Bad reviews on Google My Business (GMB) can cause massive damage to your business’ online reputation. When a customer searches for a business online, these negative reviews will often be one of the first things they’ll see.
Now, before we proceed with explaining how to proceed in situations where you start getting bad reviews, we want to make it clear that you first understand that a bad review cannot be removed on GMB unless there is a legitimate reason that warrants removal – such as violating Google’s Terms of Service.
However, this does not mean that there’s nothing you can do to improve your reputation when you’re stuck with negative reviews. In fact, these are a great opportunity to show a high level of customer care. Let’s go through this in more detail.
Main Takeaways From This Article:
- Understand Google’s review policies to identify eligible violations for removing online reviews.
- Flag any inappropriate review through Google My Business and monitor the status of your request.
- Some Google reviews can’t be removed due to platform policies and ethical constraints.
- Respond professionally to legitimate negative reviews to maintain credibility, enhance customer trust, and encourage positive reviews.
- Utilize tools like Reviewshake to monitor and respond to online feedback effectively.
Is It Possible to Delete Bad Reviews on Google Business?
As we mentioned previously, you cannot delete or remove Google reviews from your Google business profile. User-generated content is the absolute priority as Google aims to provide potential customers with a truthful and accurate overview of a business. Flagging reviews is possible in scenarios where the review violates terms of service. Google will then check the review for violations and remove the review if it does indeed violate ToS.
How To Delete Google Reviews From Your Business Profile
As you can see, there are two main approaches when it comes to dealing with negative reviews on Google My Business: you can flag reviews that violate Google’s policies and you can respond constructively to legitimate negative feedback.
Understand Google’s Review Policies
The first step is to understand Google’s review policies. These policies prohibit reviews containing:
- Offensive Content: Reviews containing hate speech or discriminatory remarks based on race, gender, or other protected attributes are often removed by Google.
- Deceptive Content: Fake Google reviews, such as made-up third-party hotel reviews or those intended to increase a business’s ratings.
- Mature Content: Reviews featuring adult themes that are inappropriate for a general audience.
- Regulated/Dangerous/Illegal Content: Content promoting illegal activities or selling regulated goods and services.
- Low-Quality Information: Spam or unrelated comments that do not add value.
- Harassment or Bullying: This includes reviews that include threats, harassment, or bullying of any kind, which would generally be a clear violation of Google’s policies.
- SPAM Content: If a review seems automated, off-topic, or intended to manipulate ratings, pay close attention to this review and analyze it. You can also do a quick Google search or check out locations on Google Maps to help identify fake accounts and content.
- Conflicts of Interest: If the review is posted by a current or former employee or business owner about their businesses, it might fall under this category.
- Profanity or Vulgar Language: It is against Google’s content guidelines to use inappropriate, offensive, or profane language. Because of this, reviews violating the ToS in this manner can be flagged for removal.
Identify Violations
Once you’ve familiarized yourself with Google’s policies, carefully examine the content of the negative review.
- Does it contain profanity, hate speech, or personal information?
- Is it blatantly promotional or unrelated to your business?
If the review falls under one of Google’s violation categories, proceed with flagging it. Google takes specific criteria into account when evaluating flagged reviews. Identifying these violations can streamline the removal process and increase your chances of success.
Flag the Review in Google My Business
To flag a review for deletion, log in to your Google My Business account. This step is essential to report review findings and alert Google to any content violating its policies.
Here’s a quick guide on how to complete this process:
- Track down the review: Go to the Reviews section of your business listing profile to find the negative review.
- Flag the review: Find the three vertical dots icon and select “Flag as inappropriate”. Make sure that the review is actually in violation of ToS before you start flagging any reviews, do not suppress legitimate reviews of your business.
- Report the violation: Choose the appropriate category of violation to provide information on why the review needs to be deleted. Make sure to provide any supporting evidence if possible.
- Hit ‘Submit’: After submitting the flag, wait for Google to review and decide on the potential removal of the flagged review.
Monitor Review Removal Status
Once you’ve flagged the review for removal, monitoring the status is crucial to ensure that appropriate actions are taken swiftly. Here’s how to implement this:
- Consistently check your dashboard: Sign into your GMB dashboard frequently to see if you’ve received any updates regarding the review that was flagged.
- Email notifications: Google will usually send an email notification about the status of your request, so make sure you’re checking your email regularly.
- Document the Process (optional): Maintain a record of each step taken, including when the review was flagged and any follow-up actions. This can be useful for any potential appeal.
Submit a One-Time Appeal, If Necessary
If your first effort to flag a review did not result in its removal, Google will let you submit a one-time appeal. But we can’t stress this enough. You should only take this step if you’re fully confident that the review violates Google’s policies and ToS and your previous attempts were not successful. Do not try to flag legitimate reviews!
Here’s how you can submit a one-time appeal:
- Step 1: Gather evidence. As we mentioned earlier, you should only flag a review that actually violates the Terms of Service. So gather evidence that the review is in violation of Google’s policies first.
- Step 2: Log Into Google My Business: Access your business profile and navigate to the “Check the status of a review I reported previously and appeals options” section to find the appropriate form for submitting your appeal.
- Step 3: Fill out the form: At the bottom of the page, click “Appeal Eligible Reviews”. You can select up to 10 reviews at a time. Make sure you’re giving them all the relevant details, including links to the review and explanations of why it needs to be removed.
- Step 4: Submit. Once you’ve completed the form, click “Submit”.
