Google My Business now Google Business Profile

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Is the Google My Business app going away?

Yes and no!  Google now wants business owners with single locations to edit their pages directly on Google Search and Google Maps.  This means it is no longer necessary to use the app or console to make updates on your Google Business Profile.   However, the app will be available for agencies and businesses with multiple locations to manage their listings.  With the transition to primarily support large businesses with multiple locations comes the new name, Business Profile Manager.  We can expect changes to the Business Profile Manager throughout the next year.

You may not have noticed that Google My Business has been renamed to Google Business Profile.  According to Google, the new name is to “keep things simple.”  Prior to Google My Business the name was Google Places, Google + Local, and Google Places.  The point is, Google is always evolving and the Google My Business app is another change coming our way.  In 2022, Google will be retiring the app for business’s will single locations.   They now prefer a business with a single listing to manage their single listings directly on Google Search or Google Maps.

To edit your business, simply search My Business in the google search.  You can also search your business name.

Google business profile edit view
Google business profile edit view

The search should pull up business profiles you manage and will allow you to update, edit and modify your profile all from the search page.  No console needed.

Google Business Profile Your Business on Google
Your Business on Google

 

Once you hit the edit profile a pop-up box will open that allows the location to update

  • Business Information
  • Hours
  • Products
  • Services
  • Add Photos
  • Add products

 

New Updates

The new updates recently launched include call history, messaging and claiming and verifying your Business Profile directly in Google Search.

Claiming your Business Profile directly on Search and Maps

Simply search the business name or find your business on Google Maps.  You should see an option to verify the profile.  If your account is suspended you can resolve it in the browser as well.  Google states that “Over the coming months we will enable all merchants who create or claim Business Profiles on Google to complete their setup directly on Google Search and Maps.”

Exclusive Features on Search and Maps

Google will provide additional tools and analytics on your business performance exclusively within search and maps.  In order to fully optimize you will need to visit your business profile on search.  This forces the business owner to view how their local business shows up across Google.

Call history in Google Business Profile

Google launched call history earlier this year (2021).  It allows a business to track calls from your customers on Google Search and Maps.  Call history keeps a log of your calls in one place.  Any customer that uses the “Call” button on your Business Profile will be logged in your Calls tab.  It identifies recent calls, missed calls and answered calls.  Any calls you get from your Business Profile will start with a short message.

Call history on Google
Call history on Google

Google also helps you identify how your calls are performing.  It allows a business to see what day of the week they missed the most calls and the time of day most calls were missed.

Call history on Google 2
Call history on Google

Messaging

Did you know you can read and reply to messages from your Business Profile?  Start by turning on messaging within your business profile page.  You can do this by searching your business name in Google Search.  You should be able to see your profile.  Keep in mind only managers of the profile can see these options.  Look for the box that says Turn on Messaging.  You then will be prompted to Turn on chat.  Once turned-on customers will see a “Chat” button on your Business Profile.  Customers will be able to message you at any time.

How will I know when I get a Message for my Business Profile?

  • Messages appear in your Business Profile on Google
  • Google sends you notifications for incoming messages.
  • Customizable welcome messages are available*.
  • All users have access to message customers.

*Customizable welcome messages are only available to set up on the app.  The current Google Business Profile does not allow locations to customize welcome messages.

If you decide to enable the messaging option on your Business Profile, always remember to reply within 24 hours.  When customers see that your business is engaging in the chat feature it will promote trust and encourage more chat engagements in the future.  Google will deactivate chat for your business if they find that you don’t respond within the 24-hour time frame.  For help on answering message, reviews or Google optimization on your Google Business Profile, reach out to Reputation Arm.  Our experienced team can help guide you along the way.

Messaging on Google Business Profile
Messaging on Google Business Profile

Is Local Listings Management necessary for today’s marketing efforts?

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Local Listing Management

Many businesses are often wondering if  local listing management otherwise known as citation management is still relevant for their marketing budgets.  Do citations still matter and should a business be paying for ongoing local management services?  The million-dollar question this article is meant to help you think through.

