If you own a business, you may have received a less-than-ideal review on your Google My Business page. There are many cases where Google will not remove a negative review, as it may not fall under any of the categories in their Prohibited and Restricted Content guidelines. However, OVC Lawyer Marketing has found there to be a number of instances where Google will be more likely to intervene and remove a review:

Spam and Fake Content

Reviews that refer to incorrect details about a business may be considered fake content. For example, a user may leave the same one-star review for multiple office locations of your law firm. Because it is unlikely that a client received the same experience at more than one of your offices, Google may remove the review from all but one of the locations.

If you have noticed the rankings of various websites in search results have changed, it is likely due to the fact that Google has confirmed a “broad core algorithm” update that occurred at the end of February. 

Those who follow Google on Twitter may have seen their post explaining that they do these types of updates “several times per year”. Google said that “Some sites may note drops or gains.” This could very well be because Google has made changes to their ranking models. These changes are said to benefit “pages that were previously under-rewarded.” 

If you’re looking for Google’s full statement on Twitter regarding these changes, you can find it below:

In today’s highly competitive online landscape, businesses need to do everything they can to stand out. More people than ever are using Google and other search engines to find local businesses, and the information that is displayed in search results is a major factor that influences people’s decisions. Of the different types of information that can be displayed in search results, online reviews are often among the most important.

According to Google, 71% of consumers say they are more likely to do business with a company if it has positive reviews, and businesses which have positive reviews have 360% more clicks to their site from their business listings. As part of its efforts to help small businesses get the most out of Google, the company has created a new tool that businesses can use to generate free marketing materials.

Using the #SmallThanks Hub

With Google’s #SmallThanks Hub, any business which has a verified Google listing can create marketing materials which highlight their positive reviews and encourage people to review them on Google. The tool automatically generates images that include quotes from positive reviews or a message encouraging customers to show their support by leaving a review or sharing a photo.

In the modern digital world, people are constantly bombarded with information. We see advertisements everywhere we go, from billboards and TV commercials to the pop-ups that display on the websites we visit on our computers or smartphones. It can be difficult to sort out relevant information from noise, which is why people turn to Google and other search engines to find what they are looking for. 

The widespread use of Google search makes search engine optimization (SEO) more important than ever, and companies will need to do everything they can to stand out in search results. Google has worked to make it easy for companies to provide relevant information to their customers through Google My Business, and one new feature, known as Google Posts, gives companies a great way to add visibility to search results.

What Are Google Posts?

Google Posts became available to all Google My Business users in June of 2017, and this feature allows a company to add a short message to their profile that will be displayed in Google search results and on Google Maps. These messages can be used to spotlight sales and special offers, publicize events, highlight products, or share pictures.

For many years, Twitter has been a great social media platform that law firms and other businesses can use to connect with their customers. One thing that makes Twitter unique is its limit on the size of messages that can be posted, which often inspires creativity in people as they work to fit what they want to say into 140 characters. 

According to Twitter, this limit was somewhat arbitrary, since it was based on character limits for SMS text messages which were in place when the company was founded, and these restrictions are no longer applicable. With that in mind, Twitter recently doubled its character limit to 280, providing its users with more space to send a complete message.

This expanded limit makes Twitter better than ever for getting your message out to the people you want to connect with online. Here are a few ways to get the most out of the time you spend on this social network: