With billions of people making important decisions every day thanks to the cloud-based oracle of Google reviews, this article is essential reading to help you navigate the path to your next meal, retail adventure, or day trip. Add to this our desire to support small businesses and help others, and you’ll see that the thumb of digital commerce can either make or lose businesses left and right. While writing a review is just as important as reading one, here I’ll take you through the steps you need to follow to navigate the star-rating gauntlet and leave your voice in the cloud for all to hear.
Another concern for people leaving a Google review is that it is too public – a belief underscored by the fact that, in the tradition of Google, it is not possible to leave anonymous reviews. Google’s preference for openness means that when you decide to tell the world about your experience with some service or place, your name and profile picture, as well as any other content you have shared publicly on your account, will all be visible. What this means for your online presence is that you need to be thoughtful about what you post online – and this mindfulness extends to reviewing.
It’s a simple process to post a Google review from your computer: just open Google Maps and search for the place. When you click the ‘Write a Review’ button under the ‘Reviews’ tab, Google asks you to rate the establishment from one to five stars, and to add more details about your visit. There’s no limit on the number of words, so if you’re willing to go the distance, you can be as detailed as you like. And if you have a business that you really love, this presents an opportunity to share what makes it special – in words or with your own snaps.
In our time-poor society, mobile devices are the primary way that we connect to the internet, with Google now facilitating the ability to post comments directly from the Google Maps app. Whether you’re commending a neighbourhood diner with a perfect five-star review or giving constructive feedback to the retail outlet, the process is as easy as possible, with your personal story and images snapped on the device adding colour to paint a picture for potential future guests.
A single Google review can be powerful: not only does it help give an internet presence to your favourite local business, it helps other consumers make decisions about where to spend their money next time. When you leave a review, you become part of an effort by a group of people to make sure that good services and products get recommended. You can even be rewarded for your reviewing by joining Google’s Local Guide programme. Although what you do here might not be as glamorous as being a New York Times food critic, in this case everyone is a certain kind of restaurant critic.
Maybe you’ve decided to pull over at a spot off the beaten track that manages to escape Google Maps entirely. Your contribution need not end with reviews. If you add that spot to Maps, you have made the Google ecosystem richer and better for everyone.
Fundamentally Google is an ear, listening and collecting, where people share their stories. Each star you award, or word you write, shapes another’s experience and mind. So think carefully, but honestly, about your next Google review. It’s going to carry forward because your words are part of the tapestry of the planet.
It’s possible that you interact with a Google service several times a day, from Google search to Google Maps. One key component of Google’s ecosystem is Google Reviews – your chance to share your experiences with a business, ‘review’ a product, and ‘contribute to the community’. Google claims that it champions user-generated content, a ‘ground-up approach’ that ‘helps businesses and makes it easier for you and everyone else’. Google Reviews will help businesses thrive. And you – that’s you! Google Reviews will help you thrive. Each review, photo or video ‘helps build the world’s largest database of knowledge’.
Regardless of whether we create a review myself or look for them, we are using a tool that is helping to shape the rate at which we experience the world, one that is transforming every aspect of our digital existence in ways that would have seemed impossible up until only a few years ago. Every single review Google captures becomes a facet in the creation of a planet-wide dialogue.
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