The most commonly known citations are Google, Facebook, Yelp, Apple maps, Yahoo and Bing.  It’s the responsibility of a business to ensure accurate data across all listings.  Name, address, phone, hours and URLs should all be managed consistently across the web.  Having inconsistent data will result in loss of trust from your consumers.  The very thing we work so hard to establish.  It also confuses Google and other search engines which can negatively affect your local SEO.

Citation Management

The above screenshot is for a swim school on Yelp.  Yelp is one of the most critical business citations that every local business should make sure is managed properly.  Most citations contain basic contact information, others like Yelp include rich data of reviews, ratings and images.

Google relies on directories to understand your prominence.

According to Google, “Prominence is also based on information that Google has about a business, from across the web, like links, articles, and directories.” How exactly does Google do that?  Well, having your business listed on trusted sites sends signals to Google legitimizing your existence.  The more times Google sees your Name address and phone number on the world wide web the more significant your business becomes.  However, making sure the data is consistently the same is also critical.  Inconsistent data can hurt your local SEO efforts.

Google looks at third party sites for reviews and information.

You may find that Google links your social or other review sites to your Google My business page.  Underneath your Q&A section Google will display “Reviews from the web.”  Making sure you claim and optimize these citations is more relevant than ever.

Review from the web

Prominence includes your review rating.  Have a significant number of reviews and a high review rating shows Google that your business is significant.   Reviews can convey several messages over all.  They can tell us everything we need to know about the business.  How popular they are, if they have good or great customer service.  Does this business have good food, products or services as well as the business ambience?  It’s no wonder Google and other search engines rely on other sources to determine your business prominence.

Risk vs. Benefit of a Passive vs. Active Local Listings Management Approach

When developing your marketing strategy, a business needs to fully analyze the risk vs benefit of taking a passive vs active approach to their citations.  Let’s review…

Passive Approach Risks:

  • Minimum number of local citations
  • Inaccurate data
  • Duplicate business listings
  • No approval process of edits to local business listings
  • Not Discovering new reviews
  • Zero control of your brand representation
  • Lose consumer trust

Active Approach Benefits

  • Ensure accurate and consistent data across major platforms
  • Awareness of inaccurate data
  • Closure of duplicate listings
  • Discover and manage reviews
  • Brand control across the web

Managing your data across multiple platforms is good business.  In today’s digital world your brand presence online is as significant as the appearance of your storefront.  After all, most customers will find your business online before they step into your establishment.  Putting your best foot forward starts with your online presence.

Reach out to Reputation Arm for Professional Local Listings Management Services

Citations are snips of your business data on the internet.   Local customers and all search engines are reviewing this data.  They influence not only consumer spending but how you will rank overall compared to your competitors.  We know that having several citations and making sure they are accurate will impact rankings, reputation and ultimately your revenue.  Having minimal and inaccurate data can negatively impact your business rankings, reputation and revenue.

For more help on building citations reach out to Reputation Arm’s contact form.  We understand that managing a business is not always easy nor do most business owners understand or have the bandwidth to handle their marketing needs.  We are here to help you put your best foot forward.

 

7 Local Justifications On Google That Validate Your Business and Help with Local SEO

Local Justifications? What are they and why should I care?

Google displays validated snippets of text on a business listing in the Local Packs, Local Finders, and Google Maps.  The idea is to show the Google searcher the local business listed precisely matches their search intent.  The justification is Google’s way of validating the business.  For example, if you were to search “bathing suits” on Google you will notice the following snippets in the Local Map Pack below the ads.

Sold here Justification

Google search results are based on your geographical location.  This is why you will always see Local results on the top of a search query.  Google is validating for the searcher that swimwear is sold at the top two locations and that Target has swimwear in stock.   These justifications stand out and are more likely to engage a user.  It also improves a business click through ratio (CTR) on their listing.  The more clicks a business receives on their Google My Business page the more relevant they become to Google.  You may have seen many different types of  local Google justifications and didn’t realize how significant they are for your business.  This article will share what types of justifications Google has and how we can influence them.

7 Relevant Google justifications that influence search intent.

1.    Review Justifications

A business’s Google review can be a local justification that Google will highlight.   Review justifications are influenced by the keywords embedded in the reviews.   Encourage your reviewers to use keywords when leaving reviews.  My favorite example of a review justification uses the word “best.”  I often insert the word “best” to see how it will influence my search.  Take a look at the example, “best prime rib”.

