Can Your Business Edit Google Reviews?

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Words hold power. For businesses operating in today’s digital-first climate, what your clients say online matters.

Positive reviews can win trust. They can boost your search engine optimization (SEO) and help you stand out from the competition. Negative reviews, on the other hand, can push prospects away.

So, what should you do when you get a bad review? Can businesses edit Google reviews? Can they delete them?

In this guide, we’ll get to the bottom of these questions and more.

First, we’ll explore the control you have over your reviews. Then, we’ll share some top strategies for managing your Google reviews.

We’ll list the dos and don’ts of handling negative reviews. And we’ll spotlight some high-value ways to showcase the very best testimonials your home contractor business has.

Finally, we’ll give you some tips that’ll help you prevent negative reviews before they find their way online.

Can Businesses Edit Google Reviews?

You’ve been notified of a new review. You’re excited, but the feeling is fleeting.

You read the review, disheartened. The customer is not happy. Worse yet, what they’re saying isn’t true.

What can you do about it? Can you edit a Google review?

Why You Can’t Edit a Google Review

Unfortunately, no. Businesses can’t edit a Google review. Only the reviewer can. It’s against Google’s policy.

Although you’re frustrated, it’s a rule that makes sense.

Google reviews are there to give potential customers a realistic idea of what they can expect when working with a company.

If businesses could change the reviews, readers wouldn’t trust them. They might assume all testimonials are edited to make the business look great.

What If the Review Is Offensive or Fake?

Businesses can’t edit Google reviews. But they can report them if they go against Google’s content policies.

Google has a whole list of deceptive and inappropriate content and behavior that it doesn’t allow. Examples include:

Harassment
Hate speech
Obscenity
Disclosure of personal information

What Control Do You Have Over Your Reviews?

So, what control do you have over your reviews? The best you can do is respond to them.

And you should—it’s best practice. Good or bad feedback warrants a meaningful, well-thought-out reply.

One survey found that 88% of buyers use a business that replies to all reviews. This is compared to just 47% who would choose a business that never replies.

With the right response, you can turn a negative review into a positive marketing opportunity. You can showcase your willingness to listen and improve. And this speaks volumes to Google searchers looking for a local contractor.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: How to See My Google Reviews

Strategies for Managing Google Reviews

If you can’t edit a review, what should you do instead? Give these strategies a go:

Report the Review to Google

If you get a review that you believe is against Google’s policies, you can report it here. Google will then look at the review and decide whether to remove it.

Respond Politely to Negative Reviews

If the review doesn’t go against Google’s content policies, it’s there to stay. So, take a deep breath and compose a professional response.

Avoid letting your emotions take over. Don’t fight fire with fire. This will only reflect poorly on your business. It could even discourage readers from calling you.

What does a professional response look like? Include these elements:

Thank the reviewer for their time. Positivity and manners go a long way. They set the tone.
Acknowledge their experience—even if you feel they are wrong. People don’t generally write negative reviews for no reason at all. They are sharing their truth.
Say that their experience is not representative of how you treat your clients. Note that it’s not the norm. You have service standards—you are committed to doing better.
Explain any steps you took to resolve the issue. Hopefully, the client approached you directly before leaving the bad review.
Offer to take discussions offline. You don’t want to get into the raw details on a public platform. Give your contact information and encourage them to contact you directly. That way, you can de-escalate the situation. You could even win them over, which might prompt them to edit their own review.

Pro tip: If a reviewer responds well to your attempts to resolve the issue, consider editing your response. You might change it to something like:

We’re so happy we were able to find a resolution and meet your expectations. We look forward to working with you again.

Be a Problem Solver

Prevention is better than the cure. So, instead of managing negative reviews, do what you can to encourage more positive ones. How?

Deliver service so good that a customer would have nothing bad to say. Of course, this is a given. And it’s easier said than done. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it’s not enough.

So, if a customer does complain, put in the extra effort to resolve the issue. Listen actively to their point of view. Be understanding, empathetic even.

