Dave Collado, a San Jose SEO provides his opinion on the effects of bad reviews and negative comments on your local rankings.
Now...bad reviews can be a touchy subject — but there's no need for them to be. The perfectionist inside all of us never wants to see a negative perspective about our hard work — but do they actually affect rankings? The short answer is no. To flesh that out a little, the Google algorithm might pick up if the reviews of your business are overwhelmingly negative. However, it's impossible to please everybody all of the time, so a certain amount of constructive criticism is to be expected and won't impact SEO.
With regard to negative feedback — fraud, financial misconduct or serious allegations are cause for alarm and Google's algorithm might pick these up. None of you are likely to get these types of reviews, so it's good to know that only the most extreme accusations will drag your listing down the SERPs. An amount of criticism is to be expected. While reading and taking on board these sentiments is essential for your businesses' growth — a few bad reviews shouldn't affect your overall Google ranking or reputation. And, this is where our review management services can really come in handy giving detractors the opportunity to vent their issue to you directly before going public.
Watch for suspensions
Another contentious subject is GMB suspensions. It's important to note that it's not just Google that can trigger a suspension of your listing and you might not have done anything at all wrong! In the case of a soft suspension, a label appears on your GMB account that says suspended. Although you won't be able to manage your listing, it will still appear in search results and on Google Maps. This usually happens because you've broken some kind of guideline. Repeatedly violating the guidelines can lead to a hard suspension, where the listing actually is removed from the search engine.
The main reasons a hard suspension might occur are that your business is reported for spamming or not existing. This could happen accidentally due to a change inside the GMB dashboard, a Google employee could make the decision or someone could report you. In general, the problem will be due to something Google doesn't like in your listing as opposed to a problem with your enterprise. It's usually easy to get reinstated within a couple of days, and your ranking shouldn't be affected — whether you've got a hard or soft suspension.
Notwithstanding, we are always monitoring and reviewing your listings so rest assured if this does happen and it affects your business, we'll get you back up and running in no time. We offer SEO services in San Jose, Santa Clara, Fremont, CA, San Francisco, and throughout most of the Bay Area. Is your listing suspended? Call today at 408 661-4699
One of the best ways to ensure Google — and anyone else who cares — knows that your business is real, is to strategically use photos. Include pictures that show the inside of your business with clear signage, branded vehicles, pictures of business licenses and certifications and even a video walkthrough of your office.
In other San Jose SEO news
There's seriously big news this month — hot off the press. It looks like Google Search and Maps have competition looming on the horizon. That's right, Apple is stepping in with its own Apple Maps service, complete with reviews, photos and a unique ranking system. When iOS 14 beta is released, it should shake-up the entire San Jose SEO landscape. Watch out for more information on this wonderful additional opportunity to reach new customers...
Finally — mega props to Steven F. O'Meara who is absolutely powering through the search engines, dominating Google results for "DUI lawyer" and "defense lawyer" in Media, Pennsylvania. Steven has always been an absolute pleasure to work with and we're super proud to achieve these results on his behalf.
