Gone are the days when brands enjoyed a great degree of direct control over their reputation. Today, the reputation of a business is almost entirely in the hands of its customers. A few negative reviews on Google can damage their online reputation and credibility.
One bad reviews can cost your business dearly and generate mistrust, especially if it's a startup that hasn't yet managed to build a solid foundation online. While some negative reviews provide genuine feedback, there are spam and fake reviews that collect many opinions to outweigh the results of positive reviews.
While you might want to delete spam Google reviews right away to prevent them from razing your brand reputation, Google does not provide a direct option to delete any review. Dig deeper into this blog to understand how you can tackle spam and fake reviews.
Table Of Contents:
- Can You Delete Google Reviews?
- Can You Turn Off Google Reviews?
- Consequences Of Leaving Negative Reviews Unaddressed
- The Role Of Google's Review Policies In Removing Reviews
- How To Delete Spam Reviews On Google?
- Evaluate What Went Wrong (Why The Negative Review?)
- Common Mistakes To Avoid When Deleting Google Reviews
- How Can Statusbrew Help You Manage Spam Reviews On Google?
- FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
You can directly jump to a section of your choice or keep scrolling.
Can You Delete Google Reviews?
The most common question we get asked by multi-location business owners is if they could delete Google reviews. Here's our take on it!
Google reviews do not require any verification or approval before posting. And Google doesn't offer a direct option to delete reviews. This is because people leave reviews on Google based on their experience. Since Google's mission is to provide accurate information to its users, you can't just remove reviews without their approval.
The closest option is to flag reviews from within your account to alert Google support of an issue, but you cannot delete them yourself.
Also, reviews are automatically processed by Google to detect inappropriate content, such as fake and spam reviews. It may take down reviews that are flagged to comply with Google policies or legal obligations.
However, it is possible to delete the reviews you might have posted on Google.
Can You Turn Off Google Reviews?
When setting up a Google My Business account, you also open it for reviews. This is not a feature that you can disable for your listing. But, the benefits of a complete and accurate Google listing outweigh the consequences of getting a bad review.
While you cannot choose to turn off Google reviews, you can take measures to optimize your business listing to ensure you gain maximum visibility and put your best foot forward.
Consequences Of Leaving Negative Reviews Unaddressed
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Loss of business: Negative reviews can have a detrimental impact on your business's reputation, leading potential customers to choose your competitors over you.
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Decreased search rankings: Google or any other search engine may rank your business lower in search results if it has a high number of negative reviews. This can make it harder for potential customers to find your business online and make purchases from it.
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Damage to brand image: Negative reviews can tarnish a business's image and make it appear unreliable or untrustworthy. It can damage the business's reputation and make it harder to attract new customers.
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Legal issues: In some instances, negative reviews may contain false or defamatory statements about your business, resulting in legal action taken by the some customers against your business.
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Loss of customer trust: Negative reviews can erode your business's relationship with your customers, making it harder to retain and engage with them in the future.
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Loss of potential revenue: Negative reviews can deter potential customers from choosing your business, leading to a loss of revenue. This can be especially damaging for small businesses with a small customer base and limited resources.
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Difficulty attracting new customers: Negative reviews can make a business appear less appealing to potential new customers, making it harder for your business to grow and expand.
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Increased competition: Negative reviews can give your competitors an advantage, as potential customers may engage with a brand having a better online reputation. This can lead to increased competition for your business.
The Role Of Google's Review Policies In Removing Reviews
Google has specific policies and guidelines that govern the removal of reviews on its platform. These policies outline the types of reviews that can be removed and the process for requesting review removal. Understanding these policies and guidelines is vital for businesses that want to delete Google reviews.
The role of Google's review policies is to provide guidance and direction on removing reviews from its platform. Understanding and following these policies can help businesses to successfully request for deleting Google reviews and managing their online reputation.
For example, Google's review policies state that reviews may be removed if they contain spam, obscenities, or off-topic content. They may also be removed if they contain personal or confidential information or if they violate Google's terms of service.
Google may remove a review in the following situations:
- If the review contains spam or irrelevant content, such as links to unrelated websites or repetitive messages.
- If the review is overly critical and contains any hate speech or discriminatory language.
- If the review contains obscene or offensive language or images.
- If the review violates Google's terms of service, such as by promoting illegal activities.
- If the review is misleading or deceptive.
- If the review contains any illegal or inappropriate content.
3 Actions To Get Spam Reviews Deleted On Google
Reach Out To The Reviewer
It's always a good idea to reach out to the reviewer with a positive response to the review. If the issue is complex or sensitive, it may be best to take the conversation offline. You can offer to speak with the reviewer over the phone or via email to discuss the issue further and request to delete the review on Google.
Sometimes the reviewer might have reviewed the wrong business. But, all is not lost still! It's possible to delete reviews on Google as a user. A user can delete Google reviews by following the below steps:
Step 1: Go to Google. Log in with the account you wrote the review.
Step 2: Search for the company you wrote a review for. Click the "Google reviews" link.
Step 3: Find the review that you wish to delete.
Step 4: Click the three-dot menu.
Step 5: Click "Delete."
Flag Spam Reviews On Google
Before you learn how to flag spam reviews on Google, let us see the different kinds of Google reviews that should be flagged by a business to defend its online brand reputation.
