Google reviews have the power to make or break a company. Unfortunately, some people leave bad or fake/false Google reviews. But what can you do about it, if anything?

We’ll show you how to erase a Google review—or at least how to attempt it. Google reviews act as “word-of-mouth” on the internet, affecting potential buyers even before they visit your website or enter your store.

For businesses with poor online reviews on their Google My Business (GMB) listing, knowing how to erase a Google review might be helpful. With Google accounting for 57.5 per cent of all reviews, even a few poor reviews on Google can tarnish your online reputation, especially if the review appears prominently in search results. Here’s how to go about it.

Finally, having both positive and negative Google reviews isn’t the end of the world. In fact, having a few negative reviews mixed in with generally favourable ones is a good thing—it indicates that you’re a legitimate business and that you didn’t just bribe your buddies to write glowing evaluations. Even the highest-rated local businesses will have a tiny number of unfavourable reviews. You can’t please everyone all of the time, and certain things are beyond your control.

As a brand, how can you delete a Google review?

The short answer is that corporations and organisations cannot simply delete a negative review from their Google My Business page. Most businesses who are successful in having Google reviews removed do so by either requesting that Google remove the review (because it was fraudulent or violated Google review policy) or by asking the reviewer to delete their own review.

If a Google review is fake or violates Google guidelines, here’s how to delete it. It’s unfortunately not uncommon for a business to obtain phoney Google reviews. While Google takes steps to eliminate bogus and spammy reviews, you can also delete a Google review if you believe it isn’t genuine, relevant, or useful.

If you’re certain that its contents are in violation of Google’s review policy, you can try to get it removed by flagging it:

Log in to your Google My Business account.

Choose your company’s location and then select Reviews from the drop-down menu. Find the review you want to report, then go to the 3-dot menu and select Flag as Inappropriate.

How to Get a Google Review Removed by Asking the Reviewer

A review can be edited or deleted by anyone with a Google account. Your customers, on the other hand, may not be aware of how to do so. To make things easier for them, share these guidelines.

• Open Google Maps on the customer’s computer or mobile device.
• Click Menu in the upper left corner (3 horizontal lines).
• Look for Your contributions, click on them, and then select Reviews from the drop-down menu.
• Click More next to their assessment of your company (3 dots).
• Select an option (edit or delete) and follow the prompts.

How to Remove a Google Recommendation (that You Posted)

Anyone with a Google account has the ability to leave evaluations for places they’ve visited. These reviews appear on both Google Maps and the company’s Google listing.

 

You will not be able to leave an anonymous review on Google as a user. Everyone can see what you write because all reviews are public. While signed in to your Google account, you’ll be able to amend or delete a review if you change your mind about a place you reviewed.

Open Google Maps on your computer.

Click Menu in the upper left corner. Then select “Reviews” from “Your contributions.”

Click “More” next to the review you want to alter or delete. Select an option and follow the on-screen directions.

Google May Remove 10 Review Violations

The following are the ten sorts of reviews that Google’s review policy prohibits and restricts, and which may entice Google to remove a review (either automatically or when flagged):

Spam and false material are used to deceive users and manipulate ratings. This includes posting from numerous accounts at different times. Off-topic entries with a broad scope, such as political musings or personal rants.

Taking activities or purchasing products that do not comply with local legal requirements. Alcohol, gambling, firearms, medications, adult services, and other restricted content are just a few examples.

 

Copyrighted content, endangered animal goods, graphic violence, human trafficking, and other illegal or depicted activities

• In nature, a terrorist.
• Sexually explicit or sexually exploits minors in any form.
• Inappropriate, indecent, or profane.
• Dangerous, harassing, or intimidating behaviour, or behaviour that incites hatred.
• The false representation or impersonating others.

Untruthful or slanted. This involves writing evaluations of your own business (or having a current or former employee do it for you) and attempting to influence the ratings of a competitor.

Other Options for Removing a Google Review

Brands with a large number of negative reviews are under increasing pressure to remove them in a variety of methods. There are, however, alternatives to erasing Google reviews for improving your internet reputation. These strategies can be used as part of a customer acquisition plan that leads to greater customer retention rates, as well as to help consumers see the brand in a fresh way.

Respond to the Criticism

Reacting to the consumer’s concerns is the best strategy to strengthen and maintain your online reputation by proactively responding to unsolicited input. You’ll have a better chance of not only addressing the problem but also keeping them for future transactions if you do so. With any hope, you’ll be able to persuade them to amend or remove their review.

Request more reviews to amplify the positive.

A strong offence can be your greatest defence, and one method to overcome a slew of negative reviews is to begin soliciting feedback from other consumers. Hopefully, this will assist you in amplifying positive feedback about your business while drowning out negative input.

While some company review sites, such as Yelp, frown on business owners soliciting client input, others, such as Google, allow you to solicit customer feedback. It’s simple to figure out how to earn Google reviews because there are several options.

While there is no quick or clear way to remove a review that could harm your reputation, following the steps indicated above can help you prepare for scenarios where having a Google review erased or changed will benefit your organisation.