How To Delete A Google Review

92% of customers read reviews before making a purchase decision.

From buying a simple household item to choosing an investment firm, we desire to buy from the best.

But before paying for a product or service, we often get confused by the many options and constantly seek assurance that we’re purchasing from the right seller at the right price.

Earlier, word of mouth gave the assurance we were looking for.

Today, reviews from previous customers give that assurance.

A recent stat shows that 81% of people prefer Google as a review site to evaluate businesses.

Google reviews play a crucial role in increasing a business’s sales and revenue.

If a seller has an average star rating of more than 4 with many positive reviews, and another seller has an average star rating of 3 or below and has a mixed bag of reviews, who would you prefer to buy from?

Exactly! You would buy from the first seller.

That’s the impact of negative reviews. 

It has ruined the chance of the second seller. 

If you don’t know how to remove or manage bad reviews from Google, in this article, you’ll learn everything from why to delete a Google Review to how to deal with a negative review. 

Keep reading!

Why To Delete A Google Review? 

Google Reviews can make or break your business.

If your business has more negative reviews, it tarnishes your reputation and credibility. 

Even though you have changed your business model, customer service, and pricing, it can be difficult to rebuild your online reputation and attract customers.

To know why to delete a Google review, you first need to know the cause of it.

These negative reviews can arise from a simple mistake that angers your customer. In a moment of heat, they post a negative review, damaging your online reputation. 

In another instance, your competitors might use the dirty trick of leaving negative reviews to damage your sales and revenue.

In such a scenario, you must remove the negative Google review to save your business and brand reputation.

Can You Delete A Google Review?

No, and Yes! 

Confusing?

You can’t directly delete a negative review from your Google My Business profile. 

Google doesn’t offer such a feature.

But yes, you can delete a Google review by reporting it if it violates Google’s Policies. 

Google has a built-in spam checker that automatically evaluates all reviews and removes those that don’t align with their policies. 

It is a reliable feature, but it sometimes overlooks reviews that violate the policy, so you must manually report those reviews to Google.

And it is the only way to remove negative reviews.

But, the only problem is that the removal process will take weeks, and it’s not guaranteed that Google will remove the negative review.

However, if you’re desperate enough to remove the negative review, you can try convincing the reviewer to remove it directly. 

Since Google doesn’t allow users to leave anonymous reviews, you can find the reviewer’s name, try finding them on social media and convince them to remove the review.

Google Review Policy Violations

Here are the Google Review Policy Violations categories. If your reviews fall under any of these categories, then you can report to Google and request removal: 

• Off-Topic

A customer’s reviews must be relevant and accurate to the business or organization. If not, they are Off-topic, and you can report those reviews under this category. 

Also, if the content doesn’t add any meaning as it is written in gibberish or doesn’t add any sense, it can be considered off-topic and removed.

• Spam

If some businesses promote their product or service or add links to their website or email address, it is a spam review. 

Under this category, you can report and request Google to remove them.

• Conflict Of Interest

Google aims to be as unbiased as possible.

So, Google doesn’t allow you or your employees to post reviews on your company or your competitors, as this would manipulate the ratings in your favor.

If you find your competitors leaving negative reviews, then you can report those reviews under this category.

• Profanity

Google doesn’t allow reviews that are sexual, profane, offensive, threatening and disrespectful.

If you encounter such reviews, you can report them, remove the negative reviews, and protect your brand image.

• Bullying or Harassment 

If any reviews bully or harass you, your employees, customers, or affiliates, it is a severe violation.

These are serious violations and can cause severe consequences for the reviewers.

You can report those reviews under this category and have them removed. 

• Discrimination or Hate Speech

Discriminations, hate speech, or foul language in reviews are clear violations, and Google doesn’t tolerate them.

If the review includes an individual or group and attacks based on their identity, then you can report the review under this category and get them removed.

• Personal Information

No personal information, such as address and phone number, should be included in the Google review. 

If it is, it is a violation and can be reported and taken down.

• Not Helpful

All the reviews posted should be relevant to the business and helpful to the reader. 

Any reviews that don’t offer useful information can be considered unhelpful and removed.

For example, instead of adding specific details about why they don’t like the product or service, if a customer simply comments “Worst,” how does it add value to the user? 

So it can be reported and removed under this category. 

How Do You Delete A Google Review You Posted?

Here are the steps you should follow for deleting or editing a Google review that you posted:

Step 1: Sign in and navigate to Google Maps.

Step 2: Click on the 3 horizontal lines on the top left-hand side corner

Step 3: Click “Your contributions.”

Step 4: Click “Reviews”.

Step 5: You’ll see all the reviews you have posted using that Gmail account. Scroll down and select the review you want to delete or edit. 

Step 6: Click the three dots in the review’s top right corner.

Step 7: Now choose edit or delete (according to your preference). If you delete it, the review will be completely removed and can’t be retrieved. But if you make changes, the review will be helpful for future customers. 

This is how you can edit or delete the review you posted.

How Do I Delete Google Reviews Posted By Others?

As said, you can’t delete Google reviews posted by others. 

You can report to Google and get the reviews removed only if it violates Google’s policy. 

Here are the steps you should follow to report and delete Google reviews posted by others:

Step 1: Use your Gmail account that has access to your GMB profile. If you do business in different places, choose the appropriate Gmail account and GMB profile.

Step 2: Go to Google Maps and enter your business name. 

Since we have firms in different locations, the results show all our firms in different locations. I have to choose the one with a negative review to report.

Step 3: Claim your business (if you haven’t done it already). 

Step 4: Click “Reviews”

Step 5: Scroll and locate the review you want to report.

Can you see the name of the reviewer and the number of reviews he has posted?

This guy has posted only one review with this account, and the name he used is a business name.

They are trying to scam us as we don’t have any data working with them. Their only motive is to promote their business (“Apps for startup”).

This review is against the “Conflict of Interest” Google review policy. 

So we’re going to report it and take it down.

Step 6: You can see three dots in the top right-hand corner of the review tab. Click it and click “Report review.”

Step 7: You’ll see the Google report review (policies). Choose the option based on which the review violates Google policy. 

Since the review violates the “conflict of interest” policy, I am choosing it and reporting the review.

Step 8: Wait for Google to verify the review and respond to you. It might take weeks for Google to respond. 

Step 9: If Google doesn’t remove the review and you still believe it violates Google’s policies, contact Google Business support for further assistance from your GMB profile. You can even reach them on Twitter using your company account by tagging @GoogleMyBiz. You may receive a response and can take things from there.

Step 10: Even then, if the review is not taken down, you must deal with it by responding to it (I will show you how to respond below). 

Disadvantages Of Removing A Google Review

By now, you know that removing negative Google reviews is a slow and unguaranteed process. 

In the meantime, if you wait for Google’s response to the removal of the review, the damage would have been done. 

You will lose your position in the local search ranking, and hundreds and thousands of customers will choose your competitor instead of you.

Recent stats show that 94% of customers avoid business with negative reviews.

Plus, the major setback, as already said, is that Google doesn’t remove a review because it is negative, has a one-star rating, or you asked to remove it. 

The point is that Google aims to provide its users with unbiased feedback. 

If the customer experience is poor, Google wants its users to be aware of it. 

So, instead of trying to take down an upset customer’s review, deal with it.

How To Deal With A Negative Review?

Here are some of the best ways to deal with negative reviews and still save your online reputation to some extent:

• Respond to the negative review

Responding to a negative review is one of the most effective ways to deal with it. 

96% of customers look for negative reviews to know how a business responds and solves the issue.

As a business owner, you can’t keep track of everything. Instead, if you notice a negative review, first discuss it with your manager and staff about it. 

If the team has made a mistake that has led to negative reviews, just an apology would be enough to change the customer’s perception of your brand.

Responding to negative reviews instead of only positive reviews will send a message to your customers and those who read them that you genuinely care about them.

Tip:

When you respond, follow a polite and professional tone. Avoid defensive and personalized exchanges, which will only make the situation worse. 

Take sensitive conversations offline, like email, text messages, or phone calls.

• Request the customer to delete it

Some customers feel guilty for giving a negative review in a moment of anger. 

So, communicating with them about the situation and apologizing might somewhat de-escalate the situation.

This helps them understand your point of view. 

In that instance, request the customer to remove the review or ask them to edit it.

• Confirm the review is related to your business

Sometimes, people might share reviews on your GMB profile instead of another business with the same name. In this case, you can report to Google that the review is off-topic or irrelevant.

In the meantime, you can also respond to the review and request them to remove it.

• Authenticate the review

Some people will write fake reviews to tarnish your brand reputation. 

It’s hard to check who is who. 

So start by checking whether the reviewer has a photo and whether the person has left reviews elsewhere. 

Respond to the review and wait for their response. 

If they don’t respond, flag the review as inappropriate and wait for Google to review your report and take it down.

• Collect more positive reviews

Instead of worrying about a single negative review, focus on your loyal customers and request them to write reviews.

Once they begin sharing positive reviews and giving you a good star rating, the negative reviews will be dumped, and your average star rating will increase.

85% of customers believe reviews older than 3 months are irrelevant. And 57% of customers will buy from a business that has an average star rating of 4. 

• Solve the customer’s problem

Negative reviews can also help you improve your business. 

A customer leaves a negative review because of a problem with your customer service, product or service. 

If you analyze and fix it, you can satisfy your upcoming customers.

When it comes to the customer who has left a negative review, you can apologize for the trouble and request the customer to try your product or service again. 

When they agree to do so, ensure you have taken the necessary steps to correct the past mistake. 

Doing so can elevate your brand image and online reputation by how you handle things.

How to Contact Google Small Business Support?

To contact Google’s support for business to remove reviews, follow these steps:

Step 1: Visit https://support.google.com/business/gethelp.

Step 2: Log into your Google account.

Step 3: In the first dropdown menu, select relevant business.

Step 4: Specify your action – “Remove a review”

Step 5: You’ll see a list of options. From that, choose “remove reviews.”

Step 6: Click ‘Next’.

Step 7: Select your preferred contact option.

Step 8: You’ll receive a support ticket in your email.

To make the process easier, have a screenshot of your reported review readily available for reference.

Conclusion

Nowadays, managing Google reviews is crucial for your business’s online reputation.

Removing negative reviews from Google can be a great way to manage your online reputation, but you can’t do it yourself.

Only if the review violates Google’s policies can it be reviewed and removed by Google.

Following the steps above, you can easily report the review and have it removed. However, it will take time.

In the meantime, respond to the review politely to mitigate the effect of negative reviews.

It will contribute to the growth of your business.