 

review justification

Google highlighted two businesses that had reviews mentioning best prime rib.  Reviews account for 15% of how you rank on Google.  For more information on why reviews are so significant read our blog, Building Reviews Drives your Local SEO.

2.      Service Justifications

Adding services to your Google My Business profile is relevant.  Prior to the services justification, adding the text in the services often felt like a waste of time.  Besides showing up in the services tab of a business listing it did not appear that Google was using this section for much else.  We now see that Google is using a business’s services as a justification.  For example, my search was “landscaping services.” Google’s Local Map Pack presented the following options:

Services Justification

As you can see Google is using “provides” to represent the service provided by the business.  When entering in your business services make sure to use text that will make sense to the searcher.

3.      In Stock Justifications

In order to show your items that are in stock you must enable the See What’s in Store (SWIS) function.  The process is easy and FREE and may take a business less than 10 minutes to complete.

Google Justification

To see the integration, search “Target” and select the store closest to you.  After you select the store near you,  Google’s Map page for that store will appear.  If you scroll down you will see the section titled “See what’s in store.”  Your customers can search what’s in stock and pick up that same day.  SWIS is designed to help local business compete against Amazon.  Any product that is searched and is in stock can potentially show up in the local Map Pack for a business with the “In stock” justification.

SWIS Google

4.      Sold here Justifications

Sold here justifications cannot be influenced.  That’s not to say Google won’t change that.  In order for Google to know what is sold at a local business they ask the consumers.  On the business profile you will see Know this Place? in bold.  Once you select share the latest info link a small box will pop up and ask you a series of questions.

 

know this place on google my business

Google trusts the consumers more than it trusts the business.  You may find that your Google My Business page shows pending edits.  This is directly influenced by Google users that have answered questions about your business.   The edits are typically highlighted in orange on the info tab of your GMB page.  The image below highlights the edit message a business may see in their Google My Business account.  This message is a direct effect of the Know this Place? option to Google users.

Google Justification

5.      Post Justifications

Post justifications can easily be influenced.  Google posts are highlighted with an exclamation point icon next to them.  They are pulled from Google posts that were created within the last 60 days.  In order to influence your posts, try to use keywords that are related to a user’s search term.  For example, let’s look at the search term “Botox”.

post justifications

The text within the post is featured here.  As you can see the search term was “botox services” but Google pulled up a related search term “botulinum toxin injections” for Botox.  In order to optimize your post justifications, try to post for a single service or topic.

6.      Their website mentions Justifications

Website content is critical for SEO.   While we have always known that our website content influenced our search results, we can now visually see how it can directly impact the search.   Website mentions are of the more popular justifications that Google uses.  Website mentions supply another reason why website needs to be optimized with keywords and internal links to your services pages.

their website mentions

7.      Menu Justifications

menu highlight justification

There are two types of menu justifications.  One is “on the menu” and the other is “menu highlight”.  Google is pulling “on the menu” items from the website menu associated with the business.  On the other hand “menu highlights” are controlled by Google users that upload photos to your GMB profile.  You will oftentimes find images added to the user’s review highlighting how great their lobster tail was.  As you can see in the image below, the lobster tail photo is a user photo that Google used.  You can view a restaurants menu highlights on a mobile phone by selecting the menu tab as shown in the image below and scrolling through the menu highlights section.

Menu Highlight

Have you heard? Building Reviews Drives your Local SEO

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It’s not secret reviews have a large impact on your brand and your local SEO.  Google and Amazon reviews have revolutionized the way we rank, whether it’s a local business or a business selling a product.   Reviews matter and the way you respond to them are just as important.

How do Reviews help a business?

Reviews not only influence a potential buyer / customer they increase credibility.  Reviews encourage customers to do business with you ultimately leading to more revenue and more profits.  There is a big correlation with reviews and revenue.  The average number of reviews is 82, a business that has more then average number of reviews earn 54% more in annual revenue.  In short, if you are looking to maximize sales its probably a good idea to start thinking about how you can generate more reviews.

Online Reviews Matter for Local SEO

According to builder.org, here are some fascinating statistics for 2021.

