Google Maps, also Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a popular navigation and business search feature on Google that also serves as a platform for business reviews. Customers, clients, and even employees can share their experiences and opinions about businesses by leaving their reviews on Google Maps. These reviews rank high on Google Search and Maps and visible to anyone searching Google, the reviews can appear when someone is searching local services (such as car dealerships, lawyers, barbers, doctors etc) or your company name. Therefore those reviews are crucial factor for business web visibility and reputation.

In this post, we’ll help businesses handle their online reputation using Google reviews. We offer practical tips on how to manage and remove negative Google reviews proactively and deal with negative feedback effectively.

Need Help Removing Negative Google Reviews?

Who Can Write Reviews on Google?

Any person with a Google (or Gmail) account can write reviews on Google Maps and impact business ratings. The reviews stay permanently and can be visible for years to come.

• Customers. People who visited, shop or even interacted with a business can leave reviews based on their personal experiences. They can rate the businesses on a scale of one to five stars and write comments about their experience.
• Clients can also share their insights, it can provide information about B2B interactions.
• Former and current employees can give their insights.
  • Some disgruntled employees can leave negative reviews and this should be addressed by business owners.
• Competitors, spammers and trolls. Unfortunately, Google’s openness allows for the possibility of competitors or individuals with malicious intent to leave fake or misleading reviews. This can negatively impact a business’s reputation and needs to be reported, or the reviews will stay permanently.
  • Extortion attempts happen when bad actors leave unfair reviews and then contact business owners to remove it for a fee.
  • It happens when trolls and online activists attack businesses after certain events like viral videos with customer interactions, disagreements or current events, politics, social issues etc.

Understanding the Reach of Google Reviews Across Platforms

Among online review platforms, Google Business Profile (Google My Business) reviews on Google Maps have extensive reach, appearing across various online platforms and devices and reaching billions of customers online.

This guide explores where Google Reviews are visible and impactful:

• Google Search Results, the reviews and star rankings appear as snippet in the search results when people search for products, services, or business names.
  • Google search results for local queries (Local Pack), when people use geographic locations like states, regions, cities, towns, zip codes, neighborhoods, etc.
• Google Maps, the business listings with reviews appear on the maps.
• Google My Business, online portal where business owners can manage their online visibility and reviews from the customers.
• Google Maps Applications on Mobile Devices and GPS, business profiles as well as reviews can be seen when people use cell phone and GPS devices for research and navigation purposes.
• Other Google Services, the reviews may appear in Google Ads when the advertiser activate the feature, or Google Shopping results.
• Third-Party Websites and Directories, many networks and services aggregate business information and customer reviews, including Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and niche industry specific directories.

By removing negative reviews on Google, you automatically delete them from other networks where Google Business reviews are shared!

Google Reviews and Rankings Appear on Google Maps and Search

The Impact of Google Maps Reviews on Businesses

Google Maps & Business reviews play a significant role in shaping the public opinion and success of a business. In order to keep their reputation safe, businesses must be vigilant against fake or malicious reviews that can harm their sales. Managing, reporting, and responding to reviews effectively is crucial for maintaining a positive online presence and ensuring customer satisfaction.

There several ways Google reviews can impact businesses:

• Online Visibility and Reputation. Positive reviews can show business’s credibility and improve sales, and bad reviews and rankings can deter potential customers.
  • 90% of consumers read online reviews before buying from business.
• Search Engine Ranking. It is speculated in SEO communities that Google considers the quantity and quality of reviews as a factor in its search rankings algorithms. Businesses with higher ratings might rank higher in local search results. Also, if the business has better reviews, it increases click-though-rate (CTR) to their website.
• Customer Trust and Decision Making. As mentioned earlier, prospective customers read and rely on reviews to make decisions on buying products and services.
  • Research shows that for e-commerce, customer acquisition rate (CPA) can improve by 65% from positive reviews alone.
• Hiring Better Talent. If you want the best people to work for you, consider this, 70% job applicants would decline an interview or job offer if a company has too many 1 or 2-star reviews on networks like Google.
• Sales Impact. Almost 90% of consumers read reviews before buying from business, and 65% of them agree that both positive and negative reviews play a big role in their final decision making process to buy.

Google Business or Maps reviews drive influence over businesses, affecting their online visibility, reputation, search engine rankings, shares and recommendations, customer trust, and even ability to attract top talent. Positive reviews can enhance credibility and drive sales, while negative ones pose risks to customer acquisition and overall business reputation. By leveraging Google reviews effectively, businesses can not only protect and improve their reputation but also capitalize on opportunities to attract new customers and talent.

