Learn how to remove Google reviews and save your business’s reputation.

Digital marketing professionals know how critical Google reviews are for SEO and how they influence if a customer decides to use a business or service. The professionals at Algorithmic Global believe every SEO strategy should incorporate auditing, embedding Google reviews, and bring more 5-star reviews to the business’s digital presence.

Google reviews can cause a severe impact on a business’s reputation, no matter the size. Due to Google reviews being more potent than ever, there has been a new wave of fake reviews—including reviews made by AI bot systems. 

Before you freak out about a fake review, reading this blog post on the proper way to remove Google reviews. We will be going over ways to quickly detect a fake review and actionable steps to remove google reviews. 

Auditing Your Google Reviews

Critical customer feedback is vital to business growth. A customer who explains your services’ flaws and pain points will help you better serve future customers. 

Harnessing this benefit starts with auditing your business account for Google reviews.

Checking your reviews:

1. Go to business.google.com to sign-in to your Google Business Account. 
2. Click the Reviews tab.

Under your reviews tab, you will see all of the reviews that your business has received. 

Responding to all of the Google reviews that your business receives (both good and bad) is a best practice. Since everything you do online reflects your business, you should be cautious about responding to both positive and negative reviews. 

The Algorithmic Global professionals suggest that you have a system in place to audit and respond to reviews. Build a template for responding to both positive and negative reviews. Being on top of your business reviews is important because it demonstrates to customers you are both prompt and consistent. 

How to flag an inappropriate Google Review

When your business receives a negative review, you need to have a strategy in place to reduce the risk to your company’s reputation. Before we go further on flagging a Google review, you must understand Google’s review and photo policies. 

Remember, when you flag a review on Google, Google will be the one to make the final call on whether the inappropriate review will remain visible or not. 

Examples of reviews Google finds inappropriate:

• The review is from a bot or fake account. 
• A competitor writes a review on your business listing. 
• The review includes hate speech  
• The use of offensive language.
• The review is off-topic and does not pertain to an experience with your business. 
• The review contains personal information like a phone number or address. 

When your business receives a Google review that violates Google’s policies, you need to take immediate action!

How to tell if a Google review is fake

The easiest way to tell if a Google review is fake is by clicking on the user name that left the review on your business page. With a quick inspection, you will quickly notice how many reviews the individual wrote and the locations they have written past reviews. 

Clear signs a review is fake: 

• You never performed services for the said “customer”
• The user has a strange username 
• The review consists of many spelling errors
• The review references people that don’t work at your company.
• The reviewer has submitted only one review (on your business)
• The reviewer has submitted reviews only for companies similar to yours

Google can quickly tell if a review is coming from a bot or competitor. When you flag a fake Google review, the professionals at Google will look at the age of the user’s account and if the review does not follow policy.  

Steps to flag an inappropriate review:

1. On the inappropriate review, click “Flag as inappropriate,” using the three-dot button on the right of the review.
2. Choose the reason why you are reporting the Google review. 

Following the two steps above will hopefully result in Google removing the unwanted review from your business listing. Be patient—Google gets many reviews to audit daily. Removal of the flagged review can take up to 3 days.

What to do when flagging a review doesn’t work. 

If flagging the fake review doesn’t get the Google review removed, you may have to submit the review to Google Small Business Support.

Two ways to contact Google support: 

1. From your Google My Business page: There will be a menu item labeled “Support.” When clicked, you will have the choice to get in contact with a Google support specialist by either phone or email. A support specialist will typically respond within 24-48 hours.
2. Tweet @GoogleSmallBiz: If your company has a Twitter account, you can reach out for Google support through tweeting @GoogleSmallBiz, and explaining that an inappropriate review has targeted you. 

If you decide to contact Google support directly, you need to be ready to explain why the review is inappropriate and how it violates Google’s policies. 

Concluding thoughts

We hope you learned the importance of Google reviews and the actionable steps you need to remove Google reviews.

Remember, developing a system that responds and checks for inappropriate reviews will be the best course of action in minimizing the effects of any negative reviews. 

The team at Algorithmic Global offers review management for all of their clients. When you partner up with us, you can rest easy knowing that your reviews are being constantly audited. Contact us today if you have any questions or need help removing Google reviews.