- How To Remove A Google Review
- Report Fake Google Reviews
- Google Review Policy
- How Do I Delete Google Reviews Posted By Me?
- How To Turn Off Google Reviews
- How To Respond To Google Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- How To Manage Online Reputation With AddMe Reviews
Google Reviews are a crucial component of running a business, but what can you do about negative and fake reviews? There are ways to remove fake reviews on your Google My Business account but deleting a review is not as simple as pressing a ‘delete’ button. But, it is possible to delete Google reviews if you are a business owner or a reviewer yourself.
Google reviews can be a great way to show potential customers just how good your business is. A high rating on Google reviews can help enhance your business’ reputation online and maintaining a high rating is crucial to help increase your number of customers in 2021. A high number of reviews combined with a high rating will help Google’s ranking algorithm reward your business for these reviews. 40% of organic ranking signals come from Google My Business and online reviews, therefore it is very important to get a high number of great reviews.
82% of consumers search online reviews before engaging with a new business. A customer is much more likely to choose the business with the best reviews. Why would they opt for a business with a lower rating and worse reviews? If the consumer can’t find a review, they’ll be less likely to contact or purchase from the business. It is crucial to ensure that these high reviews are obtained to help your business surpass your competitors in Google’s rankings.
How To Remove A Google Review
How to remove Google reviews is a common question amongst business owners who believe they have received a fake review. Negative business reviews from a real customer are unable to be removed as only fake reviews can be removed from Google. Google also uses an automated spam detection system to remove reviews that are likely spam. These measures are put in place so that the only reviews published online are from legitimate customers whose feedback either praises or criticises the business. Google wants their review platform to positively influence consumer decision making and be a good reflection of the best local businesses. This can ensure that Google’s algorithm can perform accordingly and reward businesses with high quantity and quality reviews.
Report Fake Google Reviews
A competitor may attempt to negatively affect their competitors’ online reviews to make themselves seem more superior. These would be classified as fake Google reviews. This is against the Google review policy and such users can be flagged for inappropriate content. A business owner can flag and fix inappropriate content on their Google My Business account through Google Maps by following the steps below.
- Launch Google Maps and search for your business
- In the section on the left, go to “Review summary”
- Click the number of reviews underneath the average rating
- Find the review you wish to flag and click the flag icon
- Complete the form and press “Submit”
- Wait up to a few days for a response or removal by Google
To remove Google reviews it can take several days for Google to assess each individual request, so be patient. It is important to report fake Google reviews as these are publicly listed reviews and could potentially damage your online reputation. You can use an online reputation management software to help with managing reviews and get instant notifications across multiple platforms to help identify fake and spam reviews. These types of fake reviews are bound to happen but the best thing to do is flag them for review. Removing Google reviews takes time as Google has so many of these to filter through manually. Google has a good record of filtering out fake reviews to guarantee that their reviews service is as accurate as possible.
Google Review Policy
The Google reviews policy was last updated in 2018 and covers all information about what is accepted on Google reviews, maps, photos and videos. In terms of Google reviews, it covers content regarding ‘spam and fake content’ and other content which may be derogatory or offensive across all their other services. Fake Google reviews are a common issue and affect many local businesses, as competitors and other people try to diminish their reputation.
Regarding spam and fake content Google states “Your content should reflect your genuine experience at the location and should not be posted just to manipulate a place’s ratings. Don’t post fake content, don’t post the same content multiple times, and don’t post content for the same place from multiple accounts.”
How Do I Delete Google Reviews Posted By Me?
It is possible to remove a review you have left on the Google reviews platform via Google Maps. If you have changed your mind about leaving a bad review or thought it may seem too harsh, you can remove a review by heading to Google Maps. The following steps outline how to remove a review you have posted on Google.