Positive Google Reviews Play Big Role in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Positive Google Reviews improves search engine optimization (SEO) for businesses in several ways:

• Increased click-through rates (CTR), businesses with higher star ratings and lot of positive reviews are more likely to attract clicks from Google results. You simply take more real estate space in SERP’s and capture human eyes with better stars.
• Improved local SEO, because Google takes into account the quality and quantity of reviews when ranking local businesses in search results. Businesses with more reviews are more likely to rank higher in local search queries, like when people type their city or words like “near me”.
• Keyword relevance, since content in reviews includes keywords related to the business’s products and services.
• Trust and authority, positive reviews build trust and authority for the business. And not only for customers, there are rumors and observations in SEO communities (we can’t confirm), that established businesses with reviews on Google rank better in regular search results as well, and Google includes review count and quality in search algorithm.

How to Deal With Bad Google Reviews

Receiving a bad review on Google is never easy and always hurts, whether it’s from a customer, client or an employee. Even worse when it is fake or false review from a spammer, competitor, or troll. Building your company takes many years, but just a few bad or fake reviews can quickly damage your online reputation.

You have several options:

• Try to resolve the issue offline.
• Respond to the review with an explanation and resolution.
• Flag and appeal the review to take it down.
• Contact Google if you believe that you are under attack from spammers, scammers, trolls

In this post, we’ll guide you through tough decisions of dealing with reviews, and help you find the optimal solution. You’ll find how to report, appeal and remove misleading and fake Google Maps and Business review, write a the best response, avoid mistakes, and even turn a negative Google review into your advantage.

How to Report and Remove Negative Google Maps & Business Review:

There are several ways to report negative Google reviews you believe violate Google rules and fall under prohibited & restricted content.

Steps to Report a Review:

1. Sign in to Google Business Profile (Google My Business)
2. Find the review in question
3. “Flag as inappropriate” the review by clicking three-dot menu
4. Click “submit”
5. The next step, fill the form explaining why the review is innaproporiate, provide as much details as possible to increase chances for successful removal
6. Monitor the status, you might receive the email from Google with their decision.

Google will review your appeal and take action if the moderators find it to be in violation of their policies.

Alternatively You Can Report Google Reviews Without Signing In to Your Google Business Account:

1. Find the review in question
2. “Flag as inappropriate” the review by clicking three-dot menu
3. Google will ask you to log in to your regular Google or Gmail account
4. Pick the most appropriate category why you are submitting the review
5. Click “submit”
6. Monitor the status through your email

You won’t be able to write a detailed explanation why you are flagging the review, instead you hope that moderator will see what you referring to and take appropriate actions.

Google Support Page for Review Removal:

Report Review Through Google Support Page for review removal:

• Go to page: https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773
• Click the button “Request Review Removal”
• Confirm your email / account
• Chose your business from Google Business Profile page
• Select review from the list
• Write why you believe the review violate Google’s Guidelines
• Click “Submit”

Following these steps ensures that you properly report negative Google reviews that violate Google’s guidelines, increasing the chances of their successful removal. By monitoring the status and providing detailed explanations where possible, you can effectively manage your online reputation and maintain the integrity of your business’s reviews on Google Maps and Google Search.

Types of Google Reviews You Can Flag and Report

Google allows you to report reviews that violate its policies, which include:

• Spam and Fake. Reviews that are not genuine.
• Conflict of Interest, when someone is affiliated with business.
• Offensive Content and Profanity. Reviews that contain offensive language, threats, violence, or/and hate speech.
• Illegal Content. Those reviews that contain illegal content or references.
• Off-Topic reviews that have nothing to do with business.
• Buying, Harassment, or Identifiable Information. Review personally attacks specific individual.
• Personal Information such as address, phone, email.

Need Help Removing Bad Google Maps & Business Reviews?

How Long Does it Take for Google to Remove a Review?

Once you submit a review, it takes approximately 2-3 business days for Google moderators to review and make a decision if the review violates it’s rules and should be taken down. You will receive an email with final decision. However, we’ve seen when the reviews were taken down in less than 24 hours, or waited for over a week to get a response.

What are the Chances of Successfully Removing a Negative Google Review After Flagging it?

Google doesn’t disclose the success rate for removing flagged reviews. The likelihood of removing an unfair Google review depends on things like the specific reasons for the appeal, how the review violates Google’s policies, and the evidence provided by the person who flagged review in question. Reviews that obviously break the rules are more likely to be taken down, but still no guarantee. Simetimes it takes several attempts to successfully flag and take down the review. While services that assist with review removal may promise different success rates, none can guarantee 100% removal. Be cautious of anyone claiming otherwise, they may be trying to scam you.

