Google Reviews Not Showing Up? Here's Why

April 13th, 2023

If you’re a business owner, Google Reviews are one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. Not only do they provide potential customers with insights into how your establishment operates, but they also help other business owners make more informed decisions when it comes to working with you or investing in you.

But what happens if your Google Reviews don’t show up? Are there any steps you can take to get them back? In this article, we'll be talking about why your Google Reviews might not be appearing and what steps you can take to get them back on the map.

How Google Reviews Work

First and foremost, let's start with the basics of Google Reviews: how they work.

Google reviews are written by customers who have interacted with a business—whether it’s dining at a restaurant, using a service, or purchasing a product. That customer experience (good or bad) is reflected in their review.

These reviews are then displayed on the business's listing on Google Maps and Knowledge Graph card, which helps other customers get an understanding of what the business is like and what to expect when visiting or using their services.

Google also uses these reviews to improve local search results for that particular business. So if you’re looking for a restaurant in your area and you see one that has good reviews, chances are you’ll consider that one as well as your other options.

Reasons Why a Google Review Might Not Show Up

It's frustrating when you've gone the extra mile to try and get reviews from customers, only to have them not show up on your Google listing. So why isn't your Google review showing up, no matter how much effort you put in?

There could be a few reasons why your reviews may not appear on your business's listing:

  • Your customer may have failed to include details like their name or location when writing their review. Without this information, Google won't post the review.

  • Customers may not have logged into their Google account when leaving the review. As a result, Google won't recognize them as legitimate reviewers.

  • Your business may not have sufficient information for verification purposes. Double check that all of your business info is correct and up to date.

Finally, it takes time for reviews to be processed by Google before they show up on a listing – sometimes this can take up to seven days. So if it's been less than a week since someone left you a review, they may just be stuck in processing limbo!

These are just some of the reasons why reviews might not show up on your listing—but with a little bit of detective work and patience, you can get those valuable reviews back up where they belong!

##How to Proactively Add Reviews to Your Google My Business Account

If you want to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to your Google My Business (GMB) account, you should be proactive about adding customer reviews. After all, a well-reviewed business tends to get more online visibility than one that has no reviews.

Questions You Can Ask

One of the best ways to get reviews is to ask customers directly in surveys or other forms. Here are some suggested questions you can ask:

  • How likely are you to recommend our business?

  • What do you like most about our business?

  • What could we improve on?

  • How fast did we respond to your needs?

  • Was the customer service representative available and helpful?

These types of questions are open-ended, which provide a good insight into customer sentiment about your business. Also, customers will be more likely to answer a few questions than actually write a full-fledged review.

Linking Reviews With Your GMB Account

Once you have received customer feedback, make sure that it's linked with your GMB account—the customer should click the “write review” link on your GMB page and leave feedback there so that Google takes it into consideration for local search results and other purposes. This will also help customers find more information they need before they decide whether they want to purchase from your business or not.

Strategies to Solicit Customer Feedback Through Surveys or Other Means

One way to get more Google Reviews is to ask customers to leave reviews or fill out surveys. One of the easiest ways to do this is by emailing customers and asking them if they’d be willing to fill out a short survey. You can even incentivize customers by offering rewards, such as discounts or special offers, for filling out the survey.

You can also reach out via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Engaging with customers on social media can lead to more reviews because it shows your customers that you’re interested in hearing their feedback.

Another strategy for getting reviews is providing an incentive for customers to leave a review. Many businesses offer rewards like coupons or discounts for leaving a review on their Google Business page. Additionally, you can offer incentives like contests or giveaways in exchange for customer reviews and ratings.

No matter what strategies you use, make sure that you’re providing your customers with an easy way to leave a review and make sure that your customer service team follows up with customers who have left reviews in a timely manner.

