This is one of those things we hear about a lot, a bad online review. We heavily push our clients to encourage their customers to leave reviews online. Your online reputation can influence quite a bit when it comes to your overall online standing and perception. But is a negative review left on Google going to be the end of the world for you? Will your ratings drop, and your phone quit ringing? No worries, all is ok in the world, and this will work out just fine and here's why:

A review is a review! Getting customers to take time out of their schedules to leave a review about you, your product or your services is difficult as it is. So congrats, this person did just that! So even though it may be a negative review, your total review count overall is also displayed and has just increased. This serves as real-world proof that your an active business, and reviews which show a variety of experiences and opinions adds legitimacy to your business in the eyes of both search engines and the users' minds. Is any business truly so perfect to have 5-star after 5-star reviews? That would look a little suspect to me.

So ok, you have a terrible review…how about turning into a positive? With reviews on Google, you can respond to a review, good or bad, publicly. By responding you can share your side of the story or offer a remedy to the issue of the user and might serve not only to repair that business relationship with that specific person but also to show the public that you can respond productively to a negative experience. How you respond to negative reviews, help prove that your business is responsive, trustworthy, and real. That goes a long way to building credibility and showing those online a more accurate picture of your business and what they can expect from doing business with you.

So don’t worry about negative Google reviews all that much. Read them. Respond to them. Embrace and learn from them and everything will be just fine!

Do you have questions about online reviews or do you not even know where to start with Google My Business? Don’t worry, let us know how we can help.