Are you wondering how to remove Google reviews? Can you remove google reviews? For a business, it’s hard to miss a review. They contribute to the visibility and credibility of your business. But, what should you do in the case of a fake review?
What if you are a customer and the client requests for a review? Sometimes, you may feel that a business has inadequate services, and therefore, you end up giving a bad review.
Then, the client reaches out to you, apologizes for the mistake, and requests you to pull down the comment. There are several ways of how to remove google reviews.
If you are looking for a solution on how to remove bad Google reviews, then this article is for you. We have a solution for both customers and business owners.
But first, you need to understand the importance of a Google review.
Let’s dive in!
Reasons Why you Need Google Reviews
Whether you’re in eCommerce, service provider, digital marketing, hospitality, web design, or any other business, online reviews are essential to your business.
But, the question is, why do you need a Google review? Here is why:
1. Build trust
For a first-timer, a review will help them make a decision. 94% of consumers will avoid a business based on a negative comment.
The more positive reviews and star ratings you have on your website, the better it is for you. Google is the biggest search engine, and so most people will check the reviews before clicking on a business.
With such reviews, new customers tend to trust your business and thereby increase the number of clicks and conversions.
When it comes to the website, for instance, it helps you to evaluate the identity of your brand reputation.
2. Increase visibility
Let’s look at an example. Out of 10 reviews, you have 6 negative reviews. Your competitor, on the other hand, has 2 negative comments out of 10.
Do you think this will affect your visibility? It most certainly will. Such a review should trigger you to look for ways on how to remove Google reviews.
It tells Google that there is a problem with your business. In return, the site with the most positive reviews will appear on the first page of Google.
Therefore, having more 5-star reviews will increase the visibility of your site in Google search results. There are also other things to check in the Google search console to increase ranking.
3. Reputation
As a brand, managing your online reputation should be part of your top priority. Online is where your customers are. Online reviews will affect your business, both positively and negatively.
Responding to a negative review and reassuring your clients can attract new customers to your business. Clients will want to associate with a business with a good reputation.
4. Free feedback
Well, not all clients will give feedback after a service or buying a product. However, most clients who have had a negative experience with a business will often leave feedback.
Having customer feedback is vital as it helps businesses to grow and improve on key areas. A majority of the brands will ask for feedback to help them learn from their audience and improve customer experience.
How to Remove a Google Review
A Google review is essential when attracting and converting clients to a website or business. But what happens in the case of fake reviews?
As a site admin, it’s not possible to press the delete button to erase a comment. However, as a reviewer, it is easy for you to delete a comment.
Find out below how to remove Google reviews.
How to Remove Google Reviews as a Customer
Anyone with a Google account can post a review. After posting a bad review, what if the service provider makes it up to you and asks you to delete the comment?
Follow the steps below to guide you on how to remove Google reviews:
- Log in to your Google maps in your browser.
- Select the three horizontal lines at the left corner of your Google maps. It opens the menu.
- From the dropdown list that appears, scroll down to ‘Your contributions’
- Click this option. Next, click on ‘Reviews.’
- From the ‘Review’ section, check the comment to select the comment. Select the review and click on the three horizontal lines.
- Edit or delete the comment, then click on ‘submit.’
You can also write and edit a review using a mobile phone app.
To write, open the Google Maps app and click on ‘Contribute’ to write a review. To edit the review on the Google maps mobile app, click on ‘Contribute,’ ‘See your reviews,’ then click on the review to edit or delete.
And that is how you delete a review as a customer. It is an easy process to follow.
How To Remove Google Reviews As a Business
Unfortunately, it is not as easy to delete a Google review from Google my Business. The only option for removing a bad review is flagging off the comment or asking the commenter to delete it.
You can also ask for Google’s support to remove the comment. Let’s look at how you can flag off a comment:
- Log in to Google my Business.
- Scroll down to the ‘Reviews’ section. Click to view the reviews.
- Identify the comment and click on the three dots on the review.
- This option presents you with only one choice. That is ‘Flag as inappropriate.’
- After selecting this option, there will be a pop-up that reminds you of Google content review policies. Click on Next to proceed.
- From Google’s ‘Report a policy violation’ window, you have several options to choose from. You also have to enter an email address to proceed.
- To complete the process, click on the submit button. Before submission, check the most appropriate option from the four choices.
