Estate Agents - don't risk being filtered by Google

On the first of January, with no fanfare whatsoever, Google introduced its Review Filter. You may not have noticed it - most businesses have not - yet. 

Google Review Filter

  A single click on the 'DONE' button and businesses rated less than 4 stars (or with no rating) will no longer show in search

 
For now, Google are confining the filter to the hospitality business: hotels and restaurants. But they are sure to roll it out just as fast as they can to other sectors and verticals. 

Why? Because it adds value for their users. How? By filtering out businesses that don't rate highly - or don't rate at all. Just think: you want a plumber. Do you just want a list of plumbers in your area? Or would you rather Google gave you a list that contained only the best - most highly recommended - plumbers?

   We are predicting that most users will set the filter at the highest (4 star and above) setting

Some of you may have followed the link in the opening line of this article and be asking yourselves why we are aiming this article fairly and squarely at estate agents. The answer: because the best of you are much more vulnerable to filtering than good hotels or restaurants (all of them have established Google scores already)...

• if you have no Google reviews...
• if you have less than five reviews, whatever their score...
• if you do have more than five reviews, but you score less than 4.0...

...when Google bring in the filter, you will be filtered out of search.

All the SEO in the world won't make any difference once the user has enabled the filter.

Take action now

This has just added a major reason to adopt professional review management (apart from all the others covered here). Don't wait until the filter is enabled: be ready so your business continues to show - and look even more impressive - in filtered search.