Introduction
So, Google lets people give reviews about any company, whether the company asks for them or not. This is good for making your business look good online and getting more people to know about it. But what if someone gives you a review that you don’t like? Can you make it go away? Today, we’ll figure out if it’s possible to delete or turn off Google reviews.
Not all Google reviews are the same. To know how to remove a review from Google, you first need to figure out where the review is on the internet.
Is it possible to delete Google reviews?
Removing Google reviews can be tricky, but it’s not impossible. Google doesn’t make it easy because they want reviews to truly reflect people’s opinions. They don’t provide a simple ‘delete’ option to prevent companies from manipulating feedback, which could make things unfair.
Instead, what Google allows is flagging. If you think a review breaks the rules they set, you can flag it. This brings the review to Google’s attention, and they might check it to see if it follows their guidelines or not.
First, let’s think about whether it’s really necessary to delete your Google reviews.
These days, reviews from customers are super important, especially on Google. A lot of people (about 64%) check out Google reviews before deciding to go to a business, so keeping a good reputation there is crucial.
Now, having perfect scores (all 5s) on every review isn’t as crucial as you might think. People are getting used to seeing some negative reviews, and it doesn’t bother them as much as it used to. In fact:
About 30% of folks might think the reviews are fake if there are no negative ones. Interestingly, more than half of buyers (52%) trust a product more if there are a few negative reviews mixed in.
So, having a couple of not-so-great reviews isn’t always a bad thing. It can make your business seem more real and trustworthy.
How can you delete reviews on Google for your business?
On your Google My Business page, Google doesn’t check the reviews before they’re shown. Anyone with a Gmail address can leave a review. This might worry businesses because unhappy customers or even people who didn’t buy anything can write reviews.
If this happens and the review breaks Google’s rules, you can let them know by flagging it. They’ll take a look and decide if it should stay or go.
How to report a Google review?
Google gives business owners a way to deal with reviews on their My Business page. You can log in to your account, find a review you don’t like, and tell Google about it. They might check it and decide whether to keep it or remove it.
This covers reviews that:
- Were written without actually trying your product or service.
- Use mean language, make personal attacks, or talk about unrelated things.
Here’s what you do if you think a review breaks Google’s rules:
- Log in to your Google My Business account.
- Pick your business location and go to ‘Reviews’ in the menu.
- Find the review, click the 3 dots on the right, and choose ‘Flag as inappropriate’.
- But what if someone gives you just a 1-star rating without explaining why? Well, Google doesn’t require a comment for reviews, so that’s not against the rules. Also, it’s tough to tell if a review is from someone who bought your product.
If you believe a review is unfair, your best shot at getting it removed is by flagging it.
How to reply to bad reviews on Google
If you get a bad review on Google, one way to deal with it is by responding directly to the customer. Surprisingly, customers often appreciate getting a response, especially on Google.
By replying carefully and politely, you can try to solve the customer’s problem. Even if the review score doesn’t change, it shows others that your business cares about customer service, making the negative impact less on potential customers.
You can also use your replies to expose fake reviews. If you didn’t have any record of the order or if you believe the review is fake and can prove it, you can say so in your response.
This helps other customers know which reviews to trust and might make Google more likely to take down fake reviews that have been flagged.
Request the reviewer to change their feedback.
When you respond to negative reviews on Google, it can have a bonus: you might be able to ask the person who gave the bad review to change it. Maybe you’ve fixed the problem, or maybe they mixed up your business with another. Politely point out the situation and ask them to edit or remove their review.
Unlike businesses, regular customers can edit or delete the reviews they write on Google.
How to disable Google Reviews.
If you’re finding it tough dealing with Google reviews and are thinking of just turning them off, well, it’s not that easy. You can’t turn off Google reviews.
Google wants anyone with a Gmail account to be able to share their thoughts about your business through reviews. So, if you’re concerned about your online reputation, the best thing to do is actively ask your customers to write more positive reviews for your business on Google.
How to get more reviews on Google
Did you know that most of your happy customers are likely to write a review if you simply ask them? People are usually busy and might not think about leaving a review unless you remind them.
If you want more positive Google reviews, you can use REVIEWS.io. With our Local Reviews feature, you can guide your customers to different websites, including Google, to share their feedback.
We also have Review Boosters, which help you ask past customers for reviews. This way, you can get lots of positive reviews quickly, making it easier to overshadow the few negative ones with a bunch of happy customer testimonials.
How to prevent getting bad reviews on Google.
If you’re reading this, you probably don’t have tons of positive reviews; usually, people want to know how to get rid of negative ones. While learning how to stop bad online reviews won’t remove the ones you already have, it can help hide them and make it less likely to get more in the future.
In Conclusion
If you’ve got a review on Google that you don’t like, there’s no magic trick to make it disappear except for flagging it. Unfortunately, once a review is up, it usually stays there. The real trick to handling your online reputation is stopping those negative reviews from happening in the first place and making sure you gather lots of positive ones. If you focus on that, you probably won’t need to bother with removing Google reviews ever again.
