A Bad Google Review

So, despite your best efforts to provide the best service possible, you got a bad Google review of a specific product or service on Google. This is a scenario every business with an online presence will experience at some stage in its lifetime. Unfortunately, the Google Gods are not inclined to allow the removal of reviews, and with good reason – everyone wants to provide a transparent and honest view of their business. However, when a bad review doesn’t reflect the integrity of your brand, it can be frustrating trying to provide the best representation of your business. In this post, we will help you know how to remove bad Google reviews for effective online reputation management.

Getting a bad customer review on Google is the worst nightmare as an online business owner. You put your blood, sweat and tears into maintaining a decent online reputation on Google concerning your company. However, a single negative review on Google about your product or service can easily tarnish your long-term efforts. After all, positive reviews are a part of the digital landscape and a much sought after element in your digital strategic plan.

A bad google review. How do you manage your Google Reviews? Will Google take a bad Google Review down.

Why Delete a Review on Google?

When it comes to online traffic, Google is undeniably the largest online platform in the world. It is also known for dominating the online review market across the globe. Moreover, around 21 percent of online visitors agree that Google reviews play a vital role in determining whether users choose to go ahead with your business.

There is no denying the fact that a negative review for your business on Google can significantly drive away your potential customers. Therefore, it makes total sense that you may wish to remove a review on Google as it could negatively impact on your overall brand image. Google is known to focus on the overall credibility of a website – Google’s aim is to facilitate, honest, real and untainted reviews. Therefore, Google has placed a few hurdles and obstacles in the path of your removing any review.

So what options are available to manage your Google Reviews?

1. It is recommended that rather than removing a bad Google review (which is not possible to do unless you have specific circumstances) you should work towards resolving what has happened. This is particularly important when considering the customer’s interaction with your business, whether their review accurately portrays their experience. It is important not to react to the review but to respond to it; if you are responsible for the customer’s experience, uphold your company’s integrity and resolve the issue in a timely and appropriate manner. If a potential customer sees the negative review and your response tackles the issue in a favourable manner, they may be more likely to consider using your service.

2. There are some situations that will provide you with legitimate reasons for removing a Google review – many of these reasons have been detailed further below. Our Net Branding team have succeeded in supporting clients though this process.

What are the Ways to Remove a Bad Google Review?

If you are an online user and the creator or poster of a review, you can delete this review at any time. If you wish to delete your Google review about any product or service of an online brand, you can. Here are our easy steps to follow to remove your own Google Review from a Google my Business listing:

  • Open Google Maps on your computer.
  • In the top-left corner of the screen, click on the option “Your Contributions.” Choose the option “Reviews.”
  • Select the option “More” next to the given review. From here, select between the option of editing or deleting your review.

On the other hand, if you are a business looking to delete a review on Google posted by a other user, here are some effective ways to achieve this:

  • Work with the reviewer to resolve their dissatisfaction, then request to delete / remove the reviews: When you address the customer’s feedback right away, it helps in strengthening as well as safeguarding your online reputation. This is particularly effective if the user has had a negative experience for whatever reason, and you are determined to resolve this issue directly with the user. You can consider responding to the particular review. By doing so, you can have a better chance of retaining the customer in the long run. In the view of potential customers, public responses made to negative reviews help to provide reassurance that your brand cares for the customers, listens to their views, and aims at resolving problems.

    If you think that you have satisfactorily addressed the specific issues of the customers, you can go ahead and ask them if they still feel negative about your brand. If you succeed at winning them over, you can look to them as potential customers to serve as powerful brand promoters – there’s nothing better than a dissatisfied customer who has had their needs addressed and resolved, as they are aware of your business’ desire to go above and beyond to help them fulfil their needs. Once you have won their hearts with your response, you can request the customers to edit or remove bad Google reviews with the steps mentioned above.

  • Dealing with Fake Reviews: Sadly, it is quite common for online brands to be a victim of fake negative reviews. For combating this, you can determine the overall authenticity of the reviews that you receive on Google. In case you are assured that the review is fake and violating the review policies, you can flag it to Google by:

    1. Signing into your Google My Business account.

    2. Choosing the business location and clicking Reviews from the main menu.

    3. Select the review that you believe violates Googles Review policies, select it and flag it as inappropriate. Remember – review Google’s policies before doing this. Why? Flagging a Google review just because you disagree with it or don’t like it will not get the review taken down. Google cannot get involved when merchants and customers disagree on a level beyond Google’s own terms of conduct, since there’s no reliable way to discern who is right about a customer experience. Google can only intervene if the review itself breaches their terms – not for any subjective concerns.

What Are Some Legitimate Reasons for Flagging a Google Review?

There are several reasons why a Google review can be deemed inappropriate and can therefore be flagged for removal. This includes Google reviews written without having actual first hand experienced the product, service or business, defamatory language, personal attacks and off-topic content.

At the time of writing this post, these are some of the reasons you could explore when flagging a Google Review for removal.

  • Spam and fake content – A reviewer’s content should reflect their genuine experience with your business. If a reviewer posts fake content or posts the same content multiple times, you are within your rights to flag the review(s) for removal.
  • Off-topic – Reviewers should only post content based on their personal experience. It is also not an environment to share political, social commentary or personal rants.
  • Restricted or illegal content – Google has a zero-tolerance policy for content that breaches restriction laws, so feel free to flag such reviews wherever they may come up. Restrictions could include but is not limited to alcohol, gambling, guns, health, medical devises and financial services.
  • Offensive, derogatory, terrorist, sexually explicit or otherwise dangerous content – As you can probably guess, Google is more than willing to assist in the removal of derogatory, offensive and dangerous review content.
  • Impersonation – Content should not be deceptive or a false representation. It should not mislead others.

* Note, removal methods vary and in some cases the review may be removed but the impact on your actual start rating can remain.

As you flag the review, it is recommended that you prepare all evidence to support your case – nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the removal of a bad, fake or false Google review. This is particularly true if you cannot provide evidence of misdemeanour, such as if the reviewer amends their offensive content before Google’s team is able to assess the review. Net Branding advises taking a screenshot of any online behaviour you may deem offensive in order to provide this to Google’s team when needed.

How do I turn off Google reviews?

All of this seems to be way too much. Can I simply turn off the Google Review feature?

Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. Google my Business reviews are in place to allow anyone with a Gmail account to leave a review for your business – although this may not be ideal for your business, reviews provide a transparent experience for patrons of businesses.

Managing your Google Reviews

Ultimately, there are a few facts to observe when considering Google reviews. They are not optional – Google reviews are here to stay so all businesses have representation of their services online and how they impact customers. The answer is simply to actively collect more reviews from your customers, and ensuring your service is the best possible so that you receive the maximum amount of positive reviews you can!

Net Branding aims at successfully helping clients in managing their Google reviews.

Although the removal of irrelevant reviews cannot always happen as only certain circumstances permit the removal of a review, you can always amend your relationship with a customer who has had a negative experience. We understand the fact that active management of Google reviews is of utmost importance in making the right impression to your audience.

Google reviews are a current reality. They are part of a local SEO strategy and help to create powerful inbound links to your website. People rely on Google reviews and other online reviews to evaluate your service. The active management of any reviews pertaining to your business should be actively managed as part of your typical digital marketing strategy. Our biggest tip is to NEVER leave a Google Review unanswered.

Ensure a great online reputation for your brand by moderating customers’ reviews that you receive on Google. Better yet, further boost your online presence and reach by considering Net Branding for all your digital marketing solutions.

Net Branding Limited, New Zealand’s first truly integrated digital marketing agency works with clients to support their online initiatives and digital strategies. If you have any questions, we invite you to reach out to our digital team.