For further understanding, let’s have a detailed look at the four flag off options:
1. Post contains harmful, violent, or inappropriate content.
If you realize that a review does not relate to your business or location, you can ask Google to remove the comment. An example is, let’s say you are a restaurant offering delivery services.
A customer leaves a bad review on your business, but you realize it has the wrong information. You can ask Google to remove the comment as it has inappropriate content that can harm your business.
2. Advertising or spam content
For instance, you are a fast-growing business with a good reputation in the industry. Then, a customer leaves a review, asking other customers to follow or join your competition.
Since you cannot delete this comment, you select the option to flag the review, as it contains advertising content. Also, Google will remove a spam review.
3. Off-topic
Some reviewers will copy and paste a review without checking whether it applies to a business or location. They end up posting a review that is off-topic and does not apply to your business.
Such comments can affect your ranking and visibility on search engines. If you come across these comments, you need to flag them off as soon as you can.
4. Conflict of interest
An employee in a business cannot post a review of a company they are working in. In addition, a competitor cannot post a review on a business.
It will spark a conflict of interest. The information can work either or against a business or location. It leads to inaccurate information, which is a violation of Google guidelines.
These are the four ways in which you can flag off inappropriate reviews. However, these methods have some drawbacks. These are:
- The flag off process is slow, and it does not guarantee the removal of a bad/fake review. As a result, you may end up losing potential clients and making bad losses.
- There may be a legit back comment. Therefore, you end up asking Google to flag off the review. But, Google wants the users to be aware of the experience. So, if you are upset with a customer’s opinion, you need to figure out how to manage this situation.
Besides this, you can also ask for assistance using Google my Business support platform. You can email or contact the help desk for further assistance.
If the review about your business or location is legit, Google support will not remove the comment. So, how do you handle a bad review?
How to Handle Bad Google Reviews
You may be working so hard to attract traffic and increase conversion in your business. But sometimes, a client may feel that you did not offer the best services as they wanted.
So what do they do? They end up leaving negative reviews, like a one-star and long unwelcome comments. Here are different ways of how you should handle such a situation:
1. Answer the review
Replying to a negative comment shows that you accept a customer’s opinion and own up to your mistake. Do not be rude when answering a negative comment. You may end up hurting the reputation of your business.
Be professional and make an honest apology. In case a prospecting client comes across the response, it may convince them to ask for your services.
From Google my Business, log into your account, then click on your profile. Identify the review to post your response and click on reply.
2. Ask the customer to delete the review.
You can politely ask the customer to delete a comment using a private platform like email. Before you ask a client to remove a review, you need to reply to the negative comment.
If they reply to your comment, you can request them to remove the negative comment. Be patient with the customer and do not use harsh words. Remember to make the conversation offline.
3. Accept responsibility
Have you come across the phrase, the customer is always right? Own your mistakes and promise better services. You do not want to make losses or lose potential clients because of a bad review.
You may not always be right, and acceptance should be the first step.
4. Follow up on a customer.
For instance, you are a B2C business. One of your clients is disappointed with your services. The customer posts a bad Google review about your business.
The best solution for this is to respond to the review, then follow up on the client. You can also adjust the problem from your business. To make it to the customer, you can re-invite them back and ask for a positive review.
How to Ask for a Review
Having as many four-star or five-star reviews increases the credibility and visibility of your business. Most customers will look at a review and decide on an action to take.
If you want your customers to leave a review, there are several ways of asking for reviews. These are:
- Create a customer review email template. If you are in B2C, for instance, you can send personalized emails after a successful transaction.
- You can create a pop-up with the Google review link. It makes it easy for the client to leave a review. An example of a Google link generator tool is the WhiteSpark.
- Ask for reviews from your loyal customers. If you notice your happy clients, you can ask for a review from them in a reasonable way. You do not want to turn them off with messages asking for reviews.
- For an effective way to encourage positive reviews, consider using a Google Review Card for business.
How to Remove Google Reviews. Is it worth it?
If you want to build trust, have free feedback, and increase ranking on search engines, you should be keen on how to remove Google reviews.
This guide has detailed steps on how to remove Google reviews. These reviews help you to offer better services and improve on customer experience.
If your business or location is not Google, consider creating an account on Google my Business and verify it. You will flag off inappropriate reviews, reply, and request for reviews.
To remove unsatisfactory comments, follow the steps above. Reviews have a negative and positive impact on your business. Keep check of how your clients interact with your business and make the necessary adjustments.