What Kind Of Google Reviews Should A Business Flag?
- Spam and fake content
- Hate speech
- Offensive content
- Conflict of interest
- Malicious intent
- Irrelevant content
Fake reviews can be spotted in different ways, such as
- The buyer is not in your customer database
- The review is very brief and poorly documented
- Several negative reviews were posted in no time
- Link between the person giving the negative review and one of your competitors
- A competitor is mentioned in the review
- Transaction record does not match your database
- No customer service calls recorded
Ensure you know how to spot a fake review before flagging them.
How To Flag Spam Reviews On Google?
You can flag spam or fake review for removal using the below steps:
Step 1: Sign into your Google account.
Step 2: Go to the reviews section of your Google Maps listing or Google My Business profile.
Step 3: Locate the specific review you wish to flag.
Step 4: Click on the three dots to the right of the review.
Step 5: Select "Flag as inappropriate" from the dropdown menu.
Step 6: Select how the review violates Google's policies.
Step 7: Click "Submit."
Dispute A Google Review
If you tried to flag spam reviews but did not get the desired result, there's still a way to make your case before Google. Contacting Google Small Business Support will let you get in touch directly with a Google employee to make an argument as to why the review should be removed.
To dispute a Google review, follow the below steps:
Step 1: Log in to your Google account and go to Google Small Business Support.
Step 2: Scroll down to "Need more help?" and select "Contact us."
Step 3: Type "Dispute a review" in the "What can we help with?" box and click "Next."
Step 4: Select "Remove reviews" from the list below and click "Next step."
Step 5: Click on "Contact options" and click "Manage your Review Removal Request," and follow the prompts.
Evaluate What Went Wrong (Why Are You Getting Negative Reviews?)
Seeing someone say bad about your business might cause you to put your guard up. It's your responsibility to protect your business and its reputation at all costs.
So your first question may be: How to delete Google reviews that are negative?
But you need to evaluate the situation before you go into defense mode. Try to understand why the user left a negative review on Google in the first place.
Sometimes, you may even find your business at fault. For instance, a rude customer experience, dysfunctional product, or other mishap that led to a bad customer experience. If that's the case, then you will want to respond to the review accordingly.
Read more: 14 Best Practices To Respond To App Store Reviews
Common Mistakes To Avoid When Trying To Get Google Reviews Deleted
1. Not Understanding Google's Review Policies And Guidelines
Before deleting a review, it's important to understand Google's policies and guidelines on review removal. This can help to ensure that your request for review removal appears valid to Google and can prevent your request from being denied.
2. Not Providing Sufficient Evidence For Review Removal
For Google to consider removing a review, you must provide enough evidence or justification for why a particular review should be removed. This could include demonstrating that the review violates Google's policies or providing evidence that the review is fake or spam.
3. Not Taking Steps To Prevent Negative Reviews In The Future
Once you have deleted a negative review, it's important to take steps to prevent similar reviews from appearing in the future. This could include improving customer service, addressing common customer complaints, or implementing other strategies to improve your online reputation.
4. Address Customer Complaints Directly And Professionally
If a customer leaves a negative review, it's essential to address their complaint promptly and professionally. This can help to show your customer that you are willing to listen to their concerns and take the required steps to resolve the issue.
How Can Statusbrew Help You Manage Spam Reviews On Google?
Online reputation management tools like Statusbrew can help you to smartly handle negative, spam, and fake reviews not just on Google My Business and Google Play Store but also on App Store, Trip Advisor, TrustRadius, Yelp, and more from a single dashboard.
Here's how Statusbrew helps you to tackle negative, spam, and fake reviews:
- Get notified of negative reviews to get back to irate customers quickly.
- Auto-assign negative reviews to specific team members.
- Collaborate with your team members in real-time to handle negative reviews quickly.
- Use AI-powered sentiment analysis to understand audience emotions at a scale.
- Automatically route negative reviews to a particular inbox or team member.
- Auto-hide spam and trolls across your social real estate.
- Mitigate compliance issues using no password sharing and controlled team member access.
- Keep track of customers who constantly post negative, spam, or fake reviews across platforms using inbuilt CRM.
- Get in-depth brand reputation insights.
Statusbrew is an all-in-one social media management tool that supports Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and even Google My Business.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Here are some commonly asked questions on deleting reviews on Google:
Can Google reviews be traced?
Yes. Your IP address can be traced if you leave a Google review anonymously. Google can see your IP address when you post a review, even if you hide your name.
How long does it take Google to remove a review?
Usually, it takes 14 business days to review your request, verify it and remove the review.
How do I know if my Google review has been removed?
Log in from your profile. If you find a review that does not have a like or a share icon, that means that the review has been removed.
Will deleting Google business accounts delete reviews?
Google does not remove your business profiles when you delete your account. It surely will remove your authority over managing Google reviews. Your business profile will be marked "Permanently closed."
Can businesses delete Google reviews?
There is no way by which businesses can delete Google reviews posted by others on their profile. Businessess can only delete the Google reviews posted by them on their own or other business profiles.
How to delete Google reviews posted by others?
You cannot delete Google reviews posted by others on your business profile. You can flag those reviews as spam.
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