I Started Reviewing Businesses on Google Maps: Here’s Why You Should Too

It’s surprisingly simple to review businesses on Google Maps, and anyone with a Google account can leave reviews as an employee or customer. And having started reviewing businesses on Google Maps recently, I wish more people would do so—especially as it only takes a moment to do so!

How I Started Reviewing Businesses on Google Maps

As an Android user deeply embedded in the Google ecosystem, I have used Google Maps for many years. As someone who does a lot of walking, it has proved invaluable in helping me get from A to B without getting lost or finding myself crossing a busy highway.

I started leaving reviews for businesses on Google Maps about a year ago (in July 2023). This started while I was on vacation on a Greek island, as I was using Google Maps a lot, both to navigate my way around and to look for places to visit, eat, and drink (or all three).

Google Maps proved to be an invaluable tool on vacation (as it is on most vacations), allowing me to create lists of places my partner and I wanted to visit. Part of that process was reading reviews of the businesses we considered visiting to gauge real people’s experiences.

Why I Started Reviewing Businesses on Google Maps

As I was using other people’s reviews, I felt that it was only right to pay it forward by leaving my own reviews for future visitors. Hence, I started leaving reviews on attractions, restaurants, and bars detailing our personal experiences.

Essentially, making use of other people’s Google Maps reviews made me realize the power of them for both businesses and potential customers. And while there’s a little bit of work involved in leaving reviews, it’s also a satisfying experience.

The key for me was focusing on the businesses where we had either an excellent or terrible experience. These stood out from the crowd, allowing us to give an honest and open appraisal. Average experiences may not have been a true reflection of the level of service, quality of food or drink (for bars and restaurants), or satisfaction.

The Many Benefits of Leaving Reviews on Google Maps

Leaving reviews on Google Maps benefits everyone involved: the businesses being reviewed, the potential customers of those businesses reading the reviews, and the reviewers themselves.

Businesses

The main benefit for businesses is the ability to grow a reputation online. That is if the business in question is delivering what people want, whether that’s impeccable service, good quality products, or fair prices. Even if people don’t use Google Maps itself, the ratings and reviews a business develops on Google Maps are publicly accessible elsewhere, including Google Search.

The main issue for businesses is if they fail to deliver and, therefore, receive a slew of poor reviews. But even then, Google Maps reviews provide them with valuable feedback that they would do well to listen to and address. Most people will be more honest in a Google Maps review left after a visit has concluded than they would be when speaking to a manager or employee in person.

Customers

The benefit for (potential) customers of said business should be obvious; Google Maps can help people decide where to go and what to do. If you’re looking at a specific business, you can instantly see what other people think of it after visiting and decide based on the overall ratings and reviews.

Reviews also help Google Maps rank businesses. Google Maps boasts tabs for the different types of businesses people want to visit, and you can filter the results in various different ways. One of which is by rating. However, reviews are also useful in helping Google filter by price and other categories that could be determining factors for potential customers.

Reviewers

The obvious benefit for reviewers is knowing that they’re helping other Google Maps users. While this may not feel enough of a draw on paper, leaving a review (whether short and sweet or long and scathing) for others to read can be very satisfying. Especially if you have enjoyed a particularly good experience or endured a particularly bad one.

There can be other benefits, though. Once I had returned from vacation, I started reviewing local businesses I often frequent, which, as you can imagine, meant those that I like and appreciate. Some of these businesses noticed my positive review and thanked me for it. So, I have been able to foster that relationship, getting to know the people running the business.

How to Get Started Reviewing Businesses on Google Maps

It’s really simple to review a business on Google Maps. All you need is a Google account (which you likely already have thanks to Gmail and the other services Google offers), access to Google Maps (either the app installed on your phone or the website on any device), plus personal experience of the business you want to review.

Then, all you need to do is find the business on Google Maps, and click on it to bring up the full listing. You can then either tap + Post and select Rate and Review or tap Reviews and find the option to Rate and Review. Award the business a star rating out of 5, and share more about your experience. You can also rate specific elements of the business, detail how much you spent, add photos, and more besides.

Now, you not only know how to start reviewing businesses on Google Maps, you also know why you should do so. It doesn’t have to be a lot of work either; just choose the businesses at either end of the spectrum and leave a summation of your experience, whether it was good or bad.