How to Remove Reviews from Google Business

How to Delete a Google Review in GBP – Quick Steps

1. Launch Google Maps and pinpoint your business’s location.
2. Locate the review on the Google reviews page.
3. Flag the review as inappropriate.
4. Opt for the “Report Review” option.
5. Specify the reason for reporting the review.
6. Proceed to report the Google review.

Google reviews play a major role today in the decision-making by customers about a business or service. Be it making a purchase or dining out at a restaurant or service or product, before deciding to find the best and right service provider or restaurant, most of us look for the reviews provided by the customers who had an experience with a particular business or service. Our decision is mostly influenced by the reviews in this case. Unfortunately, there are paid reviews and fake reviews so relying only on the reviews may not always be correct.

What is a Google Review in Google My Business

Every business wants to provide the best service and good customer experience. Many businesses request customers to provide feedback on the experience and service quality provided by the Google Business page of the specific business. Also, it is a general practice for customers to provide reviews from the specific Google Business review page after their interaction with a specific business mainly if they had some negative experience.

Customers are free to provide any rating on a scale of 1 to 5 denoting stars in the reviews under the Google Business page based on their experience and satisfaction with the service provided or goods purchased. Also, customers are free to provide feedback in text form describing their experience and satisfaction with the specific business listed in Google Business.

Studies show that 82% of customers won’t go for a business or service provider until they read the Google reviews and ratings for that business from Google’s business page. Google is the preferred review site for more than 64% of consumers before deciding to choose a restaurant to eat.

Is it Possible to Delete a Google Review?

Unfortunately, Google does not provide a straightforward “delete” option for reviews. Instead, there are only two methods to have a review removed. The person who posted the review can delete it, or your business can “flag the review as inappropriate.” Flagging the review notifies Google that the review violates Google’s review guidelines.

Examples of Google Reviews from Google My Business

Step 1: Search for any Company

Here as an example, we are searching for the term ‘IT companies in East Tambaram’ from Google search.

Search from Google for ‘IT companies at East Tambaram’

Step 2: Review Listings

You will get the result with a list of IT companies and the number of reviews with the rating on a scale of 1 – 5 denoted as stars on the left side.

Review Listings

Step 3: Click on a specific business to view the details

This will take you to the Google Business profile page where the details about the business and the summary of reviews are displayed. As an example, we selected ‘Beracahsoft India Pvt. Ltd’

Review summary for the selected business

Step 4: Click on the link

Click on the link ‘More Google reviews’ and you can view all reviews provided for the business. The reviews can be ‘Sort by’, ‘Most relevant’, ‘Newest’, ‘Highest’, and ‘Lowest’

View of ‘More Google Reviews’ list

What is a Bad Review in Google My Business

Google wants to make sure the users are getting genuine and unbiased comments about your business or customer’s experience with the business.

Bad reviews can be mostly genuine but can also be fake or inaccurate or may be from a specific or isolated customer experience and may not reflect the overall service standard of the business.

Since bad reviews could affect a business, most businesses like to remove the bad reviews, mostly the fake or inaccurate reviews that describe the business in a bad light which may lead to losing valuable customers.

Remove Reviews from your Business Profile on Google

Google My Business profile may have reviews posted by users, both positive and negative or bad reviews. Reviews provided by customers can help potential customers review your business and make a choice. Removing bad reviews is not an easy process. Also, it may take time or the bad reviews may never be removed at all.

You can remove the review by:

1. Report to Google itself.

2. Write to the customer or the user who provided the review.

How to Remove a Bad Review Report by Flagging a Review as Bad

Step 1: Log in to Google My Business Profile

Go to Google and log in to your Google My Business profile.

Login to Google My Business

Step 2: View Google Business Profile Manager

On successful login to Google My Business, the user can view the Google My Business Profile Manager page as below. If there are multiple locations created for the business it will be displayed. Users need to select the ‘See your profile’ link to go to the specific profile.

Google Business Profile Manager

Step 3: View Google My Business Profile

In the Business on Google page, users can view all details about the selected business and the reviews received.

View Google My Business Profile

Step 4: Go to View all reviews

There is a link called ‘View all Google reviews’ to see all the reviews posted by users. Click this link to view all reviews.

View all Google reviews link

Step 5: Go to Review and Click on Three Vertical Dots

From all the reviews received from customers, go to the Review you want to remove. There are three vertical dots displayed at the right side against each review.

View all Reviews

Step 6: Select Report Review

After clicking on the three dots at the right side of the review select the option ‘Report Review’ from the menu displayed to report about the review to Google.

Report Review menu option

Step 7: Select the Reason for Reporting a Review and Press Send Report

A new popup window opens with options to select ‘Why are you reporting this review?’. There are six reasons displayed, to select from for the reason for reporting a review.

