One small step for Google, one big step for organisations reviews!
Google has always only allowed Google+ customers to leave reviews on Google search results, until now. Those that wish to leave a review on Google, only need a Google account, whether it’s Gmail based or not. The main importance of this is that they leave a first and last name on reviews that they submit.
A step up from the old system meant that this left people with fewer restrictions on who can leave reviews. A business was perceived as having no reviews if they didn’t have any on Google despite the fact that they could potentially have hundreds of reviews on Facebook or Yelp.
(TIP: If you want more reviews on Google for your organisation, ask customers to leave a review by creating a call to action on your receipts or website, or just subtly drop it into conversation. But remember, don’t be pushy as this could affect their review, if they decide to give you one. It is also worth considering offering incentives for honest reviews, potentially a money off voucher or entry into a competition. The key thing here is you want honest reviews; positive feedback can be showcased on your site and Google and negative feedback provides action points to improve your services/products).
Due to the fact that people will not have to set up a different account to write a review on Google, it is likely that you will soon see an increase in the amount of reviews that are left.
In turn this will hopefully generate more views to your site if potential visitors can see lots of reviews on the search results for your organisation. It’s a small step for Google but it is important to make everything as easy as it can be in today’s society, nobody wants to go the long way around, especially not for the benefit of someone else’s organisation.
Another thing that people will be overjoyed about is that Google has fixed the longstanding bug of leaving reviews using a mobile browsers. Previously people would only have been able to leave a review on Google through their mobile if other reviews had already been made on the business listing, but now the bug has been fixed this enables you to make a review on Google from any device.
With these changes in mind it will become even easier for people to leave a review of your business. This is a great way to enhance your credibility in the eyes of potential customers. With the reviews being added to the most influential search engine out there, it’s no surprise Google recognised the demand for an easier process and made the changes necessary…
