It is possible to remove negative reviews from Google, although it can be challenging. This guide outlines a few straightforward methods for getting rid of undesirable reviews.
If you’ve managed to get any positive reviews on Google, you’ve probably also wondered how you can remove any negative reviews. We’re here to help you out!
If you follow this guide, you will be able to remove negative articles and reviews from Google.
Google is often thought of as a bad company, but its guidelines are actually quite standard. Many people also wonder if businesses can remove Yelp reviews. As it turns out, the strategies for doing so are quite similar. Keep reading to learn how to delete Google reviews.
The way news is spread has changed dramatically over the years, and social media has become a huge factor in how businesses operate. Online reviews on sites like Google can have a big impact on our purchasing decisions.
People love researching experiences, travel and products before they book or buy. You’ve probably read Amazon, TripAdvisor and Google reviews at some point and made decisions based on them.
Review sites are important to us because we value other people’s opinions. If we are unsure of something, we look to others for validation.
As a business owner, you’re likely to care about what people think of you and your business. Negative reviews can have a significant impact on your business, whereas a mix of good and bad reviews can be helpful in showing that your business is authentic.
You can’t make everyone happy all the time.
Some people write negative reviews of businesses on Google, which can be disappointing. However, there is a silver lining: if you’re wondering how to remove such reviews, this article will tell you how!
Removing a Bad Review on Google
According to the Google My Business Review Policy, “ Google doesn’t take action on behalf of businesses or property owners” but they may consider removing a review if it goes against their content policy or is otherwise illegal. Although it’s possible to delete Google reviews, businesses or property owners cannot request that Google take action on their behalf. Google may, however, choose to remove a review if it violates their content policy or is illegal.
If you want to remove a Google review, you can’t just say the word “Google” and hope that one of your electronic devices will respond. You will need to dispute the review.
It can be difficult to remove negative feedback and the process can be unclear. If you need to remove negative feedback, it is helpful to also generate positive reviews so that people will be able to see the positive feedback among the negative feedback.
If you get negative reviews, you will want to improve your ranking as soon as possible. If you are getting a lot of negative reviews, you can read our guide on how to remove your business from Google.
Spotting and Reporting Fake Google Reviews
You need to respond quickly to the reviewer, even if you think their review is fake.
Responding to customers who leave negative feedback shows other potential customers that you care about their experience and are willing to involve yourself in customer feedback. The way you respond will allow them to see your support service skills, empathy, and consideration, which will help them understand your side of the story.
When responding to a Google review, be sure not to make it personal. Be courteous and apologize if needed, and offer to make things right if possible.
If you can communicate with the reviewer in a private space, do so. If you can’t, make sure your response is short, friendly, and to the point. The way you respond might lead the reviewer to delete their Google review.
Please reach out to the reviewer so that we can learn more about their experience and how we can improve. We want to know what happened so that we can take steps to prevent it from happening again in the future.
Google Review’s Removal Policy
Google’s policy guidelines for reviews are clear and easy to follow. If you’re trying to remove negative content, pay close attention to this list to discover what Google considers an inappropriate review. Here’s the rundown of what they won’t tolerate:
Spam and Fake Content
A review should be an honest reflection of an experience at a location, without manipulating ratings.
Off-Topic
The purpose of reviews is to share one’s experience at a specific establishment, not to provide a platform for angrily airing grievances, having polite conversations, or discussing politics.
Restricted Content
Local legal regulations prohibit companies from using reviews to promote their gambling, alcohol, arms, adult, financial, health, or medical products or services.
Illegal Content
Google will not allow any content on their platform that is associated with any illegal activity, this includes things such as infringement of others’ rights, sexual abuse, illegal acts and products, and images of violence and terrorism activities.
Terrorist Content
Google will not allow any content that condones, encourages, or celebrates terrorism or violence.
Sexually Explicit Content
Sexual content, especially content that exploits children, is not allowed. If they find this type of content, they will delete the account and notify the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Offensive Content
Google will remove any obscene language and gestures.
Dangerous and Derogatory Content
Google Maps is a platform that encourages polite and safe communication. They do not allow hate speech, bullying or promotion of self-harm.
Impersonation
Google doesn’t allow content that someone else has made or that could be seen as being dishonest.
Conflict of Interest
The conflict of interest arises when someone posts about themselves or their employment experience in a way that is designed to mislead others or promote themselves at the expense of others.
If Google believes that a review is inaccurate or promotes something falsely, they will remove it. Automated processes are in place to identify reviews that seem to be fake or spam, and these will be removed as well. Google may also take down reviews that are flagged for violating policies or breaking the law.
Removing Yelp Reviews
The best way to remove a Yelp review is by reporting it through Yelp’s interface.
- Visit your page on Yelp. (You need to be logged in)
- Go to the review that you want to remove and click the three-dot menu at the top right. Select “Report review” from the menu.
- Choose a removal reason. (see below)
- A moderator will determine if your review can be removed.
Reviews which threaten, exhibit hate speech, or contain lewd language will be removed in accordance with Yelp’s Terms of Service and Yelp’s Content Guidelines.
If a review on Yelp identifies a person who works at the business, but is not the owner, it can be removed for violating that person’s privacy. The next best chance of removing a review is if the person who left the review is a competitor of the business. It is NOT against Yelp’s Terms of Service to remove a review because it is untrue.
