How To Delete Google Reviews - And When You Should

Google provides a service that allows website owners to review and respond to their customers' online reviews.

The idea is to use this system to help Google identify poor-quality websites and provide valuable information about them to other users.

But not all local businesses use it, which leads to bad reviews on Google. And this can be a problem if you have a high-ranking website (say, an eCommerce store or an affiliate link site) because it makes you look bad in front of potential customers searching for information about your business.

This article will explain how to get rid of a bad google review or from the low-star rating system.

Google Reviews: What Are They and Can You Delete Them?

To begin with, let's clarify what a Google review is so we can move forward.

Unlike other review sites like Yelp, Google is integrated directly into its search engine with its apps and business tools. When looking at a Google My Business review, check for the following elements to determine whether it's a Google review:

Under the star rating, there is a hyperlink titled "Google reviews" or "# Reviews." In addition, you can access individual reviews by clicking this link.
Reviewers have not named any other companies.
There is a one to five rating scale.

Google reviews aren't always visible on Google my Business listing, but you'll be able to recognize them if they appear. Unfortunately, as far as Google's reviews are concerned, there is no simple "delete" option available. In contrast, only two methods exist for removing a review.

Reviewers can remove spammy reviews, or businesses can "flag them as inappropriate." Google receives an alert when you flag a review as a fake review or not compliant with its review policies.

Once this process has finished, you will get redirected to the landing page below, where you can submit your email for follow-up communication.

Google's review system has an automated spam checker that detects inappropriate, irrelevant, or misleading content. It's a reliable feature, but sometimes inaccurate reviews can get noticed, negatively impacting your brand's online reputation.

How Bad Are “Bad” Reviews For Your Business?

Google reviews can be both good and bad. A few negative reviews mixed in with mostly positive reviews is good, as it proves that you're a real business and not just asking your family and friends for a positive experience review.

On the other hand, you will find negative reviews even on the best-rated companies in your area. Conflicts of interests are inevitable, because you can't please everyone all the time.

According to studies, perfect 5-star ratings do not convert as well as 4.9-star ratings. So you won't need to be discouraged from choosing you over a competitor by a small number of negative reviews. However, deleting a review that violates Google's content policy is worth considering in the case of a fake review.

When Should You Delete A Google Review?

It is only possible to remove some negative reviews your business receives. When a customer experience is genuinely bad with your company and voices that opinion in a review, you cannot request that Google remove the review. Although it hurts your online reputation, there's nothing you can do.

Google will remove a review only if it violates its terms and conditions. Fortunately for businesses, Google takes its review removal process very seriously, and certain types of content are off-limits.

The following types of reviews are eligible for deletion.

Deceptive Content

It is deceptive If your content inaccurately represents your location or product or is not based on an authentic experience. According to Google, deceptive content is also content with impersonations, misinformation, misrepresentations, or fake engagement.

Adult Content

To protect consumers from mature derogatory content, Google will remove any explicit content that contains slang, contains sexual content, contains adult themes, or contains violence or gore, or other inappropriate content.

Regulated, Dangerous, And Illegal

Content that promotes dangerous activities or has calls to action for products or services might be removed by Google if they are subject to local legal regulations. Also included are unsuitable and inappropriate videos that children should not view.

Information Quality

As stated previously, Google's content policy requires review content to be "You can share your experiences at a specific location or ask questions about your experiences."

Therefore, the site does not permit political posts, general rants, information about COVID-19, etc. It is also forbidden to advertise a product, service, or particular business in a review is also prohibited.

In short, even if your business gets bad reviews, you may not need to remove it. Instead, a removal request must include at least one of the above factors. A review containing any of the above is warranted and recommended for removal from Google.

Steps to Delete a Google Review

There is no big "delete" button to delete the review from Google.

However, if your business has received a review that violates Google's content policy, you can remove the review in a few different ways. Flagging the review as a policy violation is the first and most obvious way to do so.

The steps you need to follow to delete Google Reviews are as follows:

On your computer, sign in to your Google account.
Visit business.google.com
Click on the left-hand navigation menu.
You can flag a review by selecting the "More" icon (three horizontal dots) next to it.
Then select "Flag review"
Please select the reason you are flagging a Google review.
Then click the "Submit" button.

Here's how to delete Google Reviews on Android:

On your Android device, open Google Maps.
Navigate to your Business Page by clicking the picture of your profile at the top of your screen.
Click “Reviews.”
Next, you need to find the review you want to report.
Click “Report review.”

Here is a step by step process for deleting Google Reviews on iPhone and iPad:

On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Maps app.
Go to your Business Profile by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner.
Tap “Reviews.”
Locate the review you would like to delete.
Tap “Delete review.”

