Do you rely upon online reviews to generate new customers for your window covering or home improvement business? Did you know Google has veto power over reviews on its digital properties, and your hard-won reviews can disappear at any time? 

Reasons Google might decide to boot your reviews include that they were left by anonymous sources, the reviews don’t follow Google guidelines, or a lot of reviews came in from the same IP address, which obviously looks very suspicious. 

(In the last situation, Google correctly figures either one party is specifically trashing a business with a flurry of negative reviews, or—and this is just as bad, of course—one party is trying to artificially inflate the positive reviews for its own business.) 

Does that mean you should ditch Google reviews as a source of online branding power because you don’t have control over them?  

Absolutely not. Those same reviews are far too important to your home improvement marketing efforts. Instead, you need a plan to constantly encourage new reviews so homeowners with window door replacement, window replacement, or window coverings needs see positive feedback from prior customers when they search online for products or services. 

Here are a few things you can do to maintain positive online word of mouth if Google deletes reviews on your GMB page: 

• Continue to ask for Google reviews in a way that’s compliant with the search engine’s rules and your own customer service values. 
• Regularly review and respond to your Google reviews. Thank individuals who leave positive reviews and respond in a proactive (and always polite and professional) manner to negative reviews. When you’re active on your review pages, it shows others that you care about your customers and are willing to work to meet their needs. 
• Spread your home improvement marketing efforts across multiple review platforms to avoid pinning all your digital word-of-mouth hope on Google. You can also publish reviews and testimonials on your own site. 

Diversifying while keeping an eye on your Google reviews ensures your brand is more likely to be seen by homeowners in need of window upgrades or decor. That’s true whether you have plenty of Google reviews right now or are seeing a decrease in the number of displayed reviews.

(Note: Monitoring your business’s online reputation is a requirement for success in the digital age. Try our free Review Scan now for an instant reputation report on your business.)