  • Customer reviews can increase conversions by 270%.
  • 92% of consumers will hesitate to buy a product if there are no reviews left by customers.
  • 97% of consumers report that the customer reviews they read influence their purchasing decisions.
  • 95% of all travelers read online reviews before booking.
  • Consumers trust customer reviews 12 times more than manufacturers’ reviews, according to consumer trust statistics.
  • About 5%–10% of consumers write reviews, influencing around $400 billion of the total e-commerce sales revenue.
  • 84% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends.
  • 82% of shoppers specifically seek negative reviews.
  • 94% of consumers refuse to patronize a business because of negative reviews.
  • 75% of people online trust a business after seeing a positive review.
  • People spend up to 49% more money at a business that reply to reviews.

 

After reading through these statistics, you may want to take a closer look at your online reviews.  Ask yourself these important questions.  How many reviews do I have?  Do they appropriately reflect the number of years I have been in business?  When was the most recent review left for my business?  What is my average star rating?  You may quickly start to realize that you need to start focusing more efforts on building reviews.  The good news is it will not cost much and will likely bring you increased sales.

 

How do I generate more reviews?

Generating more reviews requires some effort from a business owner or management team.  Below are 8 great tips on how to generate reviews for your business.

  1. Encourage your employees to ask for reviews from your customers. Even the most well-intentioned customer can forget to leave a review.  Asking for reviews works and is appropriate.  The worse that can happen is they forget or do not write one at all.
  2. Solicit more reviews through email and text campaigns. Review Campaigns are being used more and more by local businesses.  If your marketing campaign doesn’t include building reviews you need to rethink your strategy.
  3. Add a Leave a Review call to action button on your website. It’s very common for a customer to look on your website if they want to leave a review.  Make sure your call-to-action button is clear and easy to find.
  4. Create a Google reviews page on your website. Doing so will show customers that leaving a review for your business matters.  Reputation Arm’s dashboard not only makes it easy to solicit reviews with text and email campaigns, it will provide a widget for you to embed on your website.
  5. Include a leave a review link in your surveys. If a customer is taking the time to fill out a survey asking them to post a review at the end is most appropriate.  They are already in the mind set of providing feedback so why not take advantage of the opportunity.
  6. Ask your social media followers for a review. Many of your followers are current or past customers.  Take the time to post a 5-star review on your page and ask the customer to provide their feedback.
  7. Include your Google review link in your email signature. Adding a link to review your business on Google within your signature is great way to ask your vendors and partners to leave a review.  It’s also effective if you use email to communicate with your customers.
  8. Respond to all your reviews. Responding to reviews lets potential customers know that you are listening to the feedback and showing them it’s an effective way to provide their feedback.

 

There isn’t one best practice, there are many that a business needs to actively work on.  Business owners needs to understand that generating new reviews isn’t a one and done task.  These tips should be worked on all year round to ensure a solid review rating.  Google isn’t just looking at the overall rating.  Google and other review platforms focus on a business’s number of reviews and the rate at which a business generates new reviews.

10 Effective Review Templates to Help You Respond to Negative Reviews.

Online reviews are critical for local businesses.  A local business without them may find it hard to generate leads and conversions without the right number of reviews, quality reviews and recent reviews.  There are several sites a customer can leave reviews for a business.  Google, Facebook, Yelp, Travelocity are of the most popular sites to leave a review.  Depending on your industry, focusing your efforts on reviews may be the # 1 reason you convert a lead.  In addition to generating and converting leads, your reviews will help you rank better.  Search engines look favorably on businesses with a high number of reviews.

While generating reviews is critical, responding to them is just as important.  Responding to reviews builds brand loyalty and is a great opportunity to engage with your customers.

How to respond to negative reviews

Relax, it’s not the end of the world.  You received a negative review, you’re human.  Its how you respond to negative reviews that really matters.  Being a local business owner isn’t easy.  Juggling day to day tasks and training new employees is a daunting task, if only your customers could understand! Remember this isn’t a boxing match or an opportunity to pass blame.  Instead, look at it as an opportunity to let your customers know that you are working on staffing issues and perhaps get them to realize you need a pass and you will do better.  Here are some steps to guide your thru the process of responding to your negative reviews.

5 Steps to guide you thru the process of responding to negative reviews.

Step 1: Take a deep breath!