Three other Ways to Remove Google Reviews

1 . You Can Ask The Unhappy Customer To Edit Or Delete The Negative Review.

The process of responding to bad reviews takes some time and effort, but the result is worth it in the long run, as reputation management is not something that comes easily.

By deleting a negative review, you can convert a liability into a lifelong marketer for your company.

The following is a step-by-step guide to making the most of bad situations and

Consider your customer's point of view before responding to poor reviews on Google Reviews.
Now that you're aware of the issue, ask yourself these questions: What are they complaining about, and can you fix it?
To respond directly to the customer's review on Google, analyse the situation, then ensure the review is genuine.
As soon as you've addressed the customer's concerns, you can ask them to edit or remove their negative Google review.
Hopefully, your polite request will be accepted if you've succeeded up until this point.

Even if they refuse to remove reviews, you can flag them for Google to evaluate; even if they remain, your comments will show that you - as the business owner - attempted to resolve the issue immediately.

2. You Can Remove The Negative Review Of Your Business By Tweeting @Googlesmallbiz

Whenever the above two options don't seem to need fixing, you can try Twitter, the age-old medium for expressing discontent.

For example, Imagine you flagged a review as inappropriate, but have yet to receive a response. Maybe you responded to the reviewer, but they never responded.

You can certainly complain to Google itself in a public forum after researching the problem.

Since people can see what tweets Google receives there, they should address any concerns as soon as possible.
Send a tweet to @GoogleSmallBiz about your situation. Follow them as well, so they can respond to you through Direct Messages.
Include screenshots (along with a description and a link) in your tweet or Direct Message to Google's Small Business department.

As a result, they will be able to identify the problem more clearly and address it directly and efficiently.

3. Make A Legal Removal Request To Remove The Negative Review Of Your Business.

There is one last option you can use to remove negative Google reviews of your small business, but it will only apply to a limited amount of situations.

For example, when people submit illegal content, offensive content or add an inappropriate review, you can ask Google to remove it. Navigate to Google Business Profile Manager and select Content Removal Tool to report an illegal review.

In the following few pages, Google will ask questions about your complaint and the review. It's an essential matter for Google, and it's for a good reason. Whenever you submit one of these reports, there might be allegations of illegal activity or wrongdoing, so Google must follow the proper protocol.

Also, if you wish to file multiple complaints, each must be submitted separately “For each Google service that displays the content.”

Conclusion

Having a Google Business Profile is like having a digital storefront for your business.

Additionally, it serves as a way for your customers to share their insights directly with you. For your profile to appear legitimately, you need to have real and legitimate reviews. They should not manipulate ratings.

Thus, maintaining a strong review profile requires flagging any reviews that violate Google's review policies.

FAQs

1. Can you delete reviews that are fake or negative?

In Google Reviews, you can't outright delete a google review, so if you suspect a review has fake content, you'll have to proceed through the formal review process for removing negative reviews.

Since Google needs to verify that your request is legitimate before taking down a review, it may take some time to process.

2. How long does it take to remove fake google reviews?

The process of removing false reviews takes Google five to twenty days. During that time, hundreds of people could be viewing your profile without realising the review was fake. Regardless of whether the review is real or fake, make sure you read the content.

3. How do I dispute a fake Google review?

You can follow the below-given steps to dispute a fake Google review.

Log in to your Google account on your computer.
Visit business.google.com
Click on the top left-hand navigation menu.
You can flag a review by selecting the "More" icon (three horizontal dots) next to it.
Then select "Flag as inappropriate."
Please select the reason you are flagging a Google review.
Then click the "Submit" button.

4. Are false Google reviews illegal?

Using fake ratings usually violates the terms of service of a platform and can lead to a ban. As with the company buying fake reviews, those who sell them are responsible for displaying them on their profiles.

5. Is it illegal to leave a false review on Google?

Every business review site's terms of service prohibit fake reviews.

Therefore, if you try to manipulate your brand reputation or harm that of your competitors through fake reviews, you could be subject to legal action.

6. Why should I be concerned with Google reviews?

Today's news spreads quickly, and internet reviews on platforms like Google play a significant and growing role in influencing our purchasing behaviour.

You've almost definitely looked for and seen third-party hotel reviews, scoured Amazon reviews, perused TripAdvisor, and even launched the Google Maps app on your own at some point and made selections based on these.

This clearly shows the importance of Google reviews for any business.

7. How to get more positive reviews?

Develop a strategy to ask for more reviews from your customers. This can include focusing on customer satisfaction and responding to all the reviews as quickly as possible.

These are some things that can help you get more positive faeedback and good reviews about your local business.