Removing a Negative Reviews in HOOK SEO
Unfortunately, you can’t remove negative review in HOOK SEO.
This article is designed to help you improve your SEO skills, but please understand that HOOK SEO cannot provide one-on-one assistance.
I understand how you feel, and I want to help you. But please don’t ask us to remove your reviews. Use this information to help improve your situation.
We discuss the advice in this article on episode 1 of the DIGITAL MARKETING MASTERS podcast, available on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Castbox, Spotify, Alexa, and many other platforms.
If your business is struggling to manage reviews across multiple locations, or dealing with a high volume of reviews, our experts can help you develop a plan to deal with review spam, fake reviews, negative reviews, or a lack of reviews.
Removing Fake Reviews
1. The Easiest Way, By Far, is to Have the Customer Remove Their Negative Review
If possible, ask the customer to remove their negative review by logging back onto the website and clicking the “remove” or “delete” button under their own review.
If you want to delete a review you left on the Yelp mobile app, you can’t do it directly from the app. You’ll need to go to the Yelp website to delete it.
Users have to access Yelp through a computer in order to delete a review. However, they are able to edit their review, such as changing the star rating or the text, through the Yelp app.
To delete their review, the person can go to the REVIEWS section on the ABOUT ME page and then click on the garbage can icon next to the review for your business.
Removing reviews can be effective on sites such as Ripoff Report, Google+, Yelp!, Facebook, Yellow Pages, and YMLP.
- Calm down. Only contact the offending reviewer with a level head.
- Try to contact the customer offline – or at least off the review site itself. Best is to be able to talk to them in person or over the phone. See if they left a comment card or if you have any contact information for them.
- Be overly polite and nice. People have a hard time arguing with polite people. (Kill ’em with kindness!)
- Tell them you understand their frustration or why they are upset. Empathy wins.
- Take steps to clear up the issue and make an honest effort to do so.
- Make sure that there is verifiable or at least anecdotal evidence the consumer or ex-employee will be able to see and believe the issue is resolved.
- Ask them to remove or at least modify their review.
- Explain to them that other people work there and that bad reviews are hurting their friends that work there or people who count on those jobs to support their families.
- It’s not about you! It’s about them. Make them think they are doing a good deed by removing their review.
- Offer them something in return as a gesture of good faith, such as a free coffee or free meal at your restaurant or cafe, or to come in and see changes you have made that will alleviate their concerns.
Although it may not be possible to please every customer, it is worth taking measures to removed negative feedback, especially for businesses that rely on reputation, such as service-based businesses.
2. T.O.S. Violations
Most review sites have a Terms of Service which outlines what is and is not allowed in terms of reviews.
If a review is a personal attack on an employee, is defamatory, derogatory, or attacks a person based on disability, race, ethnicity, religion, or other factors, you can have their reviews removed.
If someone says “our fat waitress” in a review, it is generally considered a violation of the Terms of Service and the review will be removed, even if the person is not specifically naming an individual.
You should state that you believe the issue at hand is a Terms Of Service violation when contacting customer support on review sites. This is because many of these sites use an automated support process known as a ticketing system. This system is programmed to prioritize contact that use specific keywords.
If the filter detects words like ‘TOS’ in your message, it’s more likely to send that review to someone who deals with T.O.S. violations. This improves your chances of having the review removed.
You should also reply to the review publicly stating that you have requested it be removed as a violation of their terms of service.
So the review you read isn’t true?
Please keep in mind that reviews that contain profanity or personal attacks will be removed.
Review Site Terms of Service and Removal Guidelines
Yelp: Content Guidelines
As a business owner, you can contribute content to Google Maps and Google My Business to help people learn more about your business. This includes photos, reviews, and. Google My Business If you own a business, you can help people learn more about it by adding photos, reviews, and other notes to its Google Maps and Google My Business listings.
Facebook: Community Standards
Yellow Pages: User Generated Content Terms
Trip Advisor: Help Center
Dex: Review Guidelines
CitySearch: Help Center
3. Reply If All Else Fails – But not Always
The only other option you have if you can’t get a reviewer to remove their review or it doesn’t violate the terms of service is to reply to the review.
If the reviewer sounds unhappy, unreasonable, or says something that makes them look foolish, don’t reply. People will understand and ignore their reviews.
The “not helpful” button on most review sites is there to encourage others people you know to do the same.
Make sure you space out asking people to review your product on the site. If you ask too many people at once, the site will detect it and ignore the reviews.
Don’ts in Removing Negative Reviews
Do not freak out or leave a badly worded reply to a negative comment as this will make it more likely that the review will not be removed.
Threatening Yelp! or Google with a lawsuit will not end well. These companies are huge and have a lot of experience with legal matters. Unless you have a lot of money, it’s not worth it to try to take them to court.
Retaliating is never a good idea because it will only make the situation worse.
Do not engage in an argument with someone on a review site as it will make you both appear unprofessional and unreasonable. This could also encourage them to seek out more review sites to speak negatively about your business.
Don’t try to find them on other social media platforms to talk badly about them or their business. Doing this is called retaliation, and I wanted to mention it twice to emphasize how bad of an idea it is.
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