Google Places Removes Third Party Reviews from Search Results

[mjwestberg]

I think this IS in the best interest for Google. I could see them asking 3rd party sites to "Certify" with Google to have their reviews posted. Google does a lot of things for the consumer for FREE. But remember, they are not for Non-Profit. Google has made money where MSN, Yahoo, Altavista, etc... failed because they didn't have a profitable business model. This is a very shrewd move for Google. For now, we will just have to readjust. Our dealership has concentrated on Dealerrater.com (too much if you want my opinion). It is a good idea to diversify. As a dealership, we can't have great reviews on dealerrater and google, but have a customer find us on Yahoo or Edmunds. I am sure there will be a vendor calling on my doorstep with a way to profit on our online reputation. Anyone want to start a business with me?

 

[bpreston]

I'm with you Jerry, I'd love hear a response from DealerRater. One of the things I liked best about it is that it killed two birds with one stone... if I'd get a review on DealerRater it pushed it to Google. Until I hear something, I am shifting our focus from reviews on DealerRater to our Google Place page.

 

[gosollc]

Hey all, We've been tracking this closely over the past couple of weeks and have noticed that Google has been making some changes as well as having technical difficulties. We've seen cases where reviews will all disappear and come back the next day. I'm not saying this is the case this time, but I would like to see some more insight on this from Google (i.e. their blog). I personally have always seen this day coming, I felt like Google was using 3rd party review websites as means to build Google Places until they reached critical mass and then they would shift their strategy. Whether this day has come, I'm not sure. I know that companies like DealerRater.com depend on syndicating their reviews to Google so this is definitely not good for them and I hope things work out. In the mean time, my suggestion is to have a holistic approach to your brand reputation strategy and solicit customer reviews in a holistic approach so that you don't put all your eggs in one basket. Just my two senses. What are your thoughts? Take care,

 

[Alex Snyder]

I felt like Google was using 3rd party review websites as means to build Google Places until they reached critical mass and then they would shift their strategy. Whether this day has come, I'm not sure.

When I read Kevin's post earlier today my first thought was that Google knows something the rest of us don't that may pertain to some new legislation. I am purely speculating, but with a lot of focus on how reviews are attained and aggregated it is very possible there is something in the DC pipeline that is forcing Google's hand....assuming this is an intentional shift on Google's part.

I can see Congress voting to enact a law that states the resident website displaying the review has some sort of legal responsibility. If that is the case (again, I am making this statement out of pure "Alex Snyder" speculation) then we can't be mad at Google.

If your view holds true, Adam, then Google definitely played us all.

 

[Jallen496]

It's the smart move for google. They see an opportunity and attack! Tough break for the guys at DealerRater.

 

[DennisGalbraith]

I've got to hand it to Brian Pasch. He saw this coming and was advising dealers at the PCG Pit Stops to shift their review focus to Google. People like Brian who stay close to the big tech companies and learn to predict their actions are becoming increasingly valuable.

 

[Chip Grueter]

I know that companies like DealerRater.com depend on syndicating their reviews to Google

Adam, I think you have us confused with another company.

This is what our Google Partner Manager had to say:

As we continue to evolve the Placepage, we've recently made some changes
that went live today. The full details are in the following blogpost,
please feel free to share with your clients so they understand the
changes:

Google LatLong: The Ongoing Evolution of Place Pages

One other item I'd like to mention in addition to the blogpost, links to
dealerrater.com will continue to show for business listings in the "Place
Mode" of Google.com, here's an example:

cadillac boston, ma - Google Search

Let me know if you have questions.

We wrote back with our questions and will post the answers when we get them. Most questions revolved around trusted third parties and the future they play in Places as well as what steps Google plans to take to clean up all the fraud going on in their reviews.

Lest we forget Jeff's test of just how much goes into detecting fraud on Google...

 

[Chip Grueter]

I'd like to hear a comment from the folks at Dealer Rater. Wonder what they are thinking and up to?

I think the one thing we've all come to know is that Google is a one way street of information at times and we are in one way or another tied by what they choose or not choose to do. Given at how sporadic their decisions can be, I'd say it's too soon to tell anything. Their Places feature is an unfinished product and they have a lot of trial and error to go through yet.

What we do know is that our review data is still feeding to Google. The link to review pages and the review count is still integrated in SERPS and Places and our services are unmatched. Google reviews don't export to dealer websites, there is no reconcilation period to work with reviewers, there's no mechanism to work with a reviewer behind the scenes, Google reviews don't feed to facebook, there are no individual sales team pages and Google offers no training on best practices or leveraging your reputation. No classifieds on Place pages, no lead form and definitely no rating reminder cards come in the mail.

One of the questions we asked of our Google Partner Manager was who to direct our dealer clients to when they have questions not answered in the Blog post. When we have that contact, I will post it up here so you can have your questions answered directly.

In the meantime, as always, I'm happy to try and answer any specific ones I can,

Chip-

 

[Glenn Jimerson]

Just checked our dealerships Google Places pages and YUP. All 3rd Party Reviews are GONE!

At the very bottom of your listing are links to Frederick's Dealer Rater, Yelp, and Edmunds listing. But you are right that they are not factoring in external reviews into their overall star rating like they used to. It appears Google wants to be the star of the reviews show. It makes sense given their own products and Google+ on the rise.

 

[gosollc]

Chip, I have not confused you with another company.... I spoke with my Google contacts as well. Also I agree with what Dennis Galbraith on what he said about Brian Pasch. Brian and I are alike in the sense that we both educate on shifting to Google.

Either way, I found what I was looking for and I wanted to share this with the rest of you. This article explains it all.

Google Places Stops Stealing Reviews | TechCrunch

There might be some antitrust reasons why they had to do it which are explained in this article. Either way, this will change the over Google ratings of every dealer and I don't like the fact that Google can do things like this without any warning.

Best,
Adam

Adam, I think you have us confused with another company.

This is what our Google Partner Manager had to say:


We wrote back with our questions and will post the answers when we get them. Most questions revolved around trusted third parties and the future they play in Places as well as what steps Google plans to take to clean up all the fraud going on in their reviews.

Lest we forget Jeff's test of just how much goes into detecting fraud on Google...

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