>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Manage and Get Google Reviews with Podium</span></h2>
<p>Podium helps small and local businesses stay on top of their review game. Growing your online reputation should be simple.  With Podium you can:</p>
<ul>
<li>Drive more traffic online and in person.</li>
<li>Increase review volume.</li>
<li>Communicate seamlessly with customers.</li>
<li>Manage reviews in one central dashboard.</li>
</ul>
<p>And so much more. Ready to give it a try? <a href="https://www.podium.com/free-trial/">Start a free trial</a> today.</p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Google Reviews FAQs</span></h2>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">How do I Remove Fake Google Reviews?</span></h3>
<p>You cannot remove reviews, but you can report them if they violate Google&#8217;s policies. To do that, sign in to your Google profile and navigate to the Reviews section. Then, find the review you want to flag or report and click on the three-dot menu icon next to it. Select &#8220;Flag as inappropriate&#8221; if the review violates Google&#8217;s policies, or &#8220;Report a policy violation&#8221; if the review is fake or spammy. Finally, Follow the prompts and provide any necessary information to submit your request for review.</p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Should I Respond to Every Single Review?</span></h3>
<p>Responding to reviews shows potential customers that you care about the experience you provide for the people who do business with you. While responding to every review may not be feasible or necessary, you should make a goal to respond to as many reviews as possible.</p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">How Do I Get Google My Business Reviews?</span></h3>
<p>Many people are happy to leave businesses reviews, businesses just need to be willing to ask! Try sending a review request text after a customer makes a purchase. Be sure to explain why reviews help your business and include a link to your Google Business Profile to make the process as convenient as possible.</p>


<div id="google_review_guide_box" style="border-left: 5px solid #3C5CAD; padding: 20px 20px 20px 25px; background: #f4f2ef;">
<p>This article is part of our <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-reviews/">Google Reviews Explained Guide</a>:</p>
<p><strong>Google Reviews 101</strong></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 10px;">
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/advantages-of-google-reviews/">5 Powerful Advantages of Google Reviews</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/do-google-reviews-help-rankings/">Do Google Reviews Help Rankings?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-my-business/">Does Google Business Profile matter in 2020?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/importance-reviews-adwords-campaigns/">The Importance of Reviews in Your Adwords</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-knowledge-panel/">Google Knowledge Panel Updates Local Business Reviews</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/how-to-leave-google-review/">How to Leave a Google Review</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/how-to-delete-google-review/">How to delete a Google Review</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Google Reviews Related Training</strong></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 10px;">
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-merchant-center/">How to Turn Browsers into Buyers with Google Merchant Center</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-local-services/">Google Local Services Ads</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-click-message-best-practices/">How to Set Up Google Click-to-Message for Your Business</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-maps-marketing/">Why Google Maps marketing is a must for local businesses.</a></li>
</ul>
</div>


Guide to Google Reviews: Everything to Know

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