Take a deep breath and do not allow yourself to get overly frustrated.  Instead reflect on the reviewer’s message for a moment and learn from it.  While its best practice to reply to reviews within 24 hours you don’t always have to rush to respond once posted.  Take the time to ask your employees questions and investigate further.  You may find the feedback is helpful on improving your business.  Turn the negative to a positive.

Step 2: Thank you?

Yes, thank the reviewer for taking the time to provide feedback.  Without the feedback how else can your business improve.  Acknowledging a customer complaint is good customer service.

Step 3: Ensure your customer that you will do better.

After you thank the reviewer for the feedback let them know that you will take the information provided and discuss it with your staff or use it to improve the services offered.  Constructive criticism can go a long way.  Communicate any improvements or changes you will or have already made as a result of their feedback.

Step 4: Move the conversation offline

If the reviewer is out of line with his comments or you truly believe they are wrong, why not move the conversation offline.  Ask them to reach out to you via email for more details and allow yourself the opportunity to gather more information.

Remember the way you respond will reflect on your business.  It’s important to remain calm and always stay polite no matter what the comments are.  Your temperance in your response will show potential customers your commitment to customer service.

Step 5: Make things right

Avoid generic responses that don’t allow you to make it up to your customer.  Invite them to email you for the opportunity to make things right.  Once your customer sends you an email offer them a discount on their next visit.  You never know they may decide to edit their negative review.

10 great example review templates to help guide your negative review response

Take a look at these response templates to help you formulate your negative review response:

Thank you {Reviewer Name} for writing this review. We take pride in giving outstanding service and we’re saddened to see we missed the mark. Your detailed review will make us better. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Hi {Reviewer Name}

We are terribly sorry to learn that we have let you down.  Your constructive criticism will allow us the opportunity to improve and do better.  We sincerely appreciate you bringing this to our attention.  We are always looking for ways to improve.  Please email {company email} and allow us the opportunity to make things right by you.  We appreciate your time and do hope that you will reach out to us soon.

Hi {Reviewer Name}

Your detailed review is very thoughtful and we are happy to receive all the feedback. We will definitely address your review with all our staff both the good and bad. We especially appreciate you pointing out… Thanks for being such a loyal customer.

Hi {Reviewer Name}

While I totally agree that the situation is quite frustrating, we believe that this issue was an isolated incident.  We would appreciate the opportunity at a second chance.  Please contact {company email} and allow us the opportunity to book your next reservation.  This will ensure that we take all the necessary steps at providing you with the 5-star experience we are known for.

Hi {Reviewer Name}

We are sorry to hear of your disappointment on your recent {order / visit}. Please email {company email} with your contact information so that we have the opportunity to address your review. We value your business.

Dear {Reviewer Name}

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  I’m so sorry to hear you had a frustrating experience.  We apologize that our service did not meet your expectations.  Your comments allow us the opportunity to do better.  We are looking into the issue and hope to resolve it promptly.  Please do not allow this isolated incident stop you from giving us another chance.  We are confident that your next experience will be worthy of a 5-star review.

Dear {Reviewer Name}

Please accept our deepest apologizes on behalf of everyone at {location name}.  This incident is rare and not the custom service.  As you can see based on our overall review rating, we put customer service first and strive to always provide a 5-star customer experience.  Please allow us another opportunity to show you a more enjoyable and pleasant experience.  We truly value your business.

Dear {Reviewer Name}

We are sorry to hear of your disappointment on your recent order.  Please email {company email} with your contact information so that we have the opportunity to address your review.  We value your business.

Dear {Reviewer Name}

We are truly sorry about your recent experience at {location name}.  Please reach out to {company email} with your contact information so that we have the opportunity to gather the information needed to further assist you.  We value our customers and stand behind our work and would like the opportunity to make things right for you.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Dear {Reviewer Name}

While I totally agree that the situation is quite frustrating, we want you to know that this is not the norm for us at {location name}.  This isolated issue should have never happened.  We kindly request you to give us another chance.  As you can see from our reviews that we strive t give the utmost customer care and I assure you that once you come back you will be happy with the outcome.