Take real steps to come up with a solution. In many cases, you’ll be able to turn an unhappy customer into a happy one, preventing the negative review before it’s even posted.

Ask Happy Clients to Leave a Review

Negative reviews are just part of running a business. You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea!

You can drown out some of the negative chatter with more good reviews.

This also boosts your overall star rating, which is the average of all your reviews. It’s what shows up underneath your business name when people Google you.

How can you get more good reviews? Here are some quick tips:

Just ask! Write a brief, friendly email and pop in a link to your review page.
Consider incentivizing reviews. Offer a discount on a future service, for example.
Make it easy. Anytime you ask for a review, include a link. If it’s in printed material, generate a QR code.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: How to Get More Google Reviews: 5 Strategies for Success

Best Practices for Handling Negative Google Reviews

Earlier, we offered some suggestions for how to respond to negative reviews. Here are some more dos and don’ts to follow the next time you get a negative review:

Do report the review to Google if it’s harmful, offensive, or fake.
Don’t respond to reviews that go against Google’s policies.
Do respond to all your legitimate reviews, including the negative ones.
Don’t be fiery or emotional. Don’t put the blame on them. This may only aggravate the situation.
Do be polite and solutions-focused. Be understanding and professional.
Don’t go into the client’s personal details or information about their project in your response.
Do share your contact information and invite the reviewer to reach out.
Don’t get too hung up on one negative review. If you do everything you can to resolve the problem with no result, move on.
Do learn from your negative reviews. Make a plan of action to do better next time. A continuous improvement mindset will help you succeed.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: A Business Owner’s Guide to Responding to Negative Customer Reviews

Showcase Your Best Google Reviews

Google reviews are hugely powerful. They build trust, show credibility, and attract new clients. So you also need a plan in place to highlight the excellent reviews you are getting.

Potential customers trust reviews from real people. Positive reviews show that your business delivers as promised.

They’re social proof of your excellent service.

You want to make sure your great reviews get in front of as many eyes as possible. Share them:

On social media: Pair them with photos of completed work.
In your emails: This reminds customers of your consistent quality.
On your printed materials: Add them to brochures or flyers to create trust before a client even calls.
On your website: Pop them on your home page or services page. You could even use a Google review widget that updates automatically.

How to Make Your Reviews Even Better

Ask customers to be specific. Detailed reviews help others understand what makes your service stand out.

You could even provide suggestions on what to mention. For example, you could encourage clients to talk about whether the project unfolded as expected. They can touch on the level of service and how satisfied they are with the finished product.

Finally, always thank clients who leave reviews. They took time out of their day to help your business. Plus, your appreciation inspires others to leave reviews too.

5 Tips to Prevent Negative Reviews Before They Happen

Managing negative reviews can be a headache. Give your business the best chance of avoiding them altogether with these 5 tips:

Learn from your mistakes. Collect feedback from customers through reviews or surveys. Look for trends and make improvements to your processes.
Support your team. Make sure everyone in your team is able to uphold your standard of service. Continually train your staff on the importance of the customer experience.
Get the basics right. This means replying to customer questions on time. It means showing up ready to work, doing a five-star job, and maintaining a friendly and polite attitude.
Fix issues fast. Be proactive. If a customer has a problem, jump right in and solve it before it turns into something bigger.
Be transparent. Set clear expectations from day one. Be upfront about any limitations, and don’t promise what you can’t deliver.

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Take Your Business to the Next Level

