How to delete a google review and get more positive reviews
Sometimes you may need to remove bad or fake reviews from your 'Google My Business' profile. In this post we look at the best ways you can remove a google review, and a better strategy to deal with negative reviews on Google.
Problem: Getting lots of fake negative google reviews
Every business gets negative reviews on Google. Some of these maybe genuine, but a lot of them are fake, and they need to be removed. Even if you are dealing with a fake review that you can prove is untrue, Google in most cases will say that the review does not violate any of their terms and conditions. So, here a few better ways to get the reviews removed from your Google business profile.
Different way to delete a negative Google review
- The first step is to officially flag the review to Google. You can go to your Google My Business profile, and in the review section, click on the three dots in the top right corner. From there, you will see an option to flag the review as inappropriate. Although you have to do this step, in most cases - the review will not removed unless the review contains bad language or is abusive. So, do this first and wait upto 6 days to see the response.
- In the mean time, also visit the Google My Business Facebook page and message them about the issue. A lot of people have found the facebook page to be very helpful. If successful, you will get the review removed within 6 working days.
- If the above two steps do not work - it is recommended to contact the reviewer directly (if you have their email or phone), and ask them to change the review. Do whatever is necessary to make things right so that the customer is happy. We have found that when emailing them - adding a video in your email with your own face and voice attached to it works sometimes. This is difficult but is important to do before you go to the next step. If you can resolve the google review this way, you also have an opportunity to turn the negative review to a positive one.
- Another option is to post in the Google My Business forum. Sometimes people have had positive responses from this.
- If none of the above methods works in removing your Google review, the next step is to ask your friends to flag the review as well. If you get 15+ friends flag the review as inappropriate, and you have done all the steps above, there is a good chance that the review will be removed. But, do remember that you can only get reviews removed if they are fake and misrepresenting your business. If they are just a review of someone's bad experience, it is harder to remove.
A better way to deal with deleting negative reviews on Google:
- If the review is fake or from an unhappy customers, you should give an honest reply to the customer in the review. Remember that you are not replying to the review to change the customers mind (if he/she does, great!). That is not the objective. You are writing the reply to the review for other potential customer who visit your Google My Business page in the future. A good reply allows you to show your character and build better trust with potential customers. If you need inspiration, look at how Shopify's customer service team response to negative reviews for their app.
- Once you have posted a reply, your next strategy should be to get more positive 5-star Google reviews, so that the ocassional bad review does not affect you that much. You can call a group of your former satisfied customers and ask them to share their feedback on Google. You can use a feedback app, to filter reviews, and encourage the positive reviewers to leave you a review on Google.
Remember that you cant please everyone. A business with thousands of ratings with an average of 4.6 looks more credible that a business with 60 ratings all of them 5 stars. All real businesses get negative feedback. Negative reviews are natual and along with postive reviews build credibility to your online presence.