Tips on Improving Your Chances of Flagging and Removing Negative Reviews from Google:

To increase your chance of successfully appealing and removing a negative review from Google, provide as much information as possible when given the opportunity to report. Demonstrate to Google moderators how the review violates the network’s rules and guidelines, provide evidence, especially if it is fake or malicious.

Before taking any action, familiarize yourself with Google’s rules and guidelines for writing reviews. Understanding these rules increases your chances of effectively getting the review removed by Google moderators.

Also, timing is important when reporting a negative review. Instead of rushing into it, take a moment to gather your thoughts and consider waiting. Responding emotionally or emphasizing injustice may not sway Google moderators to take your side. Focus instead on presenting clear evidence that the review not only seems unfair but also breaks rules and guidelines. Moreover, delaying the removal of a review allows the reviewer time to “cool off” and reconsider, they might never even check or follow up writing a replacement well written review designed to avoid future removal.

Building Strong Google Reviews to Offset Negativity

To build a strong defense against future negative reviews, consistently cultivate new Google reviews. Whether managed in-house or through an online reputation management (ORM) firm, this proactive approach ensures that positive feedback accumulated over time can outweigh occasional negative reviews in the future, minimizing their impact on your Google reputation for years to come.

Will My Overall Google Rating Change If a Bad Review is Removed?

Congratulations if Google agrees with your appeal and removed a bad review! Yes, if Google agrees to remove a negative review, especially those bad ones with 1 or 2 stars, your average rating will be recalculated accordingly! The effect on your overall rating very depends on how many total reviews your company has. If you have hundreds or even thousands of reviews, removing one single review might not make a significant difference for star rating. For small businesses, removing one review could lead to a more noticeable change and impact on ratings. Large companies often need many negative reviews removed together with new positive 5-star reviews to see a noticable shift in their Google ratings.

Why Reviews That Clearly Violate Google’s Policy Are Still Approved and Visible?

Google use both, manual or automated, systems to check review submissions. However, with millions of new reviews every day, many questionable reviews can slip through. Google definitely rely on business owners and community to report questionable content. This is why it’s important for businesses to regularly monitor their Google Business Profile (Google My Business) account and flag any questionable reviews.

Example of Inappropriate Review on Google

The inappropriate review pictured above is from a long time ago, but it stayed on Google for years and became viral at some point. Business owners or reputable online reputation management (ORM) companies can flag and remove this type of content fast.

Examples of Bad and Questionable Google Reviews Our Team Was Able to Remove

There are many examples of reviews we had to deal with and remove for people we consulted. Here are some of them.

• A customer at a car dealership wrote a bad Google Maps review and mentioned the name of employee who assisted. Not only it was the first and last name, location, and the job title of the individual, the customer also listed some physical descriptions and how the person was dressed. This type of review was reported as a personal attack and providing easily identifiable information about the person who was doing his job. The review was successfully removed.
• A customer at a restaurant wrote a Google review that the server didn’t understand the language and therefore took incorrect order. Moreover, the customer specified the national origin of the employee. This review was flagged as bullying and harassment, personal attack, discrimination and hate speech. The review in question was removed by Google moderators in less than 24 hours.
• A former employee wrote over 10 negative and fake reviews on Google Maps for the marketing agency, each review was written from fake Gmail accounts, the same person also submitted photos that don’t represent the company. It took us approximately 2 month to remove most reviews and all images from the profile. Unfortunately, some reviews stayed, it was impossible to proof that the reviews were written by the same individual because they were well written from unique established Google account.

What to Do If a Review Can’t Be Removed from Google? Additional Steps to Handle Negative Reviews

Not every review can be successfully removed from Google Business Places (Maps). Some of them are well written, don’t violate any rules, and describe real experience with your business. Still, business owners can take several steps to address those reviews.

• Try to Resolve Offline
  When it’s possible, contact a client or customer who left negative feedback on Google and see if there anything you can do to resolve the issue. Sometimes the person might have change of heart and take down or rewrite review to something positive.
  
• Respond to the Review
  Publicly respond to the review in a professional manner. This shows potential customers and clients that you care about feedback, provide outstanding customer service, and willing to address concerns
  
• Encourage Positive Reviews
  Encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews. This can balance out the negative reviews and improve your overall rating on Google and other networks.
  
• Leverage Other Review Networks
  Other business review networks like Yelp, Glassdoor, BBB and others appear in Google search with the star ratings highlighted. It can help to show the overall positivity in the search results when people are searching for your business name.

Turning Negative Google Reviews into Opportunities for Your Business

Having a few negative reviews on platforms like Google, especially when they offer constructive criticism from reasonable customers who genuinely wish you well and provide suggestions for improvement, won’t hurt your business. In fact, these reviews demonstrate your dedication to delivering best service, improving, and taking customer feedback extra seriously. That’s why it’s crucial for businesses to respond publicly to all Google reviews.

