Google My Business reviews and how to reply to them

Google My Business reviews are a world of their own. Handle them well and we have a lot to gain, but handle them badly and we also have a lot to lose.

In local businesses where trust decides the visit, such as an optician’s, reviews need to work together with the listing, the services and the website. That is why SEO for opticians in Valencia is not just about replying to reviews: it also organises the Google Business Profile, products, appointments and service pages.

Many businesses have doubts when they consider replying to every review, firstly because of the time it takes and secondly because they are afraid of getting it wrong and of it having a negative impact on the business.

I have to say that you need to get rid of this fear. If you have set up a Google My Business listing, it is there to be worked on, and above all to be worked on properly. Otherwise, you are better off not setting it up, because it will do nothing for you and may even have the opposite effect.

Why is it important to have a Google My Business listing?

To win customers we need visibility, and there are many ways of getting it online.

For an SME or a local business, it is important to have a website, to appear in the most important searches your potential customers carry out, and so on.

But… what happens with all those local searches?

As well as website results, a large share of them also show three Google My Business listings, and they usually appear right at the top.

As a result, those listings get enormous visibility in the search engine.

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The good thing about these listings is that, on the one hand, they bring customers straight to your premises and, on the other, they get you direct calls. Bear in mind that in mobile SERPs, if you add your phone number to your Google My Business listing, a “call” button will appear automatically, so it is very easy for your potential customers to ring you.

Also, keep one thing in mind: if you provide a good service and your customers are happy, the positive reviews they leave will give you a great opportunity with your Google My Business listing. These positive reviews have quite an influence when people are deciding which business to call.

In the same way, this is where many people ask themselves: should I rank the website or work on a Google My Business listing? And I say… why not do both? That way you will get twice the visibility and therefore twice the opportunity to win potential customers.

Should we reply to positive reviews?

Obviously, positive reviews are the ones we will like most, because not only will they be “music to our ears” (although in this case it is more a treat for the eyes), but other users will also be able to see that many customers are happy with our products and/or services.

This is very important, because more and more users turn to Google My Business listings to read reviews before deciding to buy, hire, and so on.

We should reply to these positive reviews for two reasons:

1. We will have an active Google My Business listing, which Google views positively, so it is one more factor that can help the listing rank.
2. Even if the customer is happy, we should always show that we are active, that there are people behind the business, that we care about our customers, and so on, and this is a perfect opportunity to do so. Thank your customer for trusting you. It costs very little and it is another way of building customer loyalty.

Should we reply to negative reviews?

Negative reviews are what businesses fear most when it comes to working with Google My Business. In fact, I know many businesses that have never created their listing, or have ended up closing it or neglecting it, for this very reason.

First of all, we need to bear one thing in mind: having one or a few negative reviews is by no means the end of the world. On the contrary, it is not normal for a business to have 200 reviews that are all 5 stars without exception, with everything being wonderful.

Let’s be realistic! Nobody believes that! If you have a lot of customers, there is bound to be someone who doesn’t like something, or you will have had a bad day and not served them as well as you usually do, or any number of other things.

The problem is not the negative review itself, but how you deal with it.

We have several options:

1. We don’t reply to the review. Many businesses do this, but I think it is a serious mistake, because to other potential customers it looks as though we don’t care that someone was left dissatisfied.
2. We reply to the review rudely. I have also seen this in many cases, and launching into a “rant”, whether you are right or not, will get you nothing positive. On the contrary, it will give you a bad image.
3. We reply to reviews sensibly. What does this mean? If your customer has had a problem or a bad experience, try to solve it, try to help them, and make sure that intention comes across in your reply. This achieves 2 things: on the one hand, we may well turn that dissatisfied customer into a satisfied one and, on the other, users who see that review will realise that, even though we have made a mistake, we are always there to try to put things right and make sure the customer ends up happy.

In short, you should always reply to negative reviews.

How to encourage customers to leave reviews

A Google My Business listing with no reviews looks very poor. It makes the business seem “dead” or without customers.

The problem is that getting these reviews is very difficult, because happy customers generally don’t leave reviews. They simply go home pleased with the products or services you have given them.

However, if a customer is dissatisfied, it is very common for them to go to your Google My Business listing in the heat of the moment and leave a negative review.

What happens as a result? Even if you have had 1000 customers this year and 980 of them were happy, only 1 or 2 of the happy ones will leave you a positive review, while practically all 20 who were dissatisfied will leave a negative one. The result? It looks as though you provide a terrible service when in fact it is quite the opposite.

That is why we should encourage our customers to leave us reviews. But how can we do it?

There are many ways, as many as your creativity allows.

Something very simple is to ask every customer who buys from you to please leave you a positive review, although very few may actually do so. Why not give them a small discount on their next purchase if they leave you a review? That way you get the review and make sure they will buy again thanks to the discount. If you sell online, you can also automate this.

If you offer services, you can also set aside one day a week to call some of your customers for a “satisfaction survey”. They will think well of you, because they will see that you care about whether they are happy, and at the end you can ask whether there is anything else you can help them with and whether they would be kind enough to leave you a review on Google My Business. You can even offer to email them the direct link for leaving the review, so they don’t even have to bother looking for it. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, I know quite a few businesses that are swimming in reviews thanks to doing this.

In the end, we have as many options as we can imagine: running competitions for customers who leave reviews on your listing, giving small gifts or treats on their next visits to your premises, and so on.

Having seen all this, you could say that if you don’t have positive reviews, it is because you don’t want them.

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In businesses with repeat appointments, such as hair salons and barbers, reviews affect both visibility and conversion. That is why SEO for hairdressers in Valencia needs to work on the Google Business Profile, replies and online booking in a coordinated way.

Reviews also matter in trust-based sectors such as tourism: a strategy of SEO for travel agencies in Valencia needs to connect the local listing, the reviews and the destination or package pages.

Reviews are especially important in trust-based businesses where people buy locally. A good example is SEO for florists in Valencia, where reviews, photos and the Google Business Profile influence the order.

Reviews carry a lot of weight in businesses where trust decides the conversion. This is especially clear in SEO for hotels in Valencia.

Reviews carry particular weight for schools, because families look for reassurance before asking for a visit. In SEO for schools in Valencia it pays to work on them with judgement and consistency.

In veterinary care, a review can make the difference just before someone books an appointment or calls about an emergency. I cover this in more detail in the guide to SEO for vets in Valencia.

In nutrition, reviews help to build trust in the way clients are treated, the follow-up and the perceived results. I explore this in more detail in the piece on SEO for nutritionists in Valencia.

In businesses where decisions are made quickly, such as service stations, reviews have a big influence on directions and calls. That is why SEO for petrol stations in Valencia needs to look after the local listing, opening hours, services and replies to reviews.

In the trades, reviews help to unlock the phone call before the quote. That weight is especially visible in SEO for glaziers in Valencia.

In professional cleaning, reviews carry a lot of weight because the customer is letting the provider into offices, residential buildings or homes. That is why they are part of SEO for cleaning companies in Valencia.