How To Remove Bad Google Reviews and Repair Your Brand Reputation

Learn how to remove bad Google reviews and repair your online reputation with our guide.

Google reviews are a large part of success for modern businesses. 

Potential customers judge you according to your online reviews before doing business with you. And, unfortunately, customers sometimes leave negative and harmful reviews, often for arbitrary reasons. 

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Why Should I Know About Review Removal for Negative and Fake Reviews?

The significant impact of reviews on your brand’s success is largely due to the fact that Google is the most frequented website worldwide, as well as a consumer go-to for quick online reviews. 

Negative Google reviews are visible on your Google Business Profile (GBP) listing and the Maps app. They negatively impact your reputation and can drive potential customers away for fear they’ll be wasting their money. 

As the top website for reviews, Google has a significant influence on your customers. 

But if you manage your Google reviews carefully, you can better control that impact and boost your business in a number of ways:

• Increasing trust in your brand
• Optimizing local SEO 
• Improving online visibility
• Converting new customers 
• Raising click-through rates 
• Providing valuable positive feedback

As we noted, today’s consumer typically checks reviews on Google before visiting a business. And many people report that Google reviews are the most crucial factor when searching for a new business. 

How Do I Remove or Appeal Negative Reviews? 

If you’ve received negative reviews on your GBP, you’re right to want to remove them. Understanding how to remove negative reviews from Google can help you maintain your reputation, attract new customers and improve your bottom line. 

But it’s not as easy as a single click of a button (unless you wrote the review yourself, that is). And unfortunately, there’s no fail-safe method for removing 100% of negative reviews. 

The good news? You have options.

Also, remember that it’s usually worth the effort to remove harmful and fake Google reviews that are damaging your brand’s reputation. 

Don’t wait — get started today with online reputation management or repair. Give us a call at (844) 458-6735 to learn more.

Removing a Google Review That You Wrote

If you wrote a review and no longer want it public — or if you want to update it to reflect a new outcome — it’s easy to remove or change it.

Just as anyone with an account can write a Google review, anyone who has left a review can edit or delete it. This makes it easy for those who’ve changed their mind about a review they posted to update their feedback. 

Step 1: Sign in to your Google account

First, you need to be signed into your Google account to access your reviews. Sign in to your Google account here.

Step 2: Go to Maps 

Next, you’ll need to go to Google Maps. This is where your reviews are stored. 

Step 3: Navigate to your reviews

Click the Menu on the top left of the page. It’s the icon that looks like three horizontal stripes on top of each other. 

Then, in the sidebar that opens, click Your Contributions.

Click the Reviews link.

Step 4: Delete or edit the review

Find the review you want to remove or edit. Click the Actions button to the right of the review. The icon looks like three dots on top of each other.

Select either Edit Review or Delete Review from the menu that pops up. Then, proceed to make the changes you want to make.

How To Handle Bad Reviews and Fake Reviews That Others Left

Now that you know how to update a review that you left, which can go toward improving your digital reputation, let’s get into how to handle poor reviews that others left about your business.

The bad news is that you won’t find a delete button beside the feedback you’ve received. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have options. 

The first thing you should do when you receive a negative review is respond to the customer. (It’s also the first action you should take with legitimate reviews and positive Google reviews because customers value active businesses.) 

From 24-hour monitoring to upscale content creation and promotion, our team of ORM experts can help you create the online presence you deserve. Contact us at (844) 458-6735 for more information.

Why Should I Respond to a Bad Review?

According to the Google Business Profile Help Page, you should interact with customers by replying to their reviews. Responding communicates to customers that you value them and consider their feedback important. 

By taking their feedback seriously, even the angriest of customers might decide to remove their negative review on their own. Or, in some cases, they might change it to a positive review for the effort you put into reaching out to them. 

If nothing else, responding to the customer can mitigate the damage their review is causing. And you’ll improve your communication skills in the process.

Consider the following tips to help you respond to reviews the right way: 

• Reply using your brand’s voice in a kind and polite manner. Anything you type online can be screenshotted and used to define your brand, whether you like it or not. You don’t want to be associated with mean or aggressive speech, no matter how justified you are.
• Keep your emotions out of it. Take time to cool down so that you don’t get emotional while responding to the customer. Don’t take things personally. If you can’t keep a level head for your reply, outsource it to a trusted party. 
• Be brief and helpful. Make it clear that you want to make the situation right, but keep it concise. Ask the customer to contact your company so that you can resolve the issue one-on-one. If they do reach out to you, do everything in your power to win a positive review.

