Increasing the volume of Google Reviews by customers is the best way a business can tackle negative reviews, says Google.

120 people, mostly made up of small business owners, today gathered south of Sydney for the first of a series of ‘Grow with Google’ events that the company will be hosting around Australia.

In an initiative by Google’s recently appointed Australian Vice President, Mel Silva, two key leaders gave a two hour presentation on the importance of businesses managing their online presence.

Google’s Associate Product Marketing Manager Andrew Pagonis explained how customers make fast consumer decisions based on Google Map Reviews. Explaining to the audience not to worry about ‘one or two’ negative reviews if a business has 1,000 positive reviews. “It’s all about how professional you respond…never argue with customers…build loyalty by managing your customer reviews.”

The take-out from the customer review presentation was for businesses to encourage more reviews on Google Maps, and to activate and reply to private messages from customers.

At the event held at the Cronulla Sharks Leagues Club, Google explained in simple terms some of the ‘signals’ that they use to determine which ads appear high on Google Search results when consumers are looking for products and services. Some of these signals include location, the device being used, time of day, the hour of the day, the targeting method, demographics and re-marketing list. Google points their users to the “most relevant result for the consumer, not the business willing to pay most.”

Businesses who run successful ad campaigns on Google via their bidding and auctioning system have high clickthrough rates, are relevant and have strong websites that load quickly. Mr Pagonis said this approach helps Google determine a ‘quality score’ for businesses that advertise with them.

Google will be holding similar events for businesses around Australia throughout this year and next year. “There are 300,000 Australian businesses on Google that contribute $5 billion to the Australian economy” said Google Australia New Zealand boss Mel Silva.

At the event, apps ‘Google My Business’ and YourPrimer.com were heavily promoted by Google, along with the website ‘Grow with Google.’

For all 25 tips discussed by Google, click here.

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