How to Leave a Google Maps Review

Why Leave Reviews?

Remember the last time you looked for a restaurant in a strange town? Did you check the reviews?

Sadly, we’re often more motivated to leave a bad review than a good one. People appreciate reviews, but need a good balance to make sensible decisions.

Even a bad  bad review is good. It’s an opportunity for the business to improve and to make a conciliatory offer to regain your goodwill.

When Did You Last Leave One?

When was the last time you left a meeting thinking, “These guys really know what they’re talking about. I’ll leave them and review when I get back to the office.”

And then forgot all about it?

It Doesn’t Take Long

It can take as little as 10 seconds and just leave a star rating. If you have a little more time, write a few words, of praise or criticism.

If you took a photo, so much the better. A picture’s worth a thousand words.

How to Leave a Google Review

Go to Google Maps. Make sure you’re signed in to your Google account, top right

Then, top left, start typing the name of the business you want to review. Google will start listing local businesses as you type. Select the one you want from the list when you see it there.

You’ll then see the business details in the left-hand panel. Some way down the page, on the left, click on:

 

That’ll lead you to a panel like this,

 

 

Click on an appropriate star (right-most means five stars :o) to indicate your star rating.

If you decide to write something in the “Describe your experience” box, don’t forget to say how you benefited.

 

How to Request a Review

To request a review, share the link on your Google My Business page. Click or tap this icon, then copy the link it shows you. Paste it into your preferred method of communication.

Other Places to Leave Reviews

We don’t have time to leave lots of reviews. Since Google is the most popular, leaving it here will mean it’s seen by the largest number of people. There are many other places, should you feel inclined, the most useful are probably:

• Trip Advisor, for restaurants and hotels and travel generally
• Yelp, because Apple’s Map uses it
• Bing Maps, for people who use Microsoft’s search engine (<5% of UK users in 2021; source)