Tips for Responding to Customer Feedback Efficiently

You've done the hard work of getting your customers to leave their reviews, but if you want to take advantage of those reviews and get the most out of them, you need to respond. Here are a few tips for responding to customer feedback efficiently:

Respond Quickly

If you receive negative feedback, try to respond within 24 hours. This shows that you care about your customers and are willing to address any issues they may have. Also, don't shy away from responding publicly—it shows that you're open and willing to address customer concerns.

Be Polite

Always remain polite when responding to reviews—even if the reviewer is being overly critical or confrontational. Assure them that you take their opinion seriously and will do your best to address their concerns in a timely manner.

Be Tactful

Acknowledge the customer's experience without agreeing or disagreeing with their opinion. Thank them for taking the time to share their experience, then provide solutions in a tactful way. For example, if they had an issue with a product or service, offer an explanation or invite them in for a demonstration on how it's supposed to be used or performing correctly.

Personalize Your Responses

Personalize each response by addressing the customer by name and thanking them for taking the time to review your business. This goes a long way in creating relationships with customers and making sure they feel heard.

Benefits Associated With Having a Good Google Review Profile

You know that having a good Google review profile can be very beneficial for your business. But do you know exactly what those benefits are? Well, here are some of the advantages associated with having a good Google review profile:

Increased visibility

The more reviews you have, the higher the chances of people finding your business when they use Google search. Many people check out reviews before deciding to buy or use a service, so reviews can help you attract more customers.

Leverage for other marketing efforts

A good Google review profile can also be leveraged in other marketing efforts. For example, if people are satisfied with your services they might share screenshots of their reviews on various social media platforms or recommend your business to others in their network. This lead to even more visibility and potential customers.

Impact on local SEO ranking

Google reviews also count towards local SEO rankings as well as when it comes to appearing in local packs on search engine results pages (SERPs). Having a high rating as well as more positive reviews can significantly increase your chances of appearing in SERPs for relevant search queries related to your area of operation and industry.

How long does it take for a Google review to show up?

When it comes to Google Reviews, one question a lot of people have is: "How long does it take for a Google review to show up?"

This is an interesting question, because the answer isn't as straightforward as it seems. Google reviews have to go through a reviewing process before being indexed and displayed publicly, and that process can take anywhere from a few hours to up to two weeks.

The time it takes for a review to show up depends on:

  • How quickly the business responds to reviews (if they respond at all)

  • How quickly the customer enters their reviews

  • How many reviews the business has received in the last few days

  • How many other businesses are also submitting reviews at the same time

  • If there are any potential violations of Google's Review policies

  • How recent the reviewed product or service was used by the customer

Overall, there's no exact answer for how long it takes for a Google review to show up—it all depends on the situation and circumstances!

Are Google Reviews Permanent?

So, are Google reviews permanent?

No, unfortunately, they're not. Google reserves the right to remove reviews if they don't meet their community guidelines. And, since you can't control what customers post about you and your business, it's important to monitor them regularly and respond quickly when necessary.

To understand why Google may remove your reviews, it's helpful to look into their guidelines. Generally speaking, any reviews that contain personal or sensitive information (like addresses or phone numbers), hate speech or inappropriate language would be removed. Additionally, Google may remove reviews that contain promotional content (advertising) or conflict of interest (negative reviews that appear to be posted by a competitor).

Google also allows businesses to report reviews to be removed if they feel the review violates its guidelines. And if you believe a negative review was posted by someone who has never interacted with your business before—perhaps a rival competitor—you can request its removal as well.

Generally speaking, as long as your customers leave honest feedback and don't violate any of Google's guidelines, their reviews should remain up on your page. However, it's still important to monitor your page regularly and take care of any negative comments in a timely manner—regardless of whether they stay or get removed.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, Google Reviews are an increasingly important tool for businesses and customers alike. Not only do they provide businesses with valuable insight into customer sentiment, they also help customers make informed decisions about which businesses to give their money to.

If your business’s reviews aren’t showing up, investigate the situation and take the necessary steps to fix it. Doing so will ensure your business is making the most out of its reviews, and that customers have the information they need to make an informed decision.