How to Leave a Google Review Without Posting My Name

For a long fourth dimension, I've had some doctor friends complaining to me that one time Google Places changed over to the new Google+ format, all their patients lost the power to leave anonymous reviews (thus pain their business and their rankings).

They asked me what to practise; and I, in plough, asked my fellow SEO friends what to exercise.

No i actually had a proficient answer, except to start leaving reviews on medico-specific sites like healthgrades.com and vitals.com. That never seemed like a good answer to me, and then I kept searching. Even answers from Google staff (in Google Groups) don't shed much calorie-free on the state of affairs:

Jumping into this thread to ostend that all new reviews on Google+ Local are tied to a Google+ profile and therefore must be left nether a user'south Google+ profile name.

We believe that sharing reviews publicly creates a strong foundation for high quality and trustworthy reviews in Google+. Publishing reviews under your Google+ profile name is also a benefit for businesses, who usually receive spammy/disquisitional reviews written by competitors who don't identify themselves. For businesses and users alike, nosotros're committed to surfacing loftier-quality and accurate data. We believe that when reviews are associated with the person who'south writing the review, we'll see a better experience for all.

I understand what Jade was going for in her response in a higher place. It does brand some sense to require people to use their full name when reviewing a eating place, bar or café. Unfortunately, in some other cases, that's non true. It does non affair how awesome (or horrible) your proctologist, gynecologist, psychologist or oncologist is — y'all might not want your name associated with a review of their services online for all to see for the residue of eternity.

Bearding Reviews On YouTube

I e'er felt bad almost my disability to aid my doctor friends, and then when I finally saw Googler John Mueller share something on Google+ about leaving anonymous reviews on YouTube, I was intrigued — why was this possible for empty-headed cat videos, but not for serious medical practitioners?

I added this question to the Google+ comments most the article, and John was dainty enough to respond, telling me it was 100% possible to exit anonymous business reviews.

Apparently, in a move that seems to get against the primary goals and spirit of Google+ (and the quote from Jade above), they actually allow y'all to get out reviews via pages created off of your principal Google+ profile. (OMG. This seems 100% evil, and fraught with potential abuse — and my white-hat mind would hardly permit me to excogitate of it or, for that affair, of a Googler suggesting information technology!) Anyway, here is how you can leave anonymous reviews in Google+ Local….

Anonymous Business Reviews Via Google+ Local

Go to your profile page in Google+ and click on the upper left-hand drib down, and then click on the push that says "Pages." Once the new page loads, click the "Create a folio" button that appears in the upper right-hand corner (as shown in the image below):

After that, you have to choice a category — in this case, "Other."

You tin proper name your dummy account anything you lot want, keeping in mind that it will bear witness up next to the reviews that you are going to mail service afterward.

If you are existence serious, I suggest something like "Anonymous" or "A Google User." Annotation that older anonymous reviews from before the Google+ Local transition are shown with the user proper noun "A Google User," so that one is probably the most standard.

One time you lot are washed, but hit "Go along" and then you volition be taken to the "Pages" dashboard that, in my case, looks similar this (notice the existent business page on the right, and the new anonymous commenting account on the left):

At present, all you have to exercise when you want to exit an anonymous review (or a couple) is:

1) Switch to your new dummy profile past clicking the chief business relationship contour moving picture in the upper right-hand corner, and so select the dummy account from the resulting drop-down.

2)   Find the business in Google+ Local by clicking the other drop-downward, in the upper left corner. In the drib-down, click on "Local," and so search for the business, click on the pencil image to the right of the business listing, and finally, write your review. Mine looks similar this:

When you are done, you will get a "Thank You" message that looks similar this:

Simply They Could Be Gamed

The problem is, I don't think anyone just SEOs will practise this to leave a legitimate review — and honestly, virtually SEOs will probably try to game information technology a chip. Beingness tied to a principal account gives Google some governance, but what is to continue people from creating, optimizing and building up lots of dummy primary accounts with multiple dummy sub accounts (then potentially even monetizing the accounts or the reviews from the accounts).

No doubt Google has algorithms to check for this, and reviews do get through additional processing once they are submitted, merely the system may indeed withal be gameable.

To be clear, I am not suggesting anyone partake in spammy beliefs — that would be a clear violation of Google's guidelines (and the terms you agree to when you lot set up the accounts). There would probably be serious consequences if Google discovered attempts to dispense the organization. And call back that if you are spamming from your master Google+ business relationship, that could be tied in with all your other Google accounts (including Webmaster Tools, AdWords and Analytics) — and then don't put those at risk!

My point is but that very few normal people would go to this level of effort to but go out a review. At that place is no way I would exist able to explicate this to my doctor friends with a straight face, and there is a 0% hazard they would sympathize it or tell patients to practice it. Even though this procedure technically works, for the large majority of people, it is seriously broken.

It Works & Yous're Anonymous

When I went virtually the bearding account creation procedure for a legitimate purpose, I felt a bit muddy. While I can now feel confident that but Google will know the various doctors that I visit and review online (or other private stuff, like kids' daycare, voting centers, churches, funeral homes and whatnot), at least if I want to leave them a compliment or tell people to avoid doing business concern with them, I tin now practise that knowing it won't be published on the Web with my proper name on it, for all to meet.

Lots of thanks goes to John Mueller at Google for helping me figure this out. While I do not love the solution, I practice appreciate the assistance!

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the invitee author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

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About The Writer

Cindy Krum is the CEO and Founder of MobileMoxie, LLC, a mobile marketing consultancy and host of the nigh cutting-edge online mobile marketing toolset available today. Cindy is the author of Mobile Marketing: Finding Your Customers No Matter Where They Are, published by Que Publishing.

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Source: https://searchengineland.com/how-to-leave-anonymous-business-reviews-in-google-174532

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