1. Avoiding Review Spam:
Best Practices for
Google+ Local
Matthew O’Such – Chief SEO Strategist
PCG Digital Marketing
matt@pcgmailer.com
Contact us at 732-450-8200 or
www.PCGdigitalMarketing.com

2. Today’s Agenda
• When did this become an issue?
• Do Reviews Effect SEO in a Map Listing?
• Avoiding Review Spam Penalties with RADIUS
– Remove…
– Avoid…
– Do Not…
– Inspect…
– Update…
– Set a goal…
• Moving Forward…

3. When did this become an issue?
• August 2012
– Many automotive dealerships report a
loss of reviews
– Thousands of reviews disappeared,
a lucky few have seen them reappear
– There is not much Google will do to assist you in the
recovery of these reviews

4. Do Reviews Effect SEO in a Map Listing?
• From our findings, Yes!
What Factors?
– Definitely: the terms or
keywords written by
the user in the review
– Possibly: the number
of reviews or score
• A sample for
“Fresh Pasta” (right).
– No Google category for it,
but when its in a review,
businesses are
highlighted

5. Using the RADIUS guidelines
Review Spam can be dangerous, keep these steps in mind…

6. Using the RADIUS guidelines
• Remove:
– In-store kiosks or tablets
– And other devices which are
used to post reviews
• Why?
– However well intended, these practices
leave dealers open to increased review
spam and scrutiny
– Eliminate One-And-Done review accounts

7. Using the RADIUS guidelines
• Avoid:
– Services that offer to create
reviews from customer
survey data, online forms,
or customer correspondence
• There is an emerging science
to automatically tag
suspicious reviews
• Google wants to ensure that reviews are posted from
real people and not agents acting on a consumer’s
behalf

8. Using the RADIUS guidelines
• Do not assist in creating an
account to post a favorable
review. Stay away from slow
adopters of Google+
• Google knows how often
accounts are used and what
actions they are taking
• Users who are not
“active” should not post reviews.
An account that only posts one
review, has a high likelihood
of being considered spam.

9. Using the RADIUS guidelines
• Inspect your page to monitor
reviews
• Make sure that all your
business information
is correct on a weekly basis
• Why Weekly?
– Google has recently encouraged owners to go back in and
update a small piece of information to be sure they are the
most recent editor of the account

10. Inspect (cont.)
• The inspection process will:
– Negative reviews alerts
– Thank customers
– Upload new photos
and videos that will keep your
page fresh & relevant. Check
for outdated promos
– Document changes
• Review scores & Quantity as your ROI

11. Using the RADIUS guidelines
• Update all “customer-facing”
media with new language
that defines “active” Google users
• Recent actions by Google make
it clear that they only want active
users of Google to post reviews
• Ask: Are you an active Google Reviewer or Yelper? If
yes, please consider sharing your experience on…

12. Using the RADIUS guidelines
• Set a goal to attract
quality of reviews from
active users, over
quantity.
• Quantity goals will
produce “one and done” posts
• Once you identify customers that are active Google users,
advise them on best practices for writing reviews.
• Remind Reviewers to outline why they choose to do
business with your company and what employees deserve
special recognition

13. Moving Forward with Reviews
• This is a good time to put
a process in writing
• If your business has been
impacted by review filtering,
this is a good time to train
your staff and start over
• If you plan to benefit from the free advertising
provided by Google+ Local, make a commitment
to building a strong listing!

14. Special Breaking News !
• In an article released on
SearchEngineLand.com today, it
was discovered web traffic, from
iPads & iPhones with the new iOS 6, does not pass a
“Referrer” to Analytics
• What does this mean?
Referrer = Google
Direct Visitor!

15. A Checklist from Today’s Webinar
• Want the easy 11 step guide from today?
– Just Email me!
– matt@pcgmailer.com

16. Avoiding Review Spam:
Best Practices for
Google+ Local
Matthew O’Such – Chief SEO Strategist
PCG Digital Marketing