- Go to Google Maps and click the menu button in the top left hand corner
- Go to “Your Contributions” and then “Reviews”
- Find the review you wish to delete
- Edit or delete the review
How To Turn Off Google Reviews
To turn off Google reviews, the only possible way to do this is to delete your Google My Business account. You should want your online reviews to be made publicly available otherwise it may seem too unknown to potential customers and negatively affect local SEO. As 40% of organic signals are from Google My Business and online reviews, you don’t want to lose out on these potential paying customers. It is recommended to NOT delete your Google My Business account because of all the ranking factors that can help your business. The only reason you would want to disable Google reviews is if a business is no longer operational, moving location, has negative media press or is merging with another business.
How To Respond To Google Reviews
Anyone who operates a business should be prepared to manage bad reviews and should learn how to respond to negative Google reviews. Instead of dreading reviews or trying to remove bad Google reviews, you can learn how to best respond to the customer. To respond to bad reviews, the business owner must acknowledge that the customer has had a bad experience and led them to write a negative review. The best thing to do is not panic and to respond professionally in a timely manner. Other things to remember to write may include:
- Never argue online with the customer and apologise where necessary
- Offer them to reach out to you or reach out to them directly
- Personalise the message by adding their name to show you care about their response
- Keep the response short and resolves any issues offline
89% of consumers read your reviews and how you respond to those reviews, so it is important to reply well. This is an important step to the overall process and cannot be ignored. Examples of replies to negative reviews:
- Hi {Name}, sorry to hear that you have had a bad experience with us. This does not sit well with our high expectations and is something we wish to fix quickly. For more information feel free to leave us a message {Email OR Phone Number} and we can resolve the issue. Thanks, {Business}
- Hi {Name}, thanks for bringing this issue to our attention and we understand this is unacceptable. Please give us a call at {Phone Number} or we can reach out to you at a convenient time.
- Sorry to hear your bad experience {Name}. It’s sad to hear that you have had such a negative experience with our business. Please contact us at {Email or Phone Number} and we will fix our mistakes.
Positive Reviews
Learning how to respond to positive reviews is also important as it is good to thank your customers that think highly of your business. Replying to a positive review can help create a happy customer who is more likely to return as they may feel more valued. If potential customers see this online, then they may be more inclined to come to your business over a competitor.
The best way to respond to a positive review is by being friendly and thanking them for their time to leave a great review. Some simple examples may include:
- Thanks for the review! We hope to see you again soon.
- It’s our pleasure doing business with you. See you soon!
- It’s great to hear that you have had such a positive experience!
- Thanks for sharing your great experience!
Responding to every review your business receives across every platform may seem a bit much. It is not necessary to reply to every review out there but make sure to take special note of the negative reviews. Many potential customers will make sure to read the negative reviews so replying well to these is very important.
How To Manage Online Reputation With AddMe Reviews
46% of people will only use businesses with a rating of 4 stars or higher on one of their review platforms. The AddMe reviews platform ensures that only the best business reviews are publicly published. Reviews made through the platform that are 4 or 5 stars will go live to the selected site, anything lower is kept internally for feedback. This negative feedback can be responded to confidentially and ensures that the public information available to potential customers is only the best. The positive feedback will go live through the AddMe Reviews platform across the 7 review sites pictured below.
More than 6 times out of 10, the number 1 ranking for a local search term will be the business with the most reviews. However they still must have a high average review, with anything above 4 stars considered to be good. For example, a local search term ‘flooring in Highett’ will display results for the flooring business with the most reviews and the highest average as determined by the Google algorithm.
81% of people would be willing to write a review if they are asked to, which is a 72% increase if they are not prompted. Review management is becoming an important part of business in a competitive online environment. Obtaining a high Google Reviews rating is directly correlated with higher SERP results and should be a goal of every business owner to achieve great reviews.
The AddMe Reviews platform can help your business’ online reputation management today. You can contact us regarding any questions you may have about any AddMe services or click the button below to start a 14 day trial. The AddMe reviews app is available to download for free on the Apple store and Google Play store.
