Every business deals with negative online reviews at some point, but not every business is aware of how they can potentially remove bad reviews. In this article, we’ll discuss different methods of responding to negative reviews, how to remove bad reviews from Google My Business, and actionable steps you can take as a business owner to prevent future bad reviews.
What Google Considers a Removable Review
Google outlines strict guidelines about the violations that can lead to bad, negative, or fake reviews being removed from your Google Business Profile. Before reporting reviews to Google, you should confirm which official policies are being violated by the review in question. These broadly include:
Fake or Misleading Activity
- Fake engagement or reviews from multiple accounts
- Reviews not based on real experiences
- Spam, phishing, or impersonation
- Listings pretending to be a verified source
Misinformation or Misrepresentation
- Deceptive or misleading info (e.g., news, health, civic topics)
- Reviews from competitors or employees (conflict of interest)
- Distorted or omitted facts that mislead potential customers
Inappropriate Content and Behavior
- Hate speech, harassment, or personal attacks
- Explicit, violent, or adult-themed content
- Nonconsensual sharing of personal information
All of these policies have exceptions, and Google evaluates each on a case-by-case basis. But if you have a valid cause, then they are likely to be removed. That said, if the reviews are negative but authentic, they cannot be removed.
Step-by-Step: How to Remove a Bad Review from Google My Business
In the next section, we’ll walk through the official steps to report policy-violating reviews to Google for removal. Be aware that you will need to specify the exact reason that it violates their policies or legal regulations when you report it.
Step 1: Go to your Business Profile’s Reviews Management Section
- Sign in to your Google Business Profile account at business.google.com
- If you have multiple business locations, select the one for which you want to manage reviews.
- Click “Reviews” from the menu on the left side of the screen.
Step 2: Flag the Review You Want to Report
- By default, reviews are sorted in chronological order.
- Find the review that you want to report and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner. Then click “Flag as inappropriate” on the screen that appears.
- You can also use the search bar to find the review based on a keyword or a date range
Step 3: Choose the reason the review violates Google’s policies
- On the screen that appears after flagging the review, click the option that most accurately describes how the review violates Google’s content policies
- The options are:
- “This review contains hateful, violent, or inappropriate content.”
- “This review is fake or falsely attributed to my business.”
- “This review contains advertising or spam.”
- Once you’ve clicked the reason, check the box that confirms that you understand the guidelines for flagging reviews.
Step 4: Submit Your Report
- Select the “Submit” button to send your report to Google for review
- In your Google Business Profile’s “Reviews” tab, you’ll now have a “Flagged” indicator next to the reported review.
Step 5: Wait for Response
- Check back on the status of your flagged review after 2-3 days.
- Google typically requires 1-2 business days to check your report, but some reports may take up to a week.
When you receive a response from Google, it will either notify you that they’ve removed the review from Google. Or they will decide that the review doesn’t violate the policy. That answer will take you into our next section.
What to Do If Google Won’t Remove the Review
Let’s explore some possible options for what to do if Google won’t remove the negative review:
Respond professionally to mitigate damage
If the review doesn’t meet the criteria for removal or is too minor, it’s essential that you directly address the reviewer and their claims. Bad reviews can harm your overall reputation, and being responsive to negative reviews will boost your credibility.
Responding to customers online is generally a great habit. Customer surveys indicate that one in five customers expect to hear back whether they have left a positive or negative review. Your responses to both negative and positive customers will differ dramatically, but in both cases, remain professional, humble, and express gratitude for their patronage. Here is the ACT method for responding to negative reviews:
- Acknowledge: Address the customer’s (by name if it is available) concerns and apologize for their bad experience without taking the blame or making excuses. A quick “thank you for bringing this issue to our attention” can be enough.
- Clarify: Share your own perspective on the experience and any relevant details that could explain what happened. Keep it factual and be considerate.
- Take Action: Request the opportunity to rectify the situation and offer a direct contact method for continuing the conversation privately. This shows a willingness to find a resolution and can prevent further public back-and-forths that could reflect on your business.
Request customer support escalation
If you’re unhappy with the ruling on your reported review, you can submit a one-time appeal. Let’s go through the steps of how to submit a one-time appeal:
- Go to your Reviews Management Tool. If the email address that comes up is correct, click “Confirm.”
- After selecting your business, click “Continue,” then “Check the Status of a Review I Reported Previously and Appeal Options,” then “Continue” again.
- At the bottom of the page, select “Appeal Eligible Reviews.”
- Select the review you want to appeal (you can choose up to 10). Select “Continue” and then “Submit an Appeal.”
- In the new tab, you’ll be required to fill out a form describing why you’re appealing the ruling. Click “Submit.”
