Do you ask your clients for Google Reviews?
If so, you should know Google recently made some big changes to their review policies that will affect your business.
I just posted a new video about it. Here are the key points:
1. No more on-site kiosks
If you’re using an on-site kiosk (say, an iPad in your office) to ask clients reviews, Google’s not going to like that anymore. It’s time to rethink how customers leave feedback.
2. Avoid name mentions in reviews
Encouraging reviewers to mention employee names is no longer allowed. Google’s cracking down on this practice.
Personally, this one bugs me a bit. Reviewers often include the name of an employee simply because that’s who they worked with. Still, it’s best to make sure employees don’t feel pressured to ask for name-drops anymore.
3. Don’t offer incentives for reviews
Offering a reward for leaving a review is now forbidden. Maybe you offer a service, like a free car wash, or discount for leaving a Google review. That doesn’t count anymore.
By the way, Google’s able to track these sort of things by watching the patterns of how links are followed. They always find out, somehow… so be careful!
4. End of Review Gating
Review gating is when you send review requests only to happy clients. This could happen through a system that first asks clients how their experience was, and if they say it was bad, they’re not offered a chance to write a review.
We should always make sure that everyone has the chance to leave a review, anyway. The only difference is that if they have a bad experience, make sure to ask them to write a note about what went wrong and what you can improve.
Make sure your review methods align with these changes. If you need help with this, let me know!
Key Takeaways
- Google is restricting the use of on-site kiosks for reviews
- Name mentions in reviews and incentivized feedback are now banned.
- Review gating is not allowed; provide review opportunities to all clients.
- Ensure your review methods align with Google’s latest changes.
