Direct Review Box Link for Service-area Business on Mobile Device. Possible?

[Michael Charvet]

Hi all,

Up until now, I've never had the occasion to work with a service-area business.

I quickly found that the typical ways to create a Google direct review box link don't work if the address is hidden in the listing. For example, the Whitespark tool: https://whitespark.ca/google-review-link-generator/.

Whitespark mentions a workaround, which is simply to copy the Review button link in the listing. That works on a desktop machine, but not a mobile device in my testing.

Anyone know of a way to create a direct review box link for a service area business that works universally - desktop and mobile?

Screenshot of typical review box: https://goo.gl/VdqUzy

 

[stankolev]

This variant working in most of the cases:

http://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid={{PLACE ID}}

How to find the Place ID for SABs:

• From GMB go to maps ( something like https://www.google.com/maps?cid=696688597831231255 )
• View the page source ( for FF and Chrome hit ctrl+U )
• Search for ChIJ, and you should see something like ... null,"ChIJ66IOH4QFdkgRv_2QnOJZr2A",null ... this part ChIJ66IOH4QFdkgRv_2QnOJZr2A is the {{PLACE ID}}
• Replace and test

 

[Michael Charvet]

Thanks, that general method works (without the brackets). For example: http://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJEyXAeJAqnYARSHUoxo0CBEA

However, this particular service-area business does not pull up in Maps, which means I cannot find the Place ID. I'm not sure if that's because the listing is new (about a week) or if it's a limitation of service-area business. Anyone have experience with this?

 

[Linda Buquet]

However, this particular service-area business does not pull up in Maps, which means I cannot find the Place ID.

The Grade.Us Google Review Link Generator works even if address is hidden and the top option gets the Place ID and opens exactly where you want it to. (On desktop - Have not tried mobile, but assume it still works unless Google changed something again.)

 

[stankolev]

In general the problem with the most of the generators is that they use Google Place API to find the listing but SABs are excluded from this API.

Michael can you PM me some details for the business to see if I'm gonna find the Place ID.

 

[Michael Charvet]

@Linda Buquet Hi Linda, it's been a while since we spoke, hope all is well. I know Jon at grade.us and in fact I tried the grade.us tool first, but the business was not listed. However, I tried it again a few days later and it popped up, so I think I ran up against a data propagation delay with this new listing. I have the place ID in hand now and it works with both desktops and mobile devices using this format: http://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJEyXAeJAqnYARSHUoxo0CBEA
. Thanks!

@stankolev Thank you for your offer, the Place ID has been found. I've used Pleper, nice tool!

 

[Margaret Ornsby]

You can also use Google's PlaceID finder for SABs (and other businesses, of course)

https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/examples/places-placeid-finder

 

[Michael Charvet]

@Margaret Thank you. That's a good tool. I tried the Places API text search early in the process, but I think the key issue was that listing was too new and had not propagated through the entire system. It now pops right up.