Smart Strategies: Navigating Google’s School Review Changes

When you’re looking for a restaurant, a doctor, or even the best local coffee shop, where’s the first place you turn? For most of us, it’s Google, and it’s no different for prospective families considering your school. Before they fill out an inquiry form or schedule a tour, many will do a quick search to get a first impression of your school, including reading Google reviews.

This blog kicks off a short series on increasing your school’s digital presence in today’s shifting online landscape. Over the coming weeks, we’ll share quick, actionable tips on everything from boosting your organic SEO to optimizing your school website and using FACTS’ tools to uncover and promote what makes your school stand out.

Big Changes

Recently, there’s been an important update that schools need to know: Google is removing some reviews for certain types of schools. While the full reasoning hasn’t been made public, it appears to relate to a policy shift where Google is restricting reviews for organizations considered public services or government-related, including many K–12 schools.

What to Do Next

If your school has relied on Google reviews as part of your marketing or SEO strategy, you might notice a sudden drop in the number of reviews or even see them disappear altogether. Here’s what you can do right now:

• Monitor your listing: Check your Google Business Profile regularly so you’re aware of any changes.
• Focus on other review platforms: Encourage families to leave testimonials on platforms like Niche, Private School Review, Facebook, or your own website. This could be a great time to consider incentivizing these reviews with gift cards, school merchandise, or more.
• Gather direct testimonials: Collect quotes, stories, and feedback from families that you can share in marketing materials, newsletters, and online. Re-enrollment is a good time to solicit these testimonials – you can add a quick testimonial box to your re-enrollment packet! If you don’t have a dedicated space for reviews on your website, consider adding them on your homepage for perspective parents to see the value of your school.
• Strengthen your owned channels: Make sure your website clearly communicates your value with proof points, highlights your community, and shares authentic stories since it may now be an even bigger first impression than your Google listing. Examples of good proof points include how many students are enrolled, your graduation rate, your classroom size ratios, how many STEM/STEAM classes or extracurricular activities are offered, what types of clubs are available, any sports or arts activities, awards you’ve earned, and parent testimonials.

This is also a great opportunity to take a closer look at the overall marketing strategy for your school. What is and isn’t working? Just as lessons plans change or school procedures change, marketing tactics should be looked at year over year to evaluate what changes need to be made.

Don’t Forget About the Power of Good Feedback

The purpose of reviews is to show your families’ feedback, helping potential families choose their next school knowledgeably and confidently. Here are a few simple questions you can ask families to help guide their feedback and highlight what makes your school special:

• What made you choose our school, and how has that decision impacted your family?
• Is there a teacher, program, or activity that has made a meaningful difference for your child?
• Can you share a moment or experience that made you feel confident your child is in the right place?
• What would you tell another parent who is considering enrolling their child here?
• While most feedback is good feedback, helping your families make reviews that answer questions and give the best possible insight into your school as possible is key.

The Bottom Line

Marketing your school is already a big task and staying on top of changes like this can feel overwhelming, especially if marketing isn’t your full-time job at the school. With a proactive strategy, you can continue to make strong, positive impressions on prospective families, even with fewer Google reviews to rely on. While they represent one approach to SEO, there are many others you can incorporate to attract perspective families to your school.

Stay in the loop by creating a Google alert (or multiple alerts) for keywords like “school marketing,” follow school marketing experts on LinkedIn to help you stay in the know, or follow us! We can’t wait to share more of these tips with you in this Smart Strategies series!

Want to learn more? Explore our blog for more insights, tips, and strategies on all things education.