We’ve all been there- the late-night scroll through Google Reviews as we’re trying to decide on a place to eat, stay, or hang with friends. As a consumer, we know the value of reviews. Hearing about someone’s direct experience is an essential factor in our decision-making.
As business owners, we should also be aware of the importance of gaining reviews and responding to them. This is an excellent way to interact with clients, build brand loyalty, and keep our customers coming back for more.
Additionally, this means there is some responsibility on your end as a business owner. Ensuring your Google reviews are showing up correctly is something you may not have considered before or something that’s given you pain in the past. In this blog, we give you quick tips on the top reasons your reviews may be missing and how to resolve them.
Ready to get one step closer to building relationships with your customers and reaching your potential audience? Keep reading!
Google my Business Profile
Creating a Google My Business account allows business owners to manage their business’ profile on Google. The benefits of creating this account include optimizing for SEO, using it to generate leads, and more. On any business listing or profile, users can leave reviews, photos, and questions. Your Google My Business account allows you as the business owner to then manage this information.
Google reviews in particular are a valuable tool for other customers as well as for your business’ success. Responding to reviews allows you to have a point of contact and engagement with your customers.
Collecting reviews also gives you the opportunity to learn what is going well with your business and what you may want to improve on. In a world that is increasingly relying on digital interactions, this point of contact is becoming more and more important. As with any tool, you may run in to bugs and issues along the way.
For many business owners, a common issue is missing or delayed reviews. Below, we walk you through some of the most common reasons your Google reviews may be missing and give tips for correcting these issues so you can get the most out of this helpful tool. If you’ve ever asked yourself why is my google review not showing up?, we encourage you to keep reading.
“Google Reviews Not Showing Up"
Inactive Profile
Has your profile existed for a long time without much engagement or updating? If so, it’s possible that your profile is considered “inactive”. To correct this issue, Google offers a form that allows you to request your profile be reinstated.
Temporarily Disabled Reviews
At times, Google may temporarily disable reviews when their team is too small to meet the demands of traffic. For example, when Covid-19 was at its height, Google found themselves stretched too thin and therefore had to temporarily disable reviews. In addition to missing reviews, you may notice that customers cannot give new reviews and you are not able to respond to existing reviews. Though frustrating at best, this problem cannot be solved by a business. You simply have to wait it out.
Brand New Profile
Is your listing brand new? First off- congratulations! You’re on your way to utilizing a fantastic tool to help your business grow. If this is the case, it’s likely that your profile simply hasn’t gained any traction yet and therefore does not have any reviews. This is your chance to encourage your customers to leave a review and continue to focus on gaining more customers. Google suggests making sure your profile is verified then simply reminding your current customers to leave reviews! Reminding them that leaving a review takes less than a few minutes will often prompt them to do so. Oftentimes, our customers simply don’t think about the power their review holds! Pro tip: make sure you respond quickly and efficiently to those reviews to continue to build customer trust. Remember- engaging with your current customers is just as important as attracting new ones!
Inaccurate, Outdated Business Profile
One of the most common reasons for missing Google reviews is the presence of inaccurate information on your profile. This could include outdated information such as a previous address, a wrong name, or missing information. If reviews aren’t showing up, you may want to consider if they’re being left in the first place. Inaccurate or outdated information may prevent customers from leaving a review to begin with.
Duplicate Profile
Because a duplicate profile makes it difficult for Google to know where the “real” information lives, a double profile may prevent reviews. Addressing this and making sure there is only one profile for your business should help solve the issue.
New Location, Same Business Name
Has your business moved recently? If so, this could cause an issue with Google reviews. If your business moves but keeps the same name, it could prevent Google from automatically moving the reviews to your new location. To remedy this, use Google’s form for reporting issues.
Any business owner wants to understand and utilize the tools at their disposal. Google My Business is a free, valuable resource that encourages customer engagement, helps generate leads, and more. Though bugs certainly do pop up at times, most issues are easy to solve. No matter how long your Google My Business profile has been around, we encourage you to continue prioritizing the management of the account and keeping it optimized to see the most benefits! Want to learn more about the importance of SEO for your business? We’ve got free tools to help! We’re here to assist at any point in your business journey and would love to hear from you. Don’t be a stranger!
