Time for independent schools to take Google reviews seriously

Readers will notice the lack of a question mark at the end of our headline; few people need to be told that private education faces a severe challenge in the coming months and years, with the introduction of VAT on fees and increasing taxes on the sources of those fees.

The story so far

Google reviews are no longer seen as 'novel' by consumers of high-value services such as medicine, finance, the law and - yes - education. They are now, after over fifteen years (Google first introduced reviews in 2007), seen as a trusted source and referred to by a large section of the population

Of all the sectors mentioned in the caption above the one that has taken the least notice - and advantage - of Google reviews, by far, is education. Just look at these searches for independent schools - first in London...

Then in Oxford...

Apart from a repeat of the 'few reviews, unimpressive scores' seen in London, we were surprised to see that an establishment rated at just 3.5 would pay Google for a Sponsored listing (see top)

What stands out? We suggest...

• None of the schools, in either location, has anywhere near the number of reviews needed for a prospective parent to seriously consider them to be a useful resource when researching current parents' opinions 

• All have left themselves open to the unhelpful kind of 'spam' review that dominates the more famous (and, one might argue, the least financially and reputationally vulnerable) schools...

• None has yet found a way to safely engage with Google reviews

The way ahead

First, the school must accept that prospective parents will read Google reviews. Some will actively search them out, and others will find them when searching online for websites, contact details or other information about the school. 

Second, the school must accept that prospective parents will, even to the smallest degree, be influenced by the content of some of those reviews (and the school's response - or lack thereof).

Having ticked those two boxes, the school will then embark on the same quest that any professional entity seeking to engage with Google reviews must sensibly make: how to encourage reviews from stakeholders without opening the school up to more of the kind of factually inaccurate, potentially misleading, spurious or facetious reviews seen above? 

Moderation

The answer to the question posed above is 'moderation'. By inviting reviews to the school in the first instance (before Google) so an independent agency - HelpHound is one such - can be engaged to read every review and mediate between the reviewer and the school where errors of fact or misleading statements have been made*, before a corrected or amended version is then published on the school's website and then, and only then, to Google.

Reviews like this form an invaluable resource, for prospective parents and the school

This kind of thing? Not so much

Moderation - there's more detail here - effectively acts as a safety net for both school and reviewer (parent/guardian) and the results are, and will continue to be, overwhelmingly positive: any doubts schools may have over parents' willingness to write a review have evaporated: experience shows that parents see the act of writing a review, to the school's website and to Google, as a way of thanking the school for the care they have shown towards their child. 

Very quickly the school's own reviews and its Google reviews will become a major plank in the school's marketing. Fuel for the school's website, advertising, PR and social media. Enquiries through the school's website and through web searches will increase - measurably.

*Fewer than 5% of reviews written require any engagement from a moderator, but those that do - the factually inaccurate ('they've put fees up by 25% this year') or the potentially misleading - are exactly the kind that have, quite reasonably, discouraged schools and other educational establishments from engaging - until now.

Further important information for schools

• Fees - see just how little the outlay will be, compared with the potential returns

• Guarantee - all the financial risk removed