Moreover, if an established business doesn’t have any negative reviews on Google, it might raise suspicions among customers who research product and service and who value diverse opinions from previous clients. They could perceive the lack of negative feedback as “too good to be true” and question whether the business is intentionally hiding genuine reviews or engaging in some sort of deceptive practices.

Effectively managing and responding to negative Google reviews can actually benefit your business by showing customers that you are responsive and trustworthy. Addressing concerns openly and transparently not only resolves issues but also improves your reputation and builds customer loyalty.

Can I Pay or Sponsor Google To Remove Bad Reviews?

No, Google doesn’t hide, bury, or remove reviews for businesses that advertise with them through services like Google Ads (AdWords).

Can I Completely Remove My Business Listing from Google Maps?

No, you can’t delete a business from Google Maps completely. Your best option is to mark it as “Permanently Closed.” Google will maintain this status but won’t completely delete the listing if the business was real. All previous ratings and customer reviews will stay visible for years after it was closed.

Mistakes to Avoid When Dealing with Negative Reviews on Google

Top Mistakes to Avoid While Managing Your Google Business Reviews:

1. Asking customers and clients not to write reviews, we live in free speech society. Plus it can backfire.
2. Confronting negative reviews, trying to explain yourself, it only escalates and makes it worst.
3. Don’t be too defensive when writing replies to bad reviews, it makes things worse.
4. Don’t make legal threats against people who wrote reviews, or against Google itself, it’s counterproductive.
5. Posting positive reviews for your own business, ask employees to post reviews. It is against Google policy and damages trust and credibility.
6. Paying someone for positive reviews, hiring services to post reviews.
7. Spamming Google by submitting too many requests to remove reviews, do one at a time and try again weeks later if the first attempt wasn’t successful.
8. Creating duplicate profiles, it’s against Google’s terms and can backfire

Ethical Issues in Reporting and Removing Negative Reviews on Google Maps and Business

We value free speech and some might ask about the ethics of reporting and removing bad Google reviews. Most review platforms, including Google, let businesses respond or flag content they find unfair, especially if it breaks the rules of the network. It’s totally normal for companies to challenge negative feedback that could damage their reputation. Think of appealing a bad review like hiring a lawyer in a dispute, regardless of who is right or wrong.

Why Companies Struggle to Respond and Flag Negative Reviews On Google

Over 70% of companies do not proactively monitor or manage their Google Business (Google Maps) reviews, and an additional 15% do so inconsistently. Businesses often struggle to take ownership of their Google Business profiles and manage and flag reviews on Google for many reasons.

Firstly, many lack a structured approach or sufficient resources for monitoring and addressing feedback and review challenges. Internal conflicts between departments such as PR, Customer Service, Marketing often arise over who should handle Google responses. For example, Marketing and PR may rely on Customer Service to respond to unhappy customers, while Customer Service expects Marketing to manage it as part of search engine optimization and digital marketing. Secondly, there is often a lack of understanding of the importance of online reputation management (ORM). Thirdly, the massive volume of content and feedback across online networks, including Google, can overwhelm businesses, making it challenging to keep up with all responses and flag inappropriate content. Additionally, some businesses lack policies and guidelines for handling and responding to feedback, news, or content, leading to inconsistent or inadequate responses. For example, a business may actively respond to all Google reviews for a period, only to stop suddenly due to personnel changes or loss of motivation.

These factors contribute to the difficulties in managing online presence and visibility, highlighting the advantages of hiring a reputation management company.

Need Professional Help Deleting Negative and Fake Google Reviews?

The Advantages of Hiring Professional Review Removal Services to Fight Negative, Defamatory, False, Unjust, and Fake Google Maps and Business Reviews

Hiring a professional negative review removal service and reputation management company offers several advantages. Firstly, it saves a lot of time with efficiency by addressing those negative review issues. These services are well prepared and knowledgeable in the review removal process and know all the rules, interpretations, increasing the chances of successful appeals. In addition, they monitor not only Google but other online platforms as well, ensuring quick responses to both good and bad reviews. This helps improve the company’s brand and reputation online.

While business owners can monitor their Google Maps and Business reviews and request removals themselves, the rules and various interpretations can be complex and sometimes require many attempts and appeals. Business owners often find themselves way too busy with operational tasks to effectively manage bad reviews. By delegating this task to a professional reputation management service company, business owners can focus on running their business.

Curious About the Cost of Review Removal Services from a Professional Company?

With most firms, you only pay after the review is removed from platforms like Google. However, some may charge a small service fee regardless of success. At RetainTrust, we only charge after successfully removing negative Google review with no additional fees. We believe in paying for results, not promises.