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Google Places: Responding Publicly to a Negative Review

December 3, 2010

Negative Reviews happen. Even to the best of us. The unfortunate truth is that it is impossible to please every customer, every time. Even more unfortunate is the fact that negative reviews are much more powerful than positive ones. When a customer voices their complaint on your Google Places listing, the damage it can cause is amplified. The reach of that complaint is very narrow (users viewing your local listing) with the potential for a very high frequency.

Needless to say, monitoring and managing negative reviews on your Google Places local listing needs to be at the top of your radar and addressed as quickly as possible. Fortunately, there is an easy way to respond publicly to any negative reviews, allowing you to recover your image in just a few short lines and improve your online reputation management processes.

This blog post will walk you though the process of responding to any negative reviews that may pop up on your account.

1. Navigate to your listing that contains the negative review.

2. Sign into your Google Places account by clicking on “Sign In” found in the top right corner of the screen:

Google Places Sign In Link

3. On the listings page, scroll down to the review you’d like to respond to and click on “Respond publicly as the owner”. (Note: this option will only appear if you are signed in to the correct Google Places account):

Respond Publicly to Negative Review

4. Fill out the response form as you desire. Use the tips provided above the response area. When ready, click “Publish” to publish your response:

Tips for Public Response

By posting a constructive response in a professional way, you can counter the negative review dampening its impact. Visitors will see that your company addresses the concerns of their customers, building trust and credibility.

If you need help optimizing your Google Places Listings (also known as Local Search Optimization), we offer Local Search Audits and Consulting. Please feel free to post your questions and comments below.

Trulie
About the Author

Trulie is a Marketing Strategist at Blast Analytics & Marketing with a focus on Local Search. She joined the team after working for 2 years in Human Resources for a global mining company, with a passion to learn about the world of online marketing. Her analytical mind, strong work ethic, and satisfaction of a job well done have become an invaluable part of the team.

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