Google Confirms Google Business Profile Reviews Outage

An Ongoing Interruption with Google Business Profile (GBP) Reviews: What’s Wrong?

Google has confirmed a problem with Google Business Profile reviews. Many businesses reported their reviews missing, which unsettles many local business owners making use of these reviews as one mark of credibility. The interjection gathered traction on the Google Business Profiles Forum, where numerous users reported that new and old reviews had vanished for unexplained reasons.

What Google Said About It

Google acknowledged the issue and said it was working on it, although no estimated time for a resolution has been provided. Some businesses have already witnessed the return of their missing reviews while others continued to lose theirs.

How Widespread Is the Problem?

The reports indicate that the issue is affecting businesses across various industries. Missing reviews can cause a huge dent in the local SEO rankings of a business, as well as the trust and reputation it shares with customers.

Google Removes Reviews: Its Impact on Local Rankings and Reputation.

Your Rankings Are Sufferering From This

Reviews are one of the main criteria in Google’s local algorithm. If businesses suddenly lose many reviews, the search visibility of those businesses in Google Search and Google Maps drops. This translates into lesser potential buyers seeing your business online.

Loss of Trust by Customers

Customers use reviews as the basis for purchasing decisions. Losing reviews overnight may appear suspicious to potential customers and thus decrease their trust toward you and your conversions.

Competitive Disadvantage

Businesses that retain their reviews will have a leg up on others that have lost them. With competitors still having their entire review history intact, they would appear reputable and push your business down the results ladder.

How to Protect Your Business from a Google Review Patina

1. Track Reviews on a Regular Basis

Use a dedicated review and reputation management service to help monitor reviews. If you spot any missing reviews, report them right away via the Google Business Profiles Forum or Google support review.

2. Bump Up a Steady Stream of Authentic Reviews

Encourage happy customers to leave reviews. With a steady flow of positive reviews, users can offset sudden drops of reviews.

3. Take Backups Of Customer Reviews

While you can’t stop Google from taking reviews down, you could take screenshots or periodically exporting review data. This will come in handy for evidence when reaching out to Google support.

4. Talk to Customers

Should reviews disappear, use social media or email to get in touch with your customers. Ask them to repost their reviews on your Google Business Profile.

What to Do If Your Reviews Are Missing

Check Google Business Profile Dashboard: In some instances, reviews can be shadowed or filtered by Google’s spam detection filters.

Contact Google Support: You’ll want to report missing reviews using the Google Business Profiles Forum or Google’s support page.

Wait for a Fix: Google knows that an issue exists, and although it may lead to frustration, some patients might be required while professionals work their magic.

Conclusion

The Google Business Profile reviews outage disrupts service availability to those businesses that rely on customer reviews for sustainability and ranking for restoration. If your reviews have become unavailable, proactively monitor your reviews, keep generating them, and report matters to Google. Watching your company’s online reputation is crucial for prolonged success.

For expert assistance managing their reputation online, companies can turn to Cotask IT Solutions. Armed with the right strategies and solutions, Cotask IT Solutions allows brands to track reviews, maintain credibility, and boost their performance in local SEO. Their expertise helps companies provide a mounting stream of authentic reviews and manage their online presence quite well. 
Reach out to cotask local today!