A Short Story

Last year, one of LocalClarity's large enterprise clients was surprised that their already strong review volume suddenly tripled in a single day. Google, without notifying the brand, decided to ask customers who had recently visited their locations for a review.

We saw the underlying data change dramatically. Reviews tripled, the average review score increased from 3.85 to 4.11, and the percentage of 5-Star reviews increased significantly.

However, we also saw the percent of reviews with customer comments dropped from 65% to 48%. The majority of customers who were asked to rate their recent experience simply clicked on a star and chose to not provide a comment.

At the exact one year anniversary of the review spike, Google turned off the direct request. The volume of reviews dropped back down to the original levels (although still up 20% year-over-year). This pause lasted for two weeks and then started again and has continued since.

No Control

It would be wonderful if Google provided control (or even notice) to brands directly, but so far this is not a functionality they are will to share.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].