No matter the size of your business, you likely know the importance of Google reviews. They’ve quickly become an integral part of your online presence, even affecting how far up you appear on the search engine results page.
But there are lots of places for your customers to leave reviews, and it can become burdensome to monitor and respond to them all. This leaves many hospitality managers wondering how to turn off Google reviews altogether.
Unfortunately, there is no way to turn off Google business reviews. If your business is listed on Google, customers will be able to leave reviews.
You don’t even have to create a Google My Business account for customers to leave reviews. Google often automatically creates a profile for your location, which you can then claim and manage.
While the answer to the question “Can I turn off reviews on Google?” is “No,” it’s very simple to take control of your profile.
The first thing you'll need to do is create a profile on Google My Business. Once your profile is created, click “Add” from your profile. Search the name and address of each of your locations and select them. Alternatively, you can go directly to Google Search and click “Own this business?” under the profile.
You’ll then need to choose a verification process. For many businesses, this will require having a postcard sent to your physical business address containing a verification code from Google. You’ll simply enter the verification code in your Google My Business profile to gain full access to change the business information and manage reviews.
Once your Google profile is verified as the owner of the business, you’ll start seeing an option to respond to reviews through Maps and in the “Snack Pack” business results on Google for which your location appears.
Alternatively, you can sign in to Google My Business and click “Reviews” from the menu. Each review can be responded to from here individually, but be warned that your full response will also be made public.
While you can’t turn off Google reviews, there are instances where you can have a negative review removed from your profile. If you can prove the review is fake or it was meant for another business, you can report the review to Google and request to have it taken down.
It can be frustrating to add yet another place to monitor reviews to your list. But Google reviews are vitally important to your business.
Your Google business profile appears in the search results when local users search for keywords and terms that are relevant to your business. For example, someone standing in the vicinity of your Italian restaurant might Google queries such as:
Your restaurant will appear in the “Snack Pack” or “Map Pack” at the top of the search results. The amount and quality of Google reviews for your business directly impact how high up you appear in those results. So, ignoring your Google reviews can directly cost your business valuable customers.
Data published by Tripadvisor shows that 94% of diners have made a dining decision as a direct result of online reviews. With Google raking in a huge majority of search activity from all internet users, the importance of managing your review presence there cannot be ignored.
Positive Google reviews and seeing direct responses to reviews from the business all contribute to the level of trust prospective customers feel when researching you online. In fact, one study published by the University of Durham in the UK found that Google reviews were more adept at drawing in customers for restaurants than a high health and safety rating.
When people search for a specific product, service, or type of business on Google, it’s generally because they’re ready to take action. If they’re searching for restaurants, it’s highly likely they’ll walk in or book a table right then and there.
So, by ignoring your Google business profile and the reviews that go with it, you’re directly losing out on paying customers. Even more painful is the fact that you’re probably losing them to your competitors right down the street.
Managing online reviews for one business location is tricky enough. But when you’ve got multiple locations and, therefore, multiple review profiles to manage and maintain, it quickly becomes a confusing, time-consuming job.
With Localyser, you can easily manage and respond to all your online reviews from one simple dashboard. You can even track your progress over time so you’re constantly keeping a finger on the pulse of your online reputation. Book a demo today to see for yourself!
