Google flexing it's muscles again- clearly they can do this and not suffer any harm. I think they public would best be served by a variety of reviews, not just Google's own version.
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Google Places Removes Third Party Reviews from Search Results
- Thread starter kevinfrye
- Start date
Thanks Kevin, there are a lot of informative articles out there, but this one was one of the best I thought and helped me understand more of what is going on. Alex had great points in his first response and was right on the money with what is going on.
I am interested in knowing what dealers are going to do, how are they going to tackle the Google review issues. I am thinking we need a separate thread to ask the DR community to share what they are looking into doing with the Google changes.
I am interested in knowing what dealers are going to do, how are they going to tackle the Google review issues. I am thinking we need a separate thread to ask the DR community to share what they are looking into doing with the Google changes.
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The Automotive vertical seems to get more worked up over Google changes than some of the other verticals. My sense is that's because some of the SEO folks that concentrate on automotive speak with a little more hyperbole. Everything isn't a crisis and no, we aren't all under attack
There seems to be a growing consensus in the SEO world outside of automotive that this isn't the biggest deal. I'm NOT an SEO expert nor do I pretend to be. But looking outside the automotive world, this is what I'm coming across;
"It does though point out why any business should take a long term balanced approach to review management…. lots of sources"
"Truth be told we don’t really know what the winds signify anyways. If you were only getting reviews from one source (like Demand Force) you really need to assess your practices and develop a plan to compliment their services. You should have been doing that already anyways."
"You need to be where you clients are, you need to make it easy for the client to leave reviews, you need to feed Google’s algo the diversity it is looking for and you need to protect yourselves as best you can against the vagaries of a crazy industry."
Blumenthals.com
"A change in the way Google displays local business information will mean some companies will have to recalibrate their approach to customer reviews - but not as drastically as one might expect."
MarketingVOX.com
"From what I can tell this was ONLY a front end cosmetic change NOT a back end change that affects the algo or ranking and most pros agree.
In some quick ranking checks I’ve done, it appears the lack of 3rd party reviews showing up in the count and lack of citations on the Place page, DID NOT affect rankings. Not in the rankings I’ve checked anyway. Regardless of how many 3rd reviews were removed from the COUNT everyone’s ranking stayed the same. I’ve checked tons of Dentists for example that had over 200 reviews and 300 citations due to DemandForce, that dropped to 5 Google reviews. They still rank on page 1 where they did before.
So from what I’m seeing right now anyway, this does not devalue 3rd party reviews or citations. Even though they don’t show, they are still counted in the back end!"
CatalysteMarketing.com
My take-away is if you were already diversified, no problem. If you weren't diversified, start now. Don't put all your eggs in one basket - not even Google's.
And as Nathan and Jeff pointed out if you were only pursuing reviews for SEO's sake, maybe you're missing the point...
There seems to be a growing consensus in the SEO world outside of automotive that this isn't the biggest deal. I'm NOT an SEO expert nor do I pretend to be. But looking outside the automotive world, this is what I'm coming across;
"It does though point out why any business should take a long term balanced approach to review management…. lots of sources"
"Truth be told we don’t really know what the winds signify anyways. If you were only getting reviews from one source (like Demand Force) you really need to assess your practices and develop a plan to compliment their services. You should have been doing that already anyways."
"You need to be where you clients are, you need to make it easy for the client to leave reviews, you need to feed Google’s algo the diversity it is looking for and you need to protect yourselves as best you can against the vagaries of a crazy industry."
Blumenthals.com
"A change in the way Google displays local business information will mean some companies will have to recalibrate their approach to customer reviews - but not as drastically as one might expect."
MarketingVOX.com
"From what I can tell this was ONLY a front end cosmetic change NOT a back end change that affects the algo or ranking and most pros agree.
In some quick ranking checks I’ve done, it appears the lack of 3rd party reviews showing up in the count and lack of citations on the Place page, DID NOT affect rankings. Not in the rankings I’ve checked anyway. Regardless of how many 3rd reviews were removed from the COUNT everyone’s ranking stayed the same. I’ve checked tons of Dentists for example that had over 200 reviews and 300 citations due to DemandForce, that dropped to 5 Google reviews. They still rank on page 1 where they did before.
So from what I’m seeing right now anyway, this does not devalue 3rd party reviews or citations. Even though they don’t show, they are still counted in the back end!"
CatalysteMarketing.com
And as Nathan and Jeff pointed out if you were only pursuing reviews for SEO's sake, maybe you're missing the point...
