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Seven Years of Google Reviews: Why I keep reviewing my experience

I've been doing Google Reviews for about 7 years now. I'm still not sure what propagated my starting it, but I'm so glad I did. I use my Google account for pretty much everything (even Blogger is owned by Google). So while there are a lot of platforms available for reviews, like Yelp, I'm not going to change platforms for reach. I don't get any benefits from sharing reviews, although Google should consider giving some incentive for their local guides to keep sharing. 

My Google reviews serve several purposes, which is why I'm going to continue writing reviews as I have something to share.

Sharing Kick-Ass Local Business: 

I absolutely love sharing about local businesses that are just killing it, which helps them get a bit more credibility and brand awareness. I especially love when they reply back! If you're a business, definitely check out if anyone is reviewing you and respond back. Even if it's been a couple months, thank them for the review and I'm sure you'll pop back into their mind to come again. (While we're on the topic, if you're getting negative feedback, you should also respond back to them. This is not a platform to point blame, but even a negative review with a polite response - with constructive adjustments or asking to go offline to handle a solution, is a better public image than ignoring or deleting anything that shines a negative light on your business)

My favorite recent small-business review was Dancing Horse Farm [link] 
I've been to their location several times, for different on-the-farm events. And honestly, as a lover of alpacas, I really can't turn down an opportunity to hang out on the farm just to see them. 

Giving Full-Picture Reviews of My Experience:

I also like detailed reviews whether it's good or bad feedback. The "I love it/I hate it" reviews don't have a lot of value compared to being more in-depth and letting people know how the service or location was. As someone who occasionally looks at reviews to determine my interest in a new place, the more detailed feedback give a little better picture. 

One of my best examples here, was Caesars Atlantic City [link]. 

I went for a work trip and the room wasn't really anything to write home about. I did come mid-week for a work trip so maybe I would have had a better time at their facility if it was on the weekend. But I'm sure it helps someone else determine what to expect from the visit. 

I've also given reviews to services that had a Google Maps presence that I might not have visited directly. I've written reviews to services I've used personally and professionally that I needed to share. I've also definitely been a brand advocate for some of these services when I get served an ad on my socials and notice some questions in the comments. Their staff really should take a priority to respond back if possible, but I think having an outside voice advocating their experience is also a strong benefit there.

Reflections On Where I've Been:

I also really enjoy being able to reflect on where I've been. I haven't traveled much, but we went to Poulsbo, Washington in 2023 for a Viking Festival and enjoyed all the small businesses that were on Front Street while we were there. We even took a day trip to Seatle for some of the other tourist spots on our trip. I really look forward to sharing more reviews of the places we visit on other trips. 

Our trip to Washington State, in reviews, is listed down below. I believe a big purponent of my sharing all of these reviews is that we're from NJ, so the 3-hour time difference and nothing opening up until later in the day meant a lot of time to myself, which was the perfect opportunity to share some reviews:

SeaTac Rental Car Facility 

Jack in the Box, Federal Way, WA 

The Seattle Gum Wall 

Bad Blanche Collection 

Stix & Stones 

Hot Shots Java 

Liberty Bay Waterfront Park 

Viking Brew Coffee

Tickled Pink/ Direction Apparel Co 

Sulys Poulsbo Bakery

Cats Meow 

JJ's Fish House 

Green Light Diner 

Downside, sometimes one-off events will be something I'd like to rave about, but Google Maps is not the proper platform for it. I'm considering maybe adding another dimension to this blog to share about some of the conventions I've been to so maybe it'll pop up when someone is looking into the event for the following year? Currently I've gone to a few trade shows for work, mostly as an exhibitor, and I've been to a lot of anime-related conventions with my husband as a more personal passion-focused trip. I defintiely have enough photos so this might be a good channel to share a little bit more.  

Let me know if you'd want to some more details on some of the shows I go to or the trips I've been on - with a little more depth beyond what a review on a business entails! Since this blog is no longer a sole response to writing prompts and book reviews I have some wiggle room to add my own content when it comes to mind. 

If you'd like to see all the reviews I've made on google, you can check it out here:

 https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/117873229097957073106/reviews


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