Google Places recently received and update giving you a “reviews” tab to manage all of your customer reviews more effectively. Not using Google Places? Google Places is the information that a search engine receives and uses when listing your business in search results. A search engine may already have your business listed, but your Places page gives you control over what information is displayed; such as, hours of operation, contact information, and images. If you are already using Google Places, you know that this update was overdue.
The main benefit of the update is that you now have a separate tab to manage all customer reviews. You can read and respond to reviews within the tab, allowing you to start a conversation with your customers by directly responding to comments left by users on Google. However, the reviews are not limited to just Google. Reviews are aggregated from across the web.
Are your customers happy with your service? Thank them for their kind words so they recommend you to their friends. Do they mention some areas for improvement? Ask them for suggestions so they visit you again. Keeping your customers happy is the foundation of a good business, and the new Reviews tab makes it easier than ever.
With this update you can also access, “review analytics.” Analytics give you glimpse of your reviews for the last week, month, last six months, or the last years, at in one place. It also displays the volume of views on Google and across the web. You can also see your score distribution from here. To find your analytics, just click on the tab “review analytics” next to “review inbox.”
According to Google, “when you make changes to your business, your customers want to know about it right away… most edits made via the interface appear within 48 hours.” This allows your customers to know a lot sooner when you make a change to your Places page. This update also helps Places better integrate with other Google products, like AdWords and your Google+ page. If you feel you need more reviews, after viewing your new tab, you can encourage customers to visit and post review on your Google+ page, thanks to this update. To get started, you need to be a verified business owner with a Google account. Not verified yet? Cruise over to Google to start the process; it is super easy and worthwhile, given the benefits of pleasing the Google dieties!
Google Places makes managing reviews easier
Review your analytics
Faith Warren
November 27, 2013 at 11:14 am
Google is rolling out a lot of changes to Places pages in quick succession, but I’m very impressed with them so far. The fact that these results show up in Google search results should get every business owner’s attention. Those who embrace these new features and take advantage of them will be the first to benefit. Great post Jennifer.