Additional Negative Review Response Templates for Restaurants

Thank you for your review <Review Author Name>, we strive to provide generous portions in each meal. In todays market with food prices rising on a daily basis our standards in food quality remain the same. We stand behind what we serve our guests. Thank you again for visiting us and we hope to make your next visit a memorable experience.

Dear <Review Author Name>, I am sorry to hear that you were unhappy with your experience. It sounds like the bread was not up to our usual standards and we apologize for that. As for the lobster, we strive to provide generous portions of seafood in each meal and we’re sorry that it wasn’t what you expected.  We take customer feedback seriously and strive to do better, so we will make sure to review and address these issues. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Dear <Review Author Name>, Our staff should always check in with our guests to make sure they are enjoying their meal, and it is not okay that standard was not met. We take customer feedback seriously and strive to do better, so we will make sure to review and address these issues. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Dear <Review Author Name>, we are sorry to see we missed the mark with you. We appreciate your feedback, as it’s helping us to improve and ensure a better experience for all.

Dear <Review Author Name>, We pride ourselves on sourcing the highest quality meats and seafood. We are sorry to hear of your less than satisfactory experience with amount of time it took to prepare your food. We hope you will accept our sincerest apologies.

Dear <Review Author Name>, thank you for your detailed review. It is not every day that we receive feedback as detailed and thoughtful as yours. But trust us when we say that it does not go unnoticed. Your comment has given us valuable insight and we sincerely thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

<Review Author Name>, We are sorry to hear that your mood was ruined. We understand how important a particular situation can influence our guest’s experience. We sincerely hope you come back and give us another try.

<Review Author Name>, The market price for that particular seafood ingredient tends to fluctuate, but we charge what we do because we source the highest quality possible. We’d love for you to give us another try.

<Review Author Name>, Thank you for leaving your feedback. I am sorry to hear you had a frustrating experience. Depending on the type of drink you order, prices will vary and our menu states that gratuity is added to all parties. We do this to ensure that our staff is properly taken care of. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.

 Hopefully these reviews templates help give you a good idea on how to properly respond to your customer reviews.  If its difficult for you to take the emotion out of responding to a negative review then consider hiring an outside reputation management company.  This will ensure that the responses are well thought out and appropriate.  It will also allow you to focus on the day-to-day tasks of running your business.

Your post has been removed from Google

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Your post has been removed from your Business Profile on Google because it violates one of more of our post content policies.

Google post violation

Have you recently received this email from Google after submitting your Google post but just can’t seem to figure out how your post violates Google policy?  We will highlight some of Google’s content policies to help you better understand how to make your post live.  For more information regarding content policy,  you can find it on Google My Business Help.

Make sure your post is relevant to your business

All posts done in your GMB page should be relevant to the business and be used to help customers better understand what you sell, offer, or services you provide.  If Google finds that the content is not relevant to the business or has no clear association with your business it would be a rejected.  Keep in mind that Google My Business is not meant to be a environment for general, political, social or personal conversation.

No Spam

Your content should not be misleading in anyway to your customers.  In addition to presenting relevant information, it should be honest material.  Examples of content that is not allowed include:

  • Misspellings, gimmicky character use, gibberish, or automated or distracting content such as blurry or poor image or video quality, or unrecognizable content
  • Images, videos, or links that negatively distract the reader’s attention
  • Links to malware, viruses, or other harmful software
  • Links to sites irrelevant to the business
  • Phishing scams

No inappropriate Content is allowed

While it may seem obvious to most the following would be considered inappropriate Google post content:

Content that is filled with hate or bullies or has a direct threat.

Content that ridicules a person or place that may instigate anger or hate.

Content that promotes violence.

Sexual content.

Terrorist content.

Even after following all the obvious guidelines your post is still getting rejected.  Some violations may be harder to catch.  If your post is still getting rejected try looking at your photo image.  Words within a post can trigger a post rejection.  Remove all phone numbers or website url links in the body of the post.  You can use the CTA buttons instead.  Google is now rejecting posts that include phone numbers or a url, similar to the image above.  Including a phone number in your post is called Phone Stuffing and is in violation of Google Policy.