If you can master the art of responding to reviews, your Google profile will lend your business more credibility. Any time spent communicating with your customers to change a negative into a positive is time well spent. One complimentary review on Google can drive multiple sales. 

How To Respond to Google Reviews

For those who need help responding to reviews on the Google platform, you’re in luck! Google keeps the process smooth.  

Step 1: Claim your Google Business Profile listing

Make sure you’ve claimed your Google business listing. This requires you to register yourself as the owner of the business with Google. Once you’ve completed this step, you’ll be able to edit business information and respond to reviews. 

Step 2: Sign in to your GBP listing

Sign in to the Google Business Profile manager for the GBP that you set up or claimed. If you have multiple locations, pick the location that includes the review you’re dealing with. 

Step 3: Navigate to the review 

Select Read Reviews, and then find the review you need to respond to. 

Step 4: Reply to the review

Next to the review, click the Reply link. Enter your response in the dedicated space. When you’re done, click Reply.

Important: Use caution when sharing customer information in your review response. In many fields (for example, healthcare), it’s illegal to post identifying or personal details online. Failing to protect your customers’ privacy could result in further negative feedback or even legal issues.

How to Flag Fake Google Reviews

Learning how to remove fake Google business reviews is equally as important as responding to real reviews. If you suspect or know that you have received a phony Google review, you can flag it for removal by Google. You can also flag reviews for inappropriate or offensive content.

Google will only remove reviews that violate Google policies. Read the policy thoroughly to determine if you have a case.

Step 1: Log in to your Google business account

If you haven’t created one yet, you will be required to register yourself as the owner of the business with Google. 

Step 2: Select the correct business location

Select the location where the review was received. This step only applies to businesses with more than one location. 

Step 3: Find the review

Select Read Reviews from the menu. 

Step 4: Flag the review

Click the Menu icon (the three dots), then select the Flag option. Follow the prompts to tell Google while you’re flagging the review.

You might have to wait for several days for Google to review your request and update you with their decision. To improve your chances of having the review removed, ask others to flag it as well. 

Reporting a Review to Google 

Actions like flagging reviews and responding to comments only go so far in some cases. If you’ve tried and failed with these tactics, your next option is to report the review to Google. 

This method gets a response within 24 hours in most cases. You may also get to talk to a live person about the review in question to make your case. 

Step 1: Go to the support page

Visit the Google Business Profile Help page on your device.

Step 2: Request to contact Google

At the bottom of the support page, click the Contact Us link.

Step 3: Fill out the contact form

Fill in the contact form as thoroughly as possible. Explain how the review may violate Google policies.

When speaking with a member of Google’s support team, you will need to do the following:

• Explain why they should remove the review according to their policy.
• Make a convincing case for why you think the review is fake or in violation of the policy.
• Defend your request to get the review removed when questioned. 
• Be patient while you wait for email or phone call responses. 

If a support team member cannot help you, ask them if they can escalate the case to have it looked at again.

How To Remove Google Reviews When You Run Out of Options

Trying to remove Google reviews, but keep hitting a wall?

Reporting reviews that don’t ever get taken down can feel like a waste of time. Besides, you need to devote your energy to pleasing your customers, not chasing after Google to get rid of harmful reviews.

When nothing you’ve done regarding review removal seems to work, content suppression may be your best option. This tactic promotes fresh positive and neutral content to move those negative results further down the search engine results page (SERP). Once negative results are removed from the top spots, it’s much less likely that users will see them.

This can work for review removal, and it can also help with other types of content. For example, maybe you need a negative forum thread removed. Suppression can help in those cases, too.

If you’re out of options (or patience) but need a solution now, consider a professional reputation management service. ORM professionals can help with everything from review monitoring and management to content suppression when harmful or fake reviews threaten your business success.

Outsourcing business issues like these only improves the quality of your customer service. Our team of trusted reputation specialists can handle complicated problems fast, including those dealing with fake Google reviews. You’ll be freed up to focus on what matters most.

Learn more about our negative review removal services by contacting us at (844) 458-6735 today.