Practical writing on Google reviews.
Opinionated, research-backed advice from running review systems for Australian small businesses. No fluff, no recycled SEO listicles.
- 13 May 20267 min readRepliesPractical
How to respond to a negative Google review without making it worse.
Your first negative review feels like an attack. The worst thing you can do is reply emotionally. Here's a step-by-step framework with example replies for different industries, plus the rule that decides whether to respond at all.
Read article - 12 May 20268 min readComparisonReviews
Google review software vs done-for-you: which actually moves your rank?
Every review tool on the market promises the same thing: more reviews, less effort. The difference between software and done-for-you is who actually does the work. Here's what each model costs you in money, time, and rank.
Read article - 7 May 20266 min readRepliesRanking
Stop using templated review replies. Here's what to do instead.
Most reputation tools auto-write replies. Google's Local team can detect templating, and so can future customers reading your profile. Here's a 4-step framework that takes 90 seconds and actually moves your map rank.
Read article - 7 May 20267 min readReviewsRanking
How many Google reviews do you actually need to rank in the 3-pack?
If you're chasing a 5-star average, you're optimising the wrong number. Map rank is decided by review volume relative to competitors and how recent those reviews are. Here's the benchmark for cafés, clinics, trades, and salons, and how to do the maths for your category.
Read article - 7 May 20267 min readRankingLocal SEO
The 2026 ranking factors Google won't tell you about.
Google's official Local guidelines name three ranking factors. Real ranking depends on six more they don't talk about. We've watched these move map rank for clients across cafés, clinics, trades and fitness. Here's the order they actually matter in.
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