How many Google reviews can I collect at once?
-
I work for a University with 10,000+ students and alumni that could submit reviews. But how many reviews should I be collecting at one time? I don't want to overload the reviews and put up a red flag in Google...any insight on how much is too much?
-
So glad to help, Gabe!
-
Thanks for all the help, you two! That gives me a good direction to move in. Confirms my research.
Thanks!
-
Hi Gabe,
As James mentions, there's not a known number that would = too many. What is known is that Google does filter out reviews if they arrive in unnatural patterns. A business that has been sitting in Google My Business for years and has only earned 15 reviews in that time suddenly acquiring 30 reviews in a month might, indeed, look odd and trip that filter. But those are not exact numbers.
I've never actually consulted with a college as a client before so the idea of a review campaign amongst students is a bit new to me. Just brainstorming here, off the cuff. In a traditional business setting, one fundamental technique of review acquisition to is ask your HAPPY customers to review you. You'll need to consider how to approximate this in an educational setting. How do you know which students are happy? Ones who have won some sort of award? Members of a winning rowing team? One idea might be former alumnae who have gone on to great things for which you know they credit the U, in part. If you simply do a student-body-wide ask, you are likely to end up with the sort of complaints seen here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+University+of+New+Mexico/@35.0843187,-106.6197812,15z/data=!4m7!3m6!1s0x0:0x7777c7361d5ed347!8m2!3d35.0843187!4d-106.6197812!9m1!1b1
So, it seems to me that, in order to control the velocity with which reviews come in and also to approach this as a business would, you'd need to focus on a small subset of students or former students for a given time period and then focus on another group.
I'd start by defining a goal for this project. What do you hope to achieve by earning more reviews? Then, begin experimenting with different forms of outreach that might contribute to this goal. And, of course, avoid known pitfalls.
-
Don't ask for too many reviews at once.
-
Don't specify that you want positive reviews.
-
Don't offer incentives/gifts of any kind.
-
Don't ask people who work for the U to review it.
Just some initial thoughts here. Hope they are helpful.
-
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Yelp hides my reviews
Hello, This is pretty frustrating. This is the third time Yelp has hidden a review for my business. I don't know why. I am trying to get lots of reviews on different platforms but I feel at the mercy of Yelp as they decide what to show and what not. I think it was triggered when I actually replied to the reviewer on Yelp. I should have done nothing I think. Any hints or reasons why this might be happening?
Reviews and Ratings | | AL123al1 -
Google Reviews Hassle Reduced - Will It Affect Your Strategy?
Hey Local Pals 🙂 As you may have read this past week, Google has FINALLY stopped requiring users to have a G+ account in order to leave reviews. I find this such a breath of fresh air, given what a hassle it was for many customers who simply didn't ever get into the whole Google+ thing to leave reviews on this major player. I believe this can be seen as one of the last stages of the plus/local separation that has been ongoing for many, many months. Given this change, I thought it would be a good time to discuss reviews. My main question is, now that the only thing your customers need to leave a review is some type of Google account, will you be ramping up your Google-specific review outreach? And, in your own experience, do you feel that Google, Yelp or a different review source has the most impact on your business? Would that be ranking impact, leads, conversions, something else? Best practice is to be diverse, of course, but if you could earn good reviews in just one place, which would it be, and why? And, if you have any unusual tips for review outreach, I know the community would love to benefit from them. Thanks for joining the discussion!
Reviews and Ratings | | MiriamEllis1 -
Want to use Google Business Pages but Spam Reviews are putting me off
Not sure if I am missing something here...I have phoned and asked Google business how they deal with reviews which are potentially fake and damaging to a business reputation, it seems there is very little a small local business can do about them other than report the review with no guarantee of anyone helping ...Has anyone else had this issue as I would really like to use this service to assist with rankings on google? It is hard to convince (and to be honest I don't want to have to convince!) a local business that this is a good service at the same time as informing them they will more than likely have to spend extra time fending off fake reviews...Not seen any good answers anywhere else, ignoring the reviews, adding more positive reviews or replying/managing reviews are not an option. Hope someone can help with this, thanks
Reviews and Ratings | | imoprojects0 -
Google Local Reviews : Creating a Recipricol Reviewing Network
Hi All! I recently came across an invitation for a group on Facebook (created by an internet marketer likely trying to drum up business) that is designed to get a bunch of business professionals to leave reviews for each other (not knowing each other or having worked with one another in any way) in an attempt to build good review profiles on Google local for all. Obviously this is frowned upon, but is it actually dangerous at this point? Are there filters or methods Google has to identify and punish businesses for this type of activity? As someone who always tries to do the right thing, it makes my skin boil when the scammers in our industry use manipulative tactics like this and even more annoyed when they actually work! Look forward to any specific info you all have on this. -Ricky
Reviews and Ratings | | RickyShockley0 -
Have You Influenced Google's "Reviews From Around the Web"?
This seems like a frustration for many who do SEO for local business. The Google Plus aggregation of reviews is vaguely created and out of our control. Or is it? The most I can find about it is at: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474120?hl=en&ref_topic=6109351 I have clients in the accommodation industry who are reviewed thoroughly on similar sites to one another. Some of these clients have 100+ "Reviews From Around the Web" where as others are stuck at one or two reviews. My thoughts are that the business name, address, and phone details would allow Google to link the review with the local listing. I'm not sure and doubt this is just the case because the low-review listings have consistent NAP details. Have you been able to get reviews aggregating for a local business in their Google Plus?
Reviews and Ratings | | fastrack1 -
What are some powerful reviews websites for online-only businesses?
Looking for a small handful of places that I can lead customers to, following a transaction with my dot com (i.e., no brick and mortar presence) business, so that they can leave reviews Chiefly interested in the sites that Google is most likely to notice Thanks! 🙂
Reviews and Ratings | | ntcma0 -
How can I avoid duplicate content when building a review widget?
My website has a profile page for each of the home improvement contractors who signs up. They accumulate reviews on those pages. I want to build a review widget to display our reviews on our contractors' websites. How can I avoid duplicate content issues for the reviews? Example of a profile page with a few reviews: http://www.thehomefixers.com/members/425/waterheaters-plus-llc.php
Reviews and Ratings | | menachemp0 -
Where Google+ Local Gets Listings?
I've seen a lot of business owners mention that their website is on Google+ Local but they say they never added it. Does anyone know which companies Google buys databases from and lists the businesses and unclaimed? And how often do they do this?
Reviews and Ratings | | CyberAlien0