- Step 5: Monitor Status. Check your email and the Google My Business dashboard for updates regarding your appeal.
Why Removing Every Negative Review Isn’t Possible
There are several reasons why Google won’t remove every negative review, even if you believe it’s unfair:
Platform Policies
Google wants to make sure users are getting a comprehensive and accurate picture of a business and allows customers to make informed decisions.
Though offensive or irrelevant content ought to be filtered out, honest reviews are valued – even if they’re negative.
The platform aims to give customers a full picture of a business and to allow them to make informed decisions. Negative public feedback can be addressed in a professional manner and can offer useful insights into areas that the business should focus on improving.
Ethical & Legal Considerations
Attempting to delete all negative reviews can be seen as unethical and manipulative. Ironically, information such as this coming to light could do a lot more harm to your reputation than a negative review.
Transparency
Customers appreciate seeing an authentic portrayal of a business and especially love seeing how a business handles negative feedback. Is there additional tension in the reply from the business side? Does the business shift the blame? Or did they promptly reply to go above and beyond and resolve the issue and win the customer over? How a business handles negative feedback can say more about the business than a perfectly clean public feedback as a result of inauthenticity.
Constructive Feedback
Not all negative reviews are malicious. Bad reviews can be a goldmine for constructive feedback, too, offering insights into areas where your business can improve. Some may contain valuable, constructive feedback that can help you improve your business.
By reading and understanding the criticism in negative reviews, you can identify areas for improvement and enhance the customer experience. This demonstrates a commitment to growth and can turn a negative experience into a positive opportunity.
Customer Trust and Engagement
Replying to negative feedback thoughtfully will show prospects that you value your customers and have commitment to ensuring they have an outstanding experience. On top of that, it’s also quite possible that your reply can turn that negative review into a positive interaction and you might be able to right the wrong.
Tips for Handling Legitimate Negative Google Reviews
Even the top enterprises will get negative feedback here and there. While you cannot delete legitimate negative reviews, you’re able to take steps to improve the outcome they have on your reputation and turn them into positive interactions.
Act Quickly
It’s super important to act quickly when dealing with negative reviews on Google My Business. Responding quickly will tell the market and your audience that you care about your customers.
Here’s how you can do this efficiently:
- Acknowledge the reviewer right away. Make sure they know you’ve seen their feedback and you’re looking into the matter.
- Resolve the matter quickly. The faster you solve the issue, the more likely it is that the customer will be satisfied.
- Follow up. Ensure that your follow-up communication is on point and that you’re providing updates as needed to keep the customer in the loop.
- Apologize swiftly. If necessary, apologize immediately to show that you regret their negative experience.
- Investigate rapidly. Investigate the issue quickly to provide a well-informed response rather than generic statements.
Here’s how to perfect your tone:
Maintaining a professional tone when responding to negative reviews is crucial. Professional responses provide an opportunity to rectify issues and showcase your communication skills.
Here’s how you can perfect your professional tone:
- Approach each review while being calm and collected, regardless of how frustrated you might be.
- Always use polite language and address the reviewer kindly. Avoid confrontational or dismissive tones.
- Clearly outline the exact steps that you’ll take to address the issue and resolve customer’s concerns.
- Avoid emotional or subjective takes and arguments. You’re here to resolve the issue and assist the customer objectively in a calm manner.
- Always sign off professionally. Say “thank you” or “best regards” in your replies.
Acknowledge and Apologize
When faced with a legitimate negative Google review, acknowledging the customer’s experience and offering a sincere apology can go a long way in recapturing customer trust. Here’s how you can do this:
- Phrases like “I understand your disappointment with..” or “we’re truly sorry that your experience with us fell short” shows that you’ve listened to the customer and are approaching the situation in a respectful and helpful manner.
- If your business made a mistake, own up to it. Contrary to what many people may assume, customers seeing a business recognize their mistakes and resolving issues are likely to have an appreciation for said business. No one is perfect and customers just want the businesses to put in their best effort to help them out when things happen.
Offer to Make Things Right
Trying to make things right with the customer can make or break your online reputation and your business. Here are a few things to take into account:
- Offer a gesture of goodwill, such as a replacement, refund or complimentary service.
- Make sure to communicate with the customer and follow up to confirm that their issue has been resolved.
- Remind the reviewer that they can always contact you to discuss any additional issues or concerns.
Managing Negative Reviews and Your Online Reputation
While negative reviews can be discouraging, remember that they don’t define your business. By responding professionally and taking steps to address customer concerns, you can effectively manage your online reputation.
Reviewshake can be a valuable ally in managing your online reputation effectively. With Reviewshake, you can:
- Centralize Review Management: Gather reviews from over 100 platforms into a single, easy-to-navigate dashboard, making it simple to monitor and respond to feedback.
- Automate Review Requests: Streamline the process of collecting new reviews by sending out automated, personalized requests via email and SMS.
- Showcase Positive Feedback: Use widgets and Rich Snippets to highlight your best reviews on your website and social media, enhancing your brand’s visibility and credibility.
- Leverage Advanced Analytics: Gain insights into review performance, conduct sentiment analysis, and benchmark against competitors to inform strategic decisions.
- Streamline Communications: Utilize the Inbox feature to organize all customer interactions, including review requests and private feedback, into one comprehensive timeline.
Ready to take control of your online reviews? Try Reviewshake for free and discover how our platform can help you manage and improve your online reputation efficiently.
