Google only posting some reviews?
-
A doctor of mine recently complained that his patient went on to his Google+ Local listing and submitted a review, but it never showed up. The patient can see it on his own page, but it's not viewable publicly.
Any ideas or posts you've seen about this?
Thanks!
Tom
-
Ah! Excellent point. Thanks!
-
My pleasure, Tom! Google reviews are important, for sure - widely considered to be a ranking factor in their algo, but I'd advise the doctor to get reviews in a variety of places, just so that all his eggs aren't in one basket.
-
Thanks Kevin - it's helpful to see where Google stands on the matter.
Miriam - you're amazing. Thank you so much for your help so far on this. I'm going to read those articles. I think they'll get me pointed in the right direction so I can tell my client what's happening.
Thanks again!!
Tom
-
Hi Kevin,
Google's review product has been buggy since day one, but as of the rollout of the new Google+ system, the rise in review issues has been totally astronomical. The Google and Your Business Forum is literally drowning in complaints about this.
Read Mike Blumenthal's quick post: http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/07/30/google-local-and-review-issues/
And here's another one from Mike that's been widely cited: http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/09/24/asking-for-reviews-post-apocalypse/
I have seen lots and lots of threads in the Google forum about reviews being visible when logged in, but not in public.
Here's one: http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/business/XQYWVOCFebc
Here's another: http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!searchin/business/review$20only$20visible/business/9ro8W8hzKiM/CALKB8W7vwAJ
I wrote a post here at SEOmoz back in August on the subject of lost reviews:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/lost-your-google-reviews-take-a-proactive-stance
However, despite the efforts of things like the Mike Blumenthal consolidated thread of lost reviews (referenced in my above blog post) the review system continues to be totally broken. This is a cause of huge frustration, particularly since Google has made it increasingly difficult to even leave a review. When so many of them get filtered out, the appeal of making an effort to review a business is certainly diminished. Google is basically trying to fight spam - which is good - but they are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in too many cases when it comes to reviews.
-
Tom,
From Google (may not answer your question though):
Here are some potential reasons reviews might not post, as outlined in this sticky post.
- Duplicate listings of the business. If we've got more than one page representing a business, reviews may live on one but not the other.- Old reviews. Reviews written before the Google+ Local launch display differently and may be difficult to find. You can upgrade the display of old reviews by trying to write a new review of any place.- Review sort. The default review sort on a page is by Most Helpful. Your recent review is not necessarily the first one to appear. You can change the sorting of reviews to Most Recent using the drop down menu above the first review.- URLs in reviews. We don't allow URLs in reviews. If you edit your review to remove the URL, it should post almost immediately.- Marked as spam. We can't share details about what exactly constitutes as spammy behavior, but the goal is to ensure that users viewing pages see only quality, legitimate information to make informed decisions. We know that sometimes our algorithms may flag and remove legitimate reviews in our effort to combat abuse, but believe that overall, these measures are helping to ensure that the reviews appearing on local Google+ pages are authentic, relevant and useful. Here's our reviews posting guidelines and policy: http://goo.gl/LtFCS
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Should I be submitting to Google Places AND Google + Local?
I hear there is a merging between Google Places and Google + but I still see a sign up page for Google Places is live? Could anyone tell me if I should be submitting to both Google + Local and Places please?
Image & Video Optimization | | Clicksjim1 -
None of my images are being indexed by google.
None of my images are being indexed by google. Here is a link to one of my site images : http://www.yourlamode.com/sitemap_images.xml Its been uploaded for more then 5 days
Image & Video Optimization | | spidersite0 -
Better ranking for google places
Hi, What can i do to rank better in Google for local listings? im already ranking number 1 for my keywords after local listings, but i really want to improve that, because im loosing a lot of traffic, I do have my business listed in local.yahoo.com, yelp citysearch.com etc.. and i constantly build my link to google places plage. Thanks
Image & Video Optimization | | vladraush990 -
Genuine Reciprocal Google Places Reviews, is that OK?
I have a client who works with other businesses, is it OK to have reciprocal reviews going on, they would be genuine reviews both both sides as they work for each other. Is that OK? Is it best for my client to use the Google Account that holds their Google Places page for doing the reviews? Or should they have a separate account for writing reviews, not associated with their business? I would appreciate your thoughts on this please? Many thanks Leo
Image & Video Optimization | | Rosewood0 -
Google Places
Hi everyone, I accidentally added a google place account for a client that had already an existing account. Could you tell me if I delete the new account if it will affect the existing one? If deleting isn't good what should I do? And what are the different risks if there are? Thank you,
Image & Video Optimization | | Ideas-Money-Art0 -
Getting indexed into Google video search
I have a website that has videos hosted from youtube.com embedded onto it. I created and uploaded the videos to youtube and want them on my website. My question is which would be a better option, hosting the video on my website or embed them from youtube? I currently have them embedded onto youtube but when I do a Google video search I cannot find my company's website anywhere. My videos are shown on the results but they are linked to youtube and not my website. Is there a way to get the search results to show listing of the videos posted on my website?
Image & Video Optimization | | Shawn1240 -
Google Places - Different NAP on various directories...
My client's veterinary clinic uses a service called Localvets.com which is a division of Yext.com. This service updates listings and sponsors them across various directories. Since this is a referral service (they get paid for new clients) they use a custom phone number and custom website address for these listings. Question: Is this hurting the SEO potential of the Google Places listing since the N.A.P. are not the same? Thoughts?
Image & Video Optimization | | PMC-3120870 -
Google’s algorithm on file size. Use IFrame or not?
With page size being a big factor in Google’s algorithm what’s the best way to implement a flash file without jeopardizing rankings? What’s your thoughts on embedding the video in an IFrame?
Image & Video Optimization | | SEO-Team0