Google announced that Google Places for Business has added a new section for business owners to manage and respond to reviews left on their Google Maps business listings.
Google said:
Today, we’re introducing Reviews in Google Places for Business. Now you can learn what your customers are saying about your business on Google and across the web, in one place. If you have a verified business listing, you will now see your customer ratings and reviews in the easy-to-use review inbox.
Google's Jade Wang shared the news with businesses in the Google Business Help forum adding:
To get started, go to the dashboard you use to manage your business information, click the listing you’d like to manage, and choose Reviews from the left hand navigation menu.You’ll see a Reviews inbox listing any reviews Google users have left for your business as well as snippets of reviews written about your business on other websites. The Reviews analytics tab includes information detailing where users have evaluated your business, and the average score of reviews of your business.
Not all listings are in the new Google+ local section and they will be upgraded in the future.
Here is a picture:
Local SEOs are very happy about this addition, that is until it gets plagued with bugs.
Forum discussion at Google Business Help.
