During the COVID-19 pandemic, all businesses are running with skeleton staff with many businesses having their teams completely remote working. Google is no different and it has come to light that during this period, Google reviews have been disabled as they do not have the resource to complete the review process. On a recent update from Google, they said that during these unprecedented times, some of their services may have temporary limitations whilst they prioritise the health of their staff.
The article says that new Google reviews, new Google review replies, new short names, all videos and all Q&A on Google My Business listings will be unavailable during this time.
If you’ve left a Google review or you’ve been told that someone has left a Google review for your business, you will find that it will not be published. The only place the Google review will be visible is for the person who has left the review. You may find that your number of displayed Google reviews changes, but the actual Google review will not be displayed. It’s uncertain how long this service will be temporarily disabled for, but we will report back as we know more on the situation.
If reviews are a big part of your business, then now might be a good time to focus on alternative platforms, such as Trustpilot. As a Trustpilot partner, we can guarantee you discounted rates from their list price, so please contact us direct if you’d like support in setting up Trustpilot for Business.
We appreciate that all businesses are affected during the coronavirus pandemic and we’re doing everything we can to support our clients and other small businesses. If you know anyone who needs our support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We will continue to update you on the Google reviews situation. Google are currently prioritising ensuring that the Google Search and Google Maps information is reliable, with many businesses needing to update their business hours. If you need help updating your online presence with new opening hours, contact us today as we have a tool that allows us to update all your online platforms in one go.