Select the reason and send the report

Step 8: Report Sent Confirmation Window Displayed

As you press ‘Send Report’, a confirmation window with details of when the response will be received, will be displayed.

Confirmation window with response time

How to Remove Google Reviews By Requesting the Customer

Google recommends contacting the customer to resolve any misunderstanding and get the bad review removed or edited by the review provider.

Step 1: Click on the Reply button

Navigate to the specific review you wish to have removed. Click on the “Reply” button within the review and compose a response to the customer. In your reply, address the review and provide an explanation regarding the rating

Step 2: Enter your response and then your Reply

After adding your reply press on Reply Button to send it. This way you can clear if there is any misunderstanding or can thank them for their valuable feedback. This will help your business by showing it in a positive light.

Send a reply to the reviewer

File a Legal Request to Remove the Bad Review of your Business

In certain limited cases, it is possible to remove unfavourable Google reviews from your business profile, primarily when the content is illegal. Typically, this pertains to instances of slander, which is against the law in the United States.

To report an unlawful review, access the Content Removal Tool and opt for the Google Business Profile Manager. Google will guide you through a series of questions about the review and the specific content you find objectionable.

Google treats these reports with utmost seriousness, given the potential legal implications. If you choose to submit such a report, you are essentially alleging illegal activity, prompting Google to follow strict protocols throughout the process.

Please note that if you have multiple complaints involving different Google services, each complaint must be submitted separately.

How to Get More Reviews from Customers

Additionally, by getting more good reviews the bad reviews may go down and ratings will increase. We can request customers to post reviews about your business. Follow the below steps to request reviews from customers

Step 1: Click on Get More Reviews

Click the button ‘Get more reviews’ from the View All Reviews page.

Click on Get More News

Step 2: Copy the Review Link

From the ‘Get more reviews’ page, copy the ‘Review Link’, URL for adding a new review by a customer and send it to a customer through Email, Whatsapp Facebook or any other messaging app.

Copy Link

Step 3: Go to the Review Link

Request the Customer to go to the link. The customer needs to go to the Review Link received from the browser. This will take the customer to the add review window of your business.

Going to the URL received for review

Step 4. Add Review and Click on Post

Customers can add reviews about your business from the popup window displayed from the review link. Both rating and review details can be added and posted to the business from this window. When the ‘Post’ button is clicked the review details will be added and displayed from the Reviews page of the business.

Add a review and post it

What happens after Reporting to Google

• When we flag a Review as Bad and submit the reason for it, then initially Google will respond with an acknowledgement email.
• After the internal review by Google for the bad review and the reason flagged, they will respond with their decision.
• Google generally says that the review did not violate their review policies unless there was an evident violation of review policies or a mistake from the customer end which can be proven.

What to do if Google does not resolve the Issue

• If Google does not resolve the bad review issue then it asks us to contact the user who provided the feedback to resolve any misunderstanding if the review was not accurate.
• So the next best option is to engage in a conversation with the customer who had a negative or unsatisfied service experience. Apologize to them for the negative experience and promise them the best service next time by extending an invitation to serve them again.
• So communication understanding and acknowledging your mistake by promising to serve them better is the right way to win back customers
• Businesses should always be genuine and serve the customers with the motto ‘customer is the king’ and strive to provide ‘customer delight’.
• Use the ‘Ask for Review’ option from the ‘Your business on Google’ page to reach your customers and ask them to provide their valuable reviews and feedback. This option will provide a link to add reviews for your business.
• Take time to read all reviews for your business and respond to the customers appropriately and professionally. Your customers will appreciate the value you give to their input and feedback.
• Take genuine negative reviews positively and work on improving the service or product quality and reach more customers.

Conclusion

In Google My Business reviews, there could be ‘Bad’ reviews among user reviews for some reason. The reviews help the business to correct the shortcomings and help provide the best service. But sometimes the bad reviews can also turn away potential customers from your business. So if the review was incorrect or someone purposely posted a bad review to bring down the business, then we can report to Google to remove it. This can be done in two ways as discussed above in the article.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to view Google My Business results reviews?

Google My Business reviews appear next to your listing in Maps and Search results when a user searches for a business or service from Google Search.

How to flag a specific Google Review?

Search for the specific business and select the review from the list click report and select the reason from the list of options shown.

What if Google does not remove a bad review?

If Google does not remove then the other option is to contact the concerned reviewer, discuss with him about the reason explain your side, and see if the review can be removed.

What other options available to overcome the bad reviews?

Provide the best service, learn your shortcomings from the reviews left by customers and improve the services and offerings. Request for reviews from all satisfied customers and that could help add more value to your business and ride over any bad reviews. This will also increase your rating and what most customers see first is the rating.