Limit the number of words to no more then 100 words.  Google posts allow up to 300 words, however your message gets truncated and is not visible.  Its better to stick to less than 100 words for all posts.  Follow SEO best practice in your message.  This means do no over stuff keywords in your post message.  Google may reject posts for that reason.  Make sure your image is the appropriate size, ideally 750 x 750.  Google provides the option to use a Call-to-Action button.  Always remember to utilize your CTA button for your posts.

Trying one or several things may be required to get your post to fall in line with Google post guidelines.  The best approach is to start with less and add as you see fit.  If you still can’t figure out why your post is not publishing, contact Reputation Arm for help.

Brand Management through Google Reviews

Today Google has transformed the way a brand is conveyed. A brand is what your customers are telling Google through your reviews. Take a look at your business on Google; how many stars and how many reviews are by your business name? At first glance a consumer can judge your entire business just by your reviews. Outdated reviews are just as bad as having no or little reviews. Consistently generating new reviews is significant to your business and it matters to Google. You cannot buy reviews and it requires a bit of effort to generate and maintain reviews and responses. If building reviews is not on the top of your 2021 marketing goals, your strategy needs to be reexamined. I will break down 5 reasons to ramp up your Google business reviews and reputation management this year.

1. Google reviews in general matter more then ever. Google decides how you rank based on your volume, keywords in your reviews, third party reviews, star rating, the reviewer and the velocity.
2. Consumers rely on Google reviews to decide if they will engage with your business.
3. Google reviews have a correlation with higher sales
4. Reviews Build consumer trust
5. Your competitors are paying attention to reviews

Review Signals

SEO or search engine optimization in is primarily focused on Google. It’s the most relevant search engine and therefore your focus should be on having your best image on Google. Review signals account for 15.44% of local SEO ranking factors according to Moz. Back in 2018 reviews accounted for 12% of the local pack. This slight increase shows the importance of reviews with consumers. What exactly are review signals? Review signals are made up of a business’s review quantity with text, review velocity (speed at which new reviews are generated), and review diversity. While review diversity refers to reviews on other significant third-party sites like Yelp and Facebook, the main focus should be on Google.

Consumers Rely on Reviews

At one point or another or perhaps several times a day we look to Google to find a local business. In fact, 93% of consumers used the internet to find a local business in the last year, with 34% searching every day. This is according to BrighLocal consumer review survey 2020. The review survey found that 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses up from 81% in 2019.

Let’s consider a typical individual looking to get pizza for dinner. The consumer may look to Google to see pizza restaurants nearby. After reviewing the first few options it is likely they may click on the business that has the highest star rating and the most reviews passing over the business with no reviews or very little reviews. A business with a low volume of reviews may be mistaken for a business that is slow or not popular. A business with a high volume of reviews will be portrayed as having better pizza then its competitor, after all the reviews say they do and it appears they sell more pizza. Picking a business with higher star rating and volume of reviews will help ensure an efficient, satisfying experience. This brings us to our next point…Google reviews have a correlation with higher sales.

Google Reviews have a correlation with higher sales

Ask your self are you more likely to choose a business with a higher volume of reviews and lower overall star rating or one that has less reviews and a perfect 5-star rating? The studies show more reviews correlates with more revenue. According to Womply’s study on the impact of online reviews on revenue, more reviews equal more revenue. The average number of reviews is 82, a business that has more then average number of reviews earn 54% more in annual revenue. Businesses that have 200 plus reviews earn nearly 100% more annual revenue then the average business. If you are wondering how you can maximize sales its probably a good idea to start thinking about how you can generate more reviews.

Reviews Build Consumer Trust

According to Womply’s study people spend up to 49% more money at businesses that reply to reviews. Stay ahead of your competitors and start engaging with your customers through your reviews. It’s a reflection of how much you care about your business and customer satisfaction. Google also looks favorably on businesses that reply to all reviews, both positive and negative. When a potential customer sees that you care enough to respond to a review it’s a reflection of the responsiveness you will have to customer needs and therefore customers are more likely to choose you.

Your competitors are paying attention to reviews

More and more businesses are realizing the importance of reputation management. Don’t allow yourself to fall to behind. Your branding can very well be summed up by the number of star reviews. It doesn’t matter how much money you throw at your marketing strategy, if your review rating is low you won’t convert your leads. Get with Reputation Arm today for a free consultation.