Why Is My Client’s Google Review Not Showing Up on My Law Firm’s Google Page?

When you work really hard for a client and ask them to leave a Google review, it’s really frustrating when that review fails to materialize. And many times, it is not the client’s fault.

They may have created and submitted a review, and they may even be able to send you a screenshot of them leaving the review, but still, it doesn’t appear on your profile. What happened? Is there anything you can do?

As the Chief Strategist at LaGrande Marketing, a firm devoted to helping law firms improve their online presence and gain more profitable clients, I’m a great believer in the power of Google reviews. And I hear this complaint all the time from exasperated clients.

It can take up to a week or more for a review to be approved by Google, but if more time has passed and it’s still not showing up on your profile, Google may have labeled it as spam and refuse to show it because the search engine believes it is not a legitimate review.

We’ve learned that there are three primary reasons this can happen, and there are often ways to fix the problem.

The Email Address Might Not Be Sufficiently Established

If a client sets up a new Google account and then submits a review five minutes later, there is a good chance that review will be flagged as spam. Usually a client will need to have had (and used) a Google account for months or even years before a review from that email address will be reviewed as legitimate.

Even if a client has used a Google account and email address for some time, if they have never posted a review from that address, Google could determine that your review does not represent a legitimate experience with the business and withhold it as spam. Is that fair? No. But Google has to deal with tens of millions of reviews every day, and in their efforts to weed out the illegitimate reviews, they sometimes remove the appropriate ones as well.

In many cases, if you have the client post the review from a different email address, then the concern is gone and Google will post the review with no problem.

The Location Could Look Suspicious

Many people like to post reviews right while they’re on your property so they don’t forget to do it later. Some clients want help with the technology, and prefer to post a review while they’re in your office so you can talk them through any technical issues.

However, if Google sees a high percentage of your views being posted from the exact same location, the company may start to question the legitimacy of those reviews. A portion of the reviews posted from that location may not show up any more, or new reviews from that location may not be accepted.

This problem can often be addressed successfully by having the client post from their home or office instead of your office. You can write out instructions to make it easier for clients who are technology averse.

The Language Could Be the Problem

Google sometimes simply doesn’t like the text someone uses in their review. The words could be combined in a way that triggers a spam warning. If certain phrases in a client’s review also appear in other reviews, the search engine could view it as illegitimate. There could be a term that is potentially considered offensive, inflammatory, or untruthful. Very often, having the client make a few changes in word choice or phrasing can result in the review appearing on a law firm’s profile.

Get Help with Google Reviews

I sometimes sound like a broken record when I stress the importance of Google reviews, but it is impossible to overestimate their value and importance to a law firm. That means it is worth the effort it takes to acquire reviews—and to ensure that they actually appear in your profile.

If you’d like help with Google reviews or any aspect of your law firm’s marketing efforts, we’d be happy to talk to you about it.

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