In the restaurant industry, positive reviews are the lifeblood of the business : they are the ultimate recognition of the work accomplished by restaurateurs, in the eyes of all through reviews that are supposedly mostly independent.
As the writer Charles Péguy said so well, “the only strength, the only value, the only dignity of everything is to be loved.”
After all, what’s the point of devoting your passion to catering if not to attract the praise of food critics or satisfy the taste buds of delighted customers?
However, this publicly displayed love can be misleading, or even turn out to be disenchantment, as evidenced by the false reviews published on the Google My Business listings of many restaurateurs .
According to the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), in 2017, more than a third of the companies controlled by the organization used fake reviews .
In this article, discover:
A practice that is still very present, but what to do new zealand whatsapp number data when you are not the source of these fake reviews? How to spot them and remove them from your Google My Business profile to avoid tarnishing your establishment’s reputation?
Why it’s important to track down fake reviews that are littering your GMB listing
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Why it’s important to track and report fake reviews
Unlike other independent review platforms, the reviews published on your Google My Business listing are not certified. This means that your Google My Business listing may be subject to content marketing services 2024 an “attack” of fake reviews that will denigrate your business’ reputation .
However, the Google My Business listing is often the first point of access in the user journey when they do a search on Google. In addition to having an impact on your SEO , the GMB listing cg leads allows Internet users to form a first impression of your establishment.
While 68% of consumers trust an establishment or service more when they see both positive and negative reviews (according to an IFOP study), a GMB listing with too many negative reviews can have the opposite effect and cause you to lose customers.
According to the same study, more than 8 out of 10 customers consult the opinions of other users before making a decision: hence the importance of taking care of the reputation of your GMB profile for your restaurant !
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How to spot fake reviews on your Google My Business listing
There are several methods to detect (admittedly in a non-scientific manner) fake reviews appearing on your GMB page: above all, use common sense and diplomacy! Each situation is unique, so before starting a procedure to remove the review, contact the user who posted the message to understand the context of the review.