This weekend, Google made a decision that will impact millions of businesses across the world; they decided to eliminate third-party reviews from their system. This means that the reviews you’ve gathered on Yelp, City Search, and other business websites will no longer directly impact your rankings on Google.
The internet has been buzzing about the negative economic consequences of Google’s move and the possibility of anti-trust allegations. You’re probably one of the effected business owners, and your first question will inevitably be “will they ever reinstate my reviews?” Your second question will probably be “if they won’t reinstate my reviews, how can I benefit from this situation?”
Answer 1: no they will not reinstate your reviews, so don’t waste any time worrying about them. Answer 2: everyone has been effected by this change, which means it’s an opportunity for you to come out ahead of the competition (assuming you react faster than them). Your MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY is to begin collecting new Google reviews and/or transferring your old reviews to Google. Luckily, they’ve made this process much easier than before– just send your patients a link to your Google Places page and ask them to review you. You should also contact patients who have reviewed you before, explain the situation, and ask them to review you on Google.
If you manage to move faster than your competitors, you’ll come out of this whole situation with an advantage.
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