- Nov 20, 2010
- 35
- 3
- First Name
- Frank
The dropping of these reviews will be from your Places pages - they will still appear in search results - dealerships can get new buyers to post reviews using Google accounts and will appear - this could make it easier to address reputation management issues as the main entry point will have just one type of review in Places
You can still add to owner details linking to a review page on the site that lists other sites with your reviews - it can have a Plus1 button and gain in rankings that way
this is a bump for dealerships that had great reviews - true or manufactured - but a blessing to those with bad ones
You can still add to owner details linking to a review page on the site that lists other sites with your reviews - it can have a Plus1 button and gain in rankings that way
this is a bump for dealerships that had great reviews - true or manufactured - but a blessing to those with bad ones
- May 1, 2006
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- Alex
We do like to get worked-up. It breaks the day up
Many of us bought-in to DealerRater and supported it in a major way. Some put all their eggs in the DealerRater basket with "certified" monthly fees and possibly purchasing advertisements. It seemed to be a good investment that played to a dealer's competitive drive as long as it got to where most of the eyeballs were: Google.
I still believe DealerRater is a viable option, but the dynamic is different now. Like Chip said, you still have the ability to display your DealerRater reviews prominently in various digital properties. Through DealerRater you can still make your good reputation known, but it now takes some extra work on the dealer's part (assuming most just wanted it for Google).
Yes, it is tougher to get a consumer to engage on Google over DealerRater. The simple answer is one that was proposed in this thread earlier, and is one I hope many engaged in from the start:
Utilize your CRM or ILM tool. If it has the ability to differentiate customers by their email address, it is fairly easy to setup a special template that goes to people with GMail addresses, and direct the rest of your customers to review sites that are easier to engage with.
At the end of the day I think there are too many review sites. I don't blame Google for making these very logical changes (especially if Congress backs this move up with new legislation...speculating). It dilutes their brand and disrupts their relevancy when illegitimate reviews are displayed prominently.
Now, if Google can just get their Places (not reviews) information correct and deemphasize sites that play into that equation.
On a side note to Google, researchers from Cornell are working on detecting fake reviews http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~myleott/op_spamACL2011_slides.pdf Thought some of you might find it interesting. I found it interesting to see scientific they get wit it. Best, Adam
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If I was still at Acton Toyota I would be working to gather more reviews on Google.......however the focus would remain on DealerRater for a few reasons.... put on your customer shoes and imagine getting the "Thanks for inquiring or coming in" email with the link at the bottom taking you to your salesperson's reviews Steve Augusta - Dealership Ratings whether or not they have Google stars make zero difference, this link impacts people's decision process. Also the dealership branding and press release opportunities etc....
- May 1, 2005
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- Jeff
So true. Nothing has changed from the process side (other than refocusing your process). If you have a process for obtaining reviews on DealerRater you can obtain reviews on just about any site.
Eley - taken your advice and I have started a thread --
Best Practices for getting dealership reviews across multiple review sites.
We'll even invite vendors to participate and join in on what they are doing to help dealers diversify their reviews (with no sales pitch of course).
To be honest - I first thought it was a shity move on Googles part, but now an understood position. After a few minutes of awe, I moved on and have shifted some focus around Google and customers with gmail address (something I had planned to do anyways but was dragging my feet on).
I'll be the first to admit, I was placing too many eggs in the DealerRater basket. But hey - I work with dealers. One thing at a time in this land. I knew from experience getting customers to review on DealerRater was a lot easier than many of the other review sites. So I placed much of my focus there - the low hanging fruit. PLUS as I have pointed out many times, dealer reviews and leveraging DealerRater and it's internal process has the potential to bring a change in culture at the dealership. No other review site allows you to do this turnkey.
I wouldn't currently even consider the notion of dropping DealerRater. Let's be honest - we are the only ones at the Dealership that really understands this change, what it means and how it affects us. My focus is the culture change. With that, raving fans and more positive reviews will naturally follow.
As Alex notes, there are already to many review sites as it is but what can you do?
Determine which ones you are going to focus on, determine which ones have the most impact in the SERPS for your Dealership.
The best part of all of this...we have an endless supply of reviews opportunities, unless you close your dealership doors.
Continue on.
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✨ AI Highlights
Google Places removed third-party review sites (DealerRater, Edmunds, Yelp, etc.) from search results, displaying only Google-native reviews in the SERP snippet, which frustrated dealers who had invested heavily in building reviews across multiple platforms. Participants debate whether this is Google leveraging market dominance to force dealers toward its own tools and services, or a legitimate quality control measure, with most concluding that dealers must now diversify their review strategy across both Google and third-party sites rather than relying on any single platform.
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