Google My Business seems to have ceased including anonymous reviews in a business’s overall rating.
This change has been noted by two individuals on Twitter, who observed that anonymous reviews were vanishing from clients’ Google My Business pages.
One tweet mentioned that anonymous Google reviews no longer appear to contribute to the overall rating, although they are still accessible when viewing all reviews. This was reported on May 24, 2018.
Another user reported on May 28, 2018, that anonymous reviews were being completely removed from Google My Business. They noted a client’s review count drop from 72 to 55 both in the Knowledge Panel and in the actual reviews.
After examining several Google My Business pages, it appears that anonymous reviews are indeed missing. Although it’s impossible to check every page, this trend seems consistent.
Google’s move aligns it with other local review platforms on the internet, such as Yelp and TripAdvisor, which also allow reviews only from registered users.
This change could be seen as a smart move by Google. Although lacking concrete evidence, anecdotal observations suggest that anonymous reviews are often the harshest. This might be due to reviewers’ names not being attached to their comments.
Requiring registration could lead to more honest feedback, reducing the number of excessively critical reviews from anonymous users dissatisfied with a single experience.
From a business standpoint, it’s beneficial to know who is posting reviews. If a regular customer leaves negative feedback, it provides an opportunity for the business to address the issue during the customer’s next visit.