When your appeal is assessed by Google, you’ll receive an email with the results.
- If the review violates Google’s policies, it will be removed.
- But if the review does not violate Google’s policies, it will stay up.
Request legal removal (only for serious cases)
In the most serious cases, you may also seek legal assistance. These would be circumstances where the review crossed the line from negative opinion to defamation, leading to serious consequences for your business’s reputation or financial standing. For a Google review to be defamatory, it must meet these criteria:
- The statement must be communicated to a third party (Google would count here)
- The statement is false.
- It was made as a statement of fact, rather than opinion.
- It harmed the reputation of the defamed business or business owner.
- It was not a privileged or confidential review.
This could be a person claiming that your restaurant has rats, despite having records of Aced Health Inspections. But unless you’re sure that the review is defamatory, you should stick to other methods and forms of online damage control.
How to Tackle Fake or False Reviews on Google?
We’ve discussed how to handle customers who are unhappy with their experience with your business, but there are situations where you will need to deal with fake or false reviews. Fake or false reviewers include:
- Competitors
- Bots
- Disgruntled Ex-Employees
- People who were never customers
It can be hard to immediately identify fake or false reviews. Still, there are signs and patterns you can look for with the reviewer’s profile, patterns in their posting, a lack of detail in the review, and comparisons with your own records. Here are a few tell-tale signs:
- Do they have a generic username or no profile picture?
- Is this the only review on their account?
- Was their account created recently, or was it only created to leave this review?
When looking for patterns in bad reviews, check these things:
- Are multiple reviews worded similarly or posted at odd hours?
- Are the reviewers abruptly giving several 1-star reviews after previously giving 5-star reviews?
- Do the reviews make vague criticisms without specific details?
When noting a lack of detail, check these things:
- Does the review mention products or services that you don’t offer?
- Is the review missing details that would come from a real customer interaction?
When comparing feedback to your own business records:
- Do you have a record of the described transaction or experience?
- Has the reviewer ever contacted your support team?
If discrepancies are found, document these details and include them when flagging the review as fake or false. This will add credence to your claims.
How to Prevent Bad Reviews in the First Place
Prevention is often better than a cure. So here’s how you can prevent bad reviews on your profile in the first place:
Ask for feedback before it turns into a review
This falls into good regular practices, but sending follow-up emails to customers after transactions with your business to thank them is also beneficial. When doing so, send them a link and ask them to leave a Google review.
Alternatively, you could also create review request cards that offer an incentive discount if recipients can show they have added a review. Your satisfied customers will remember that gesture, and if they are not so happy, you can prevent a harsh review. .
Train your staff in customer communication
Your employees can be exceptional at their job, but that doesn’t always translate into interpersonal interactions. Talk to your staff and train them in how to approach customers and identify when they’re particularly happy (or unhappy) with your business.
Even adding an “if you enjoyed your experience today, we’d love it if you could share your thoughts on Google,” could be the difference between a customer leaving and not leaving a positive review.
Use automation tools to request reviews from happy customers
Sending follow-up emails can be time-consuming if you’re individually crafting them, but you can also use automation tools that send scripted messages and requests for reviews from customers.
Monitor review platforms regularly
Just as with any online process, removing a negative review will not naturally lead to more positive reviews. Instead, monitor review platforms like Google and Yelp to find feedback that you can respond to and change. If you’re receiving multiple reviews that complain about the same issues, then it’s not the customer. It’s your business that’s the problem. Investing in Local SEO can also help.
How Google Review Removal Services Work
If you start searching for information about removing Google reviews, you are bound to find agencies that claim to use loopholes or special methods to remove negative reviews. They’re too good to be true. In most cases, they’re usually doing three things that can harm your business or lose your trust with your customer base:
- Offer “legal” review removal services that violate Google’s policies.
- Making multiple fake reports about a review that manipulate Google’s algorithm.
- Sending fake legal threats to Google or the reviewer.
In reality, there are only a few things you can do to mitigate the damage of a negative review:
- Monitor your reviews and respond to feedback
- Flag suspicious or non-compliant content
- De-escalate conflicts with customers
- And in special cases, turn to legal support
Clean Up Your Google Reviews the Right Way
Bad reviews might seem like the end of the world for your business, but there are several steps you can take to respond to unsatisfied customers, whether real or fake, in a legitimate manner. Don’t be fooled by promised easy fixes; the best way to clean up your Google reviews is the right way. Use negative reviews as an opportunity to enhance your customer experience and maintain your online presence.
And when you’re ready to give your online visibility a polish, give the local SEO experts at Ranq a call. Through robust keyword research, professional content, and regular improvements to site speed and core web vitals. Contact Ranq to reach a new audience of satisfied customers.
