Google Updates a Help Center Article

28 Mar, 2022 Google News

Google has updated their help documents page in the Google Business Profile support section to say that Google values all reviews, both positive and negative. Google says businesses are considered more trustworthy when customers see a mix of both positive and negative reviews on the business profile. 

The new change has been added as a bullet point to the document and reads “Value all reviews: Reviews are useful for potential customers when they’re honest and objective. Customers find a mix of positive and negative reviews more trustworthy.” The document goes on to mention that businesses don’t need to fret over receiving negative reviews, owners can always respond to give additional context to the customer and show them that the business cares. Additionally, if a business owner believes that a review doesn’t follow Google’s posting guidelines, they can submit a request to have it removed. 

Impact On Rankings

This update likely will not impact rankings but it may have small implications for businesses that have mostly or entirely positive reviews. It is a possibility that Google will flag the business and manually audit the reviews because it is not common for all customers to only leave positive reviews online. 

Receiving negative reviews is now not just ‘bad for business.’ If you manage local businesses or have clients who are nervous about having negative reviews on Google, this update assures them that it may be a good thing to help round out customer experience with the business.