Category Archives: Google Business Listing

Google Reviews Glitch – An Update for Business Owners

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Google Reviews Glitch – An Update for Business Owners

Google Reviews play a crucial role in how businesses attract customers, build trust, and enhance their online presence. However, a recent Google Reviews glitch has caused confusion and frustration for many business owners. If you’ve noticed missing reviews, fluctuating review counts, or inconsistencies in your Google My Business (GMB) listing, you’re not alone.

At Zenergy Works, we specialize in SEO, Google My Business optimization, and local listing management, so we’re breaking down what’s happening, why it matters, and how to respond.

Home » Google Business Listing

What is the Google Reviews Glitch?

Recently, business owners have reported issues with Google Reviews, including:

  • Reviews disappearing or not showing up
  • Review counts fluctuating without explanation
  • New reviews taking longer than usual to appear
  • Ratings changing without new reviews being added

This glitch has affected businesses across industries, raising concerns about how Google’s algorithm manages review moderation, filtering, and display updates.

Why This Matters for Your Business

Google Reviews Impact Your SEO & Visibility

Google prioritizes businesses with consistent, positive reviews in local search rankings. If your reviews disappear or your rating suddenly drops, your business could lose valuable visibility.

Reviews Build Trust & Influence Consumer Decisions

Potential customers rely on reviews to make purchasing decisions. A sudden decrease in review count or missing positive feedback could impact credibility and conversion rates.

Google My Business Listings May Be Affected

Because reviews are integrated into your Google My Business profile, any inconsistencies can create confusion for both business owners and potential customers.

What is Causing the Glitch?

While Google has not released an official statement, several possible causes could be responsible:

  • Algorithm Updates – Google frequently updates its ranking and review filtering algorithms, which may be affecting how reviews are displayed.
  • Spam Filtering Issues – Google filters out spammy or fake reviews. However, legitimate reviews could be caught in this process, leading to unexpected removals.
  • System Bugs – Like any technology platform, Google My Business can experience glitches that temporarily affect review visibility.
  • Profile Changes – If you’ve updated your business address, category, or name, Google may have reprocessed your reviews, causing some to disappear or reset.

How to Handle the Google Reviews Glitch

If your business is affected, don’t panic! Here are some steps to mitigate the impact and restore your online reputation:

Check Your Google My Business Dashboard

Log into your GMB profile and see if there are any notifications about review issues. Sometimes, updates or warnings will appear here.

Monitor Your Reviews & Keep Records

Take screenshots of your review history and keep track of missing reviews. If they return, you’ll have documentation to compare.

Ask Customers to Repost Reviews

If a legitimate review disappears, kindly ask the customer to check if it’s still in their Google profile and, if needed, to repost it.

Contact Google Support

You can report missing reviews directly through Google Business Support. While they don’t always restore lost reviews, they may offer insight into the issue.

Diversify Your Review Strategy

Encourage customers to leave reviews on multiple platforms like Yelp, Facebook, and industry-specific review sites. That way, you’re not solely relying on Google.

Keep Your SEO & Local Listings Optimized

Even if reviews are fluctuating, maintaining a strong SEO strategy, updated GMB profile, and well-optimized website will help sustain your online visibility.

Final Thoughts: Stay Proactive

The Google Reviews glitch is frustrating, but it’s a temporary setback that businesses can navigate with the right strategy. Staying proactive, transparent with customers, and focused on a long-term SEO plan will ensure your business continues to thrive despite technical hiccups.

At Zenergy Works, we help businesses optimize their online presence, manage local listings, and build strong SEO strategies.

Need help with your Google My Business or SEO? Get a free quote today and take control of your online reputation!

How To Get Your Business Listed In The Local Pack On Google

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The most common type of local pack is a list of 3 businesses featuring contact information for that business with links to the website or Google Maps page for that business.  Placement in this pack is important not only because of its prominence in search but also because of the ease of using these results when searching using a mobile device.  Google has been consistently reducing the number of businesses listed in the Local Pack on the first page of search results (from 7 to 3) over the last 2 years.  We will review the factors that will help to get your business listed in the Local Pack and how to effectively manage your Local Pack Map Listing.

Local Pack

Business information generally included in the local pack are the Name, Address, and Phone Number of Business (NAP). Other information may include business hours, star rating, and whether the business is currently open.

How to get into the Local Pack

In Local Packs, Google shows business listings, not websites, so to be featured in a Local Pack, you need to get a Google My Business page.

One of the prerequisites of getting into the Local Pack is to be ranked within the top 10 results for your local search query, which generally requires a great deal of effort be devoted to SEO optimization of your website.

Step 1: Claim and Optimize your Google My Business listing.

  1. Be sure to be consistent with NAP to the information listed on your website.
  2. Fill in correct business information.
  3. Add Photos.
  4. Make sure that you are listed in the proper category.
  5. Match the keywords in your Local Pack Listing to those featured in the H1 tags and page titles of your website.
  6. Verify your google listing.

Step 2:  Optimize your website for local SEO

  1. Scan website for on page SEO.  Use Google Search Console and a site scan tool like SEM Rush.
  2. Verify NAP on the website – BE EXACT.
  3. Create local citation sites(ie. Merchant Circle, Yellow pages online, etc) and be sure to match NAP on website and local map listing.
  4. Obtain locally relevant backlinks. Be sure to avoid spammy links.
  5. Add structured data markup.

As you can see from the list here, what used to be a simple process has become complex, time-consuming, and requires more than a little knowledge of Search Engine Optimization.   Because of the increased competition for the placements in the local map pack, not only must the list be fulfilled, but it requires more backlinks, more citation sites, and more exacting on page SEO and content strategy to gain rankings.

Eric Van Cleave is co-CEO of Zenergy Works, A Santa Rosa, California SEO, and Digital Marketing Firm.

Does User Traffic Improve Your Local Search Ranking?

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Google Admits that Clicks Affect Google My Business Rankings

Clicks Affect Google My Business Rankings

 

Local Search experts have often contended that clicks on Google My Business Listings have an effect on rankings. In the Google Search Help Forum, Google recently admitted that clicks on the listing affect rankings.

It is one thing to think that this is the case, and quite another to have Google say it. In the Google My Business Help Forum, the factors that affect rankings are specified to be:

Relevance: How relevant is your business category or listing to the search phrase used by the user?

Prominence: Traffic to your business listing. How established is the business online.

Distance: How close the business is located from where the search is being made.

Search history: The number of times it has been useful historically on the basis of relevance, prominence and distance.

Google

 

For any questions on local or National SEO, please feel free to contact us at info@zenergyworks.com.

Frequently Asked Questions-What Do I Do With My Google Business Listing When I Move My Location?

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Having a consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is a key to successful local SEO .   Moving a business with an established online presence can be a daunting task, and can involve numerous hours of tedious work, which is why most clients pay us to do theses things.FAQ_NAP

For those that want to understand the formula, or for those who may want to consider taking on this task on their own, here is an excellent explanation of the “playbook” for maintaining a local presence when you move written by Joy Hawkins.

Word of caution, you will most likely see some interruption of placement and traffic as Google sorts all of the changes out, but by following this methodology you will ultimately prevail!

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