Take Your Business to the Next Level Introducing Joist Pro Elite: Our most powerful set of estimating and invoicing tools. Contractors and Remodelers everywhere: get ready to maximize your invoicing potential! After months of designing, building and polishing, we’re thrilled to finally release our newest solution: Joist Pro Elite. Whether you’re trying Joist for the first time or upgrading from another Joist product, you’ll have access to an arsenal of highly effective features built to help you win more jobs, save more time and get paid faster. Here’s what you can take advantage of in our latest product release: Change Orders As a major component of the Joist Pro Elite release, we’re introducing Change Orders! Now, you can stay on top of project scope changes without the piles of paperwork. With Change Orders, you can instantly send change orders to customers for on-the-spot review and signing. In doing so, you reduce the back and forth between you and your customer and prevent payment disputes from arising. Plus, you and your client will have peace of mind knowing documents are approved before any work continues. Sections While Joist and Joist Pro make your estimates paperless, Joist Pro Elite will make them attractive. With Sections, you can organize your bids in a way that works best for you and your customer. Currently available on Android devices only, Sections let users group their line items into easy to understand buckets like labor or materials. In presenting your estimates with a more professional look and feel, you’ll help your clients visualize where and how the work will be done. A strong understanding of their project scope also makes it easier for your customer to sign a contract, ultimately winning you more jobs in the long run. Sales Reporting Joist Pro Elite takes the guesswork out of running your business with Sales Reporting. Users that set goals or targets can now opt-in to receive weekly emailed reports and better track their progress over time. With added visibility into company performance, you can gain valuable insights into your business that can be leveraged to improve processes. By upgrading to Joist Pro Elite, you unlock the power of business data and get a leg up on the competition. License and Insurance We know you worked hard for your credentials; your customers should know it too! With our new License and Insurance features, users can showcase their professionalism by adding their credentials to estimates from an IOS or Android device. Including proof of qualification will not only increase trust with potential clients, but also give assurance to current customers that they’re working with a pro. Web and Social Links Accessible from an IOS or Android device, Web and Social links allow you to show off previous work or customer reviews directly from your estimates or invoices. The added transparency will impress your prospective clients, while also showing customers that you stand by your work and reputation. Whether you link to your website, yelp page, or social media, harnessing the power of social proof will win you more jobs and land you bigger clients. We hope you’re as excited about Joist Pro Elite as we are! With features designed to help you win more jobs, save time and maximize efficiencies, Joist Pro Elite helps contractors reach their full potential. Make the sky the limit for your business and get started with Joist Pro Elite today!

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Tips & Shortcuts for working with your iPhone/iPad in the field Congratulations, you’ve started using your iPhone/iPad in your contractor business to work in the field. Here are a few tips and tricks to maximize the effectiveness of using these devices. Shake to “undo”Have you ever accidentally erased a note on your device? Or crucial information about a client? Here’s the perfect tip to get that information back. To “undo” your last action (when typing) simply “shake” your iPhone (yes you make look funny). A popup message will appear with the options “Undo” or “Cancel” tap undo, and you will get all of your information back. Tap to bring to topIf you’ve ever read a really long page perhaps on your safari browser or you’ve scrolled a long way down the screen in an app. Rather than having to scroll slowly back to the top of the screen you can tap the black bar on the absolute top of your iOS screen where it displays the current time. This will auto-scroll the page back up to the top. This is particularly useful on screen such as your address book or in iPod. Take screenshotsThis is another great tip. To take a photo of what is currently on your iOS screen, place one finger on the home button of your device and another on the button at the top-right. Simultaneously tap the two buttons and the screen will briefly flash capturing a photo. If you go to “photos” the image will be saved there. Swipe through open apps with 4 fingers (iPad)Do you find it annoying to consistently close an app you’re in then open up another to navigate through multiple apps? One trick is when working on your iPad you can swipe from left or to the right with four fingers to swipe through your open apps. Making it quicker and more enjoyable when working on two apps at the same time. Close apps with 4 fingersAnother gesture that can save you time is easily getting back to the home screen of your iPad from the current app you are working in. To do this place 4 fingers on the screen and make a pinching motion. The App will close and you will be lead back to the home screen. So there you have it, 5 quick tips to makes things easier for you when using your iPhone and iPad in your business. The new Apples iOS 7 is coming out soon, so look out for new shortcuts and tricks coming soon. If you’re an Android fan, we’ll have an article for you soon. And a version of Contractor Estimating & Invoicing Tool — by Joist! Sign up here for the Android waiting list: Joist for Android waiting list

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