A new customer mentions she almost didn’t call. She found you on Google, saw a two-year-old complaint with no reply, and nearly picked someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s what online reputation management is about: looking after what people see when they look you up. For a local business it comes down to five jobs. Keep your Google Business Profile accurate, get 5 Star Google Reviews<\/strong><\/a> from real customers, reply to them, deal properly with fake or unfair ones, and keep an eye on what’s being said. Once it’s set up, it takes about half an hour a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n At BuyReviews this is the work we do with Australian businesses. Here’s the beginner’s version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s the routine of managing how your business appears online, mainly through reviews and your business listings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It isn’t spin, and it isn’t hiding criticism. Done properly, it makes sure the picture customers get matches the business you really run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because nearly every customer checks. BrightLocal’s 2026 consumer survey found that 97 per cent of consumers read reviews for local businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also affects who finds you. Google says review count and review score both factor into local ranking. So your reputation works twice: it helps you appear, and it helps you get chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start here, because everything else sits on it. Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show in local results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask every customer, and make it easy. This is the heart of the whole job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our experience, the in-person ask does most of the work. People rarely refuse someone who’s just helped them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reply to all of them, and to negative ones within a day. Google says customers notice when a business reads and replies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For praise, a sentence or two mentioning something specific is enough. When you respond to negative Google reviews, thank the customer, name the problem, say what you’ve done, and give a direct contact. Keep it to three or four sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sort them first. A fake review breaks Google’s policies and can be reported. An honest complaint can’t be removed, so it gets a good reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To report one, select Read reviews<\/strong>, select the three dots next to the review, then Report review<\/strong>. Google says it can take several days to assess a report. If it declines, you get a one-time appeal through the Reviews Management Tool. That’s the proper way to remove fake Google reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check your profile weekly, and turn on email notifications for new reviews in your Business Profile settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look beyond Google once a month. The same BrightLocal survey found the average consumer uses six review sites, with Google and Facebook the most used. Search your business name and see what comes up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are three sets, and they’re simple once you know them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ACCC says it’s against the law to create fake or misleading reviews, or to arrange for others to. It also says hiding or editing negative reviews can mislead consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google bans any reward in exchange for a review, including discounts, gifts and prize draws. It also treats reviews from staff, family and competitors as a conflict of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ACMA’s spam rules cover the texts and emails you send. You need the customer’s consent, your business must be named, and there must be a way to opt out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Print this and put it by the desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s all there is to it. The businesses with strong profiles aren’t doing anything more complicated. They just don’t skip weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t buy reviews. Google can remove them, hide all your reviews for a set period, and show a public warning on your profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t argue with reviewers in public, and don’t leave complaints unanswered. Both cost you more customers than the review did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t ask only your happiest customers. Google says a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy, and Australian law expects an honest picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start yourself. The tools are free, and you’ll learn what your customers say about you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get help when the asking keeps slipping, which it does for most busy owners by about week three. That’s what BuyReviews is for. You share your customer list, we send the requests and reminders, and your customers write their own words. It’s how we help clients get Google reviews every week and improve Google reviews across the year. If you’ve wondered how to get more Google reviews without cutting corners, this is our whole approach to online reputation management in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s the work of looking after what people find when they look up your business online. For a local business, that mostly means keeping your Google Business Profile accurate, asking real customers for reviews, replying to them, and dealing properly with fake or unfair ones. It’s a routine, not a one-off project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Less than most owners expect. Once it’s set up, asking for a review adds about a minute to each job, and a weekly check of fifteen to thirty minutes covers replies, reminders and reporting. The first week takes longer, because you’ll need to tidy your profile and answer any old reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not to begin with. Google gives you the review link, the reply tool and the reporting tool for free. A spreadsheet is enough to track who you’ve asked. Software or a service starts to make sense when you have several locations, many customers a week, or no time to send requests yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google is the biggest part for most local businesses, but not the whole of it. One 2026 survey found the average consumer uses six review sites, with Google and Facebook the most used. Start with Google, then keep your Facebook page and any industry sites accurate and check them monthly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It depends on your starting point and how many customers you serve. Replies and profile fixes show straight away. A steady flow of new reviews takes weeks to build and a few months to change how your profile looks overall. In our experience, the businesses that improve are the ones that keep the routine going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, do the two quickest jobs: fix anything wrong on your Business Profile, and reply to every review that doesn’t have an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next week, start asking. If you’d like that part handled, send BuyReviews <\/strong><\/a>your customer list and we’ll help you get Google reviews from real customers, week after week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new customer mentions she almost didn’t call. She found you on Google, saw a two-year-old complaint with no reply, and nearly picked someone else. That’s what online reputation management is about: looking after what people see when they look you up. For a local business it comes down to five jobs. Keep your Google … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35,"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions\/35"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xgroovy.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What is online reputation management?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why does it matter for a local business?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What are the five basics?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Is your Business Profile accurate and complete?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
How do you get more Google reviews?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
How should you reply to reviews?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What do you do about fake or unfair reviews?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How do you keep track of what’s being said?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What are the rules in Australia?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What does a simple weekly routine look like?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
What should you avoid?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Should you do it yourself or get help?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Frequently asked questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What is online reputation management?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How much time does reputation management take?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Do I need software for reputation management?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Is reputation management just about Google reviews?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How long does it take to improve an online reputation?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What should you do next?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n