Google review short link

A good way to make it easier for customers / clients / patients to review you on Google Maps is to send them a link straight to the Write a review popup.

You probably send a shortened URL (like https://goo.gl/qQgbjT), because its tidier than the full URL.

That is most likely to be a problem under two conditions: (1) if your address is hidden on your Google My Business page, and (2) you use the Goo.gl URL shortener to create the short link you send to would-be reviewers.

The problem is Google disables your short URL and takes people to a scary page like the one shown here.

Is it alwaysa problem? Doesnt appear so. Insome cases Ive been able to get the shortened links to work for service-area businesses. On the other hand,Chris Barnard of Social Dental Network tells me that Google nixed his shortened URL for a bricks-and-mortar business. (Chrisspost at the Local Search Google+ Communityis what alerted me to this issue in the first place.) Your mileage may vary.

The kicker is you wont even know Google doesnt like your short URL unless you or your customers click on it. Goo.gl wont show you an error message after shortening your URL. Looks just peachy.

You may even run into that problem if you send a shortened link to a page of search results, rather than to the write a review pop-up. Im still testing that one.

Count on Google to harsh the mellow.

By the way, you shouldnt have problems if your Google My Business page shows your full address publicly. So if youve got a bricks-and-mortar location, or if you just dont want to hide your address (these days you dont need to), you probably could use Goo.gl to shorten your review us links without incident, if you wanted to. But I wouldnt necessarily suggest that. Google eventually may take issue with all shortened review us links, at which point youll probably be the last to know.

Googles policies on shortened links dont shed any light on why review us links are a problem, or on why they seem to be a problem only or mostly for businesses with hidden addresses on Google My Business. Chalk it up to Google reviews being a mess in general.

What can you do? Some options:

1. Use other URL shorteners, like bit.ly or TinyURL. I imagine the only reasons youd use Goo.gl in the first place are that you can access your links later, and that you can see usage data (like how many people click on the links). If you dont care too much about Googles data, I cant think of a good reason to use Goo.gl.

2. Send longer, not-shortened links. Theyre only messy if you send a link to the write a review popup. Theyre not too bad if you send a link to a page of brand-name search results, with a simple URL like google.com/search?q=Local+Visibility+System

3. Consider un-hiding your address on your Google My Business page. Whether you should have it hidden in the first place is mostly a matter of preference. On the slim chance Google doesnt like it, theyll simply hide your address for you.

4. Test your URLs before sending them to any would-be reviewers. One way to do that is to use Whitesparks Google Review Link Generator. If you search there for your business and it doesnt come up, Google probably wont want you to use a shortened URL.

5. Contact reviewers to whom you sent a Goo.gl URL and send them a link that works. Maybe apologize for the hassle. (Also, thats a good excuse to send them a reminder.)

6. Redirect a page on your site to the full Write a review URL. Thanks to Jay Holtslander for reminding me of that option.

301 Redirect https://t.co/UpkRxllosI https: //maps.google .com/full-path

Jay Holtslander (@j_holtslander) March 18, 2018

7. Dont rely only on review us links. You shouldnt do that anyway. Especially given the unreliability of Google-shortened URLs, youll want to go belt-n-suspenders. If possible, ask for Google reviews in-person first, and provide clear instructions in a follow-up email (if not also in your initial request). The links should be part of a broader strategy you work on continually.

Do you send shortened review us on Google links? If so, when have you run into problems, and when have you not?

Can you find any Google policy that clearly states Googles problem with using shortened links to encourage Google reviews?

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