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      - Chatmeter makes it easy for multi-location brands to be found, engage with customers, and optimize their revenues.
    - Pulse AI
    - Signals
    - Risk Monitoring
    - Analytics and Insights
      - Benefit from local and competitive brand insights using Chatmeter's AI-powered platform. It's more than Return on Investment - It's all about Return on Intelligence.
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      - Keep a pulse on the health of your business through real-time customer insights with Chatmeter's reputation management solution.
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      - Easily monitor, post and publish to multiple social media accounts from Chatmeter's all-in-one insights and operations dashboard.
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      - Attract and engage with potential customers across 140+ online directories with Chatmeter's listings optimization solution.
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      - Improve your SERP ranking and increase your online visibility while impressing your customers with the information they seek.
    - Surveys
      - Gain a 360° view of your customers’ wants, needs, and expectations with Chatmeter's survey solution.
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Author | Chatmeter TeamDate Posted | December 28, 2018

Online Review Management Today: Third-Party Reviews Disappear from Google Places

Google has recently updated its Place pages by removing third party online reviews. There are a variety of reasons for this, but one significant reason is likely due to an ongoing anti-trust suit filed against Google. One of the issues was that Google Places used reviews from Yelp, Tripadvisor, and other review sites which helped Google provide more value for the Places product.

But the bigger issue was when Google then started showing Google Places higher up in the rankings over these same sites they were pulling content from. In addition, the recent explosion in review generation on google directly is a contributing factor (“we don’t need your stinkin’ reviews!”). Not anymore anyway.

What does this mean for small and medium businesses? It makes life for SMBs and agencies a little more challenging because now they cannot track online reviews from Google Places alone. It is getting to the point that the web is becoming so saturated with review sites, blog sites and social media sites that it is hard to monitor them all. There is a greater need for a review monitoring service, especially to look for bad reviews.

As a business owner, monitoring online reviews on Google and beyond is very time-consuming if you have to go to log onto 20 or more sites to see if a new review or comment has been posted. You either need a team of people monitoring your online reputation or an online reputation management service like Chatmeter.

An added concern for brands – will their rankings be affected by this change? According to Mike Blumenthal, a rankings expert, this update to Google places was a surface update and does not actually affect the company’s rankings. So, they are using the 3rd party reviews as references for Local SEO, just not showing them to consumers. Thus, it is still important to get regular reviews from a variety of sites to help you rank better and ensure you have a strong presence and online reputation across the web.

One more important aspect that Google still allows is to claim your local listing on Google Places. This is important because it lets the owner update the content on the page for accuracy, so the material on the page is accurate and represents your brand and service. Chatmeter helps identify this for agencies and franchises which may have hundreds of locations, so an automated solution is much more cost-effective.

Every day, a new blog, review site, or social media platform pops up making the web saturated with people’s opinions. This can be a huge threat if you’re not monitoring your reviews — or simply ignoring them.

Customer reviews are more valuable than ever (84% of consumers believe the reviews they read online). It takes a small investment but can pay off significantly.

Chatmeter is a simple, cost-effective way to help you manage your online reputation. Set up a free demo today and see what it can do for your multi-location brand.