What sets this post apart from every other article you might’ve read on the topic of deleting a bad Google review is that we can actually help you successfully remove them – guaranteed.
We are a reputation management firm offering a professional, paid removal service, so that you can get rid of some of your negative Google reviews with certainty.
I will cover all of the standard methods you can attempt yourself, but if you want us to attack this for you head on and start getting results, then please reach out for a quote or skip straight to the video below where we discuss how we do it.
- Understanding Google Reviews and Their Impact on Business
- 6 Ways To Delete A Google Review
- How To Respond To Bad Reviews That Aren’t Removed?
- FAQ
- Summary
Understanding Google Reviews and Their Impact on Business
Search for any local business and the first thing you see is their Google reviews.
They are front and center at the top of search results for the whole world to see.
Above, is an example of the Google business page for my personal trainer.
Notice how all the reviews are prominently featured in gold stars, right below the business name.
If you were seeking a personal trainer, clearly this would be a good choice, as all 47 people who reviewed this business gave it 5-stars.
Impact Of Positive Reviews On Your Business
How important is a strong Google reviews rating to your business?
Very important, according to a 2020 article published by the American Marketing Association, which cited these statistics:
- “93% of consumers are influenced by online reviews when making purchasing decisions”
- “91% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations”
Wow.
That’s compelling data for why a business owner should focus efforts on cultivating more good reviews, especially on their maps listing.
How Much Do Bad Google Reviews HURT Your Business?
It only takes a one negative review to bring down your rating.
A few negative reviews can absolutely crush you and result in lost sales.
That’s the case with Emergency Mr Plumber below.
This business has seven total reviews and despite the handful of solid 5-star reviews, the four 1-star reviews pull this business’s rating down to 2.7 stars.
If you were looking for a plumber, how likely would you be to choose the one above with its 2.7 rating?
Probably not very likely – and you wouldn’t be alone.
A University of Georgia paper stated the opinions of several experts who said, “a single adverse review can reduce a business’s revenue by 25%.”
Consumers Google You Before Doing Business With You
You’ll never know how many customers you’re losing due to a poor online reputation.
But you better believe potential customers are doing some research before they decide to buy your product or service.
A Wayne University articled titled “Why is it important to manage your online reputation,” Ibrahim Fares points out that Jupiter Research found 67% of people check you out online before doing business with you.
You can get an idea of how many people are Googling you.
It’s hard to know the exact intent of every person who searches for your business online, but it’s safe to say that at least some of them are doing their research on you.
It’s imperative that you look good online and Google reviews are the foundation for that success.
6 Ways To Delete A Google Review
Now, let’s move on to the six ways you can attempt to remove negative or fake Google reviews from your business profile.
#1 Flag The Review For Terms Of Service Violation
Google has over twenty types of deceptive and inappropriate content that it does not tolerate.
If you feel a review violates any of these content guidelines, you can report it, by flagging it.
Types of reviews that violate Google maps policy
Here’s an alphabetical summary of the types of reviews that violate Google policies, along with hypothetical examples of each:
Adult-themed content
Non-explicit pornography, sexualization of objects, suggestive poses, and non-commercial sex toy content, with exceptions for educational or legitimate business contexts.
Advertising & solicitation
Promotional or commercial content, including posting contact information or external links for advertising in reviews.
Child safety
Exploits, abuses, or presents children in sexual or harmful manners, with strict actions against such violations, including reporting to authorities.
Dangerous content
Promoting or instructing on activities, items, or behaviors that could lead to serious harm, permitting general discussions not promoting harmful use.
Defacement & mischief
Content aimed at damaging or altering digital information about a place inappropriately, including pranks or expressing social or political views. Doxxing Publishing private or identifying information about individuals or organizations online, usually with harmful intent.
Fake engagement
Non-genuine content for incentives, manipulation, or competitor disparagement.
Gibberish & repetitive content
Repetitive or meaningless content, like duplicating posts or using gibberish, to maintain the quality of information.
Harassment
Content that threatens, doxxes, or sexually objectifies individuals, creating a fear for their safety and well-being.
Hate speech
Inciting violence or dehumanizing individuals or groups based on protected characteristics, allowing positive references.
Illegal content
Illegal content or depictions of illegal activities, including rights infringement, sexual abuse imagery, and promotion of violence or illegal products.
Impersonation
Impersonating any individual, group, or organization.
Misinformation
Harmful, false, or deceptive content, especially about health, civic processes, and significant events.
Misrepresentation
Misleading or false information about goods, services, and situations to deceive or manipulate decision-making.
Obscenity & profanity
Profanity or obscenity to offend or emphasize criticism, permitting inoffensive uses of such words.
Offensive content
Attacking individuals or groups, provocative posts, and unsubstantiated allegations, while allowing respectful negative experiences.
Off-topic
General, political, or social commentary and personal rants, requiring content to be based on specific location experiences.
Personal information
Personal information without consent, including full names, photos, financial, medical, or identification details, allowing some business-related exceptions.
Restricted content
Promoting the sale of legally regulated items like alcohol, gambling, tobacco, and guns, allowing incidental depictions not focused on these products.
Sexually explicit content
Sexually explicit material like pornography, nude genitalia, or content promoting bestiality, allowing some exceptions for educational or contextual purposes.
Terrorist content
Incites violence, promotes terrorism, or produced by terrorist groups, allowing some exceptions for educational or contextual purposes.
Violence & gore
Violent or gory content involving people or animals, including shocking material, serious injuries, and animal cruelty.
How To Flag A Review
Step 1: Open Google maps and find the review you want to flag
Step 2: Click the 3 dots and tap “Report review”
Step 3: Click the reason why you’re reporting the review
Step 4: Confirm and submit
You will then see confirmation that the review was reported.
If they agree with your report, they will remove the review.
#2 Ask The Customer To Remove Or Change It
I like the direct approach of asking a customer on Google Maps if they would consider changing or removing their review.
You have to be careful with your request, so as not to violate any of these three bullet items from their stance on deceptive behavior:
- “Paying, incentivising or encouraging the posting of content”
- “Discouraging or prohibiting negative reviews”
- “Incentivized by a business in exchange for discounts, free goods and/or services.”
Another risk of asking someone to change or remove their review is your request to remove reviews could backfire.
The customer could update their review to say, “I was asked to change my review.”
You don’t want that. That’s more damaging than the initial review.
I also would not ask a customer to change or remove their review until AFTER you’ve solved their complaint and you are 100% confident that they are now happy.
If you’re not sure they are completely satisfied, asking them to change their review is too risky.
And lastly, I wouldn’t even use the words “change,” “remove,” or “review” in my request. Those words get a bit too close to the second bullet item above with regard to “discouraging…negative reviews.”
How to politely ask a customer to change a review
Here’s an example of a way to do it that is polite and nuanced:
Hi [customer name], I hope we were able to resolve the issue you described in your review of our business. If you are satisfied with the resolution, would you consider updating the feedback you left? I’d really appreciate it. If there’s anything else we can do, please contact me directly.
In my example, you can see I wrote: “I hope we were able to resolve the issue.”
But, of course, you KNOW they are satisfied, otherwise, you are not sending this note.
Also, notice the naunce: “Would you consider updating the feedback you left?”
This isn’t pushy or demanding and does not violate Google Maps policy.
Once you’ve made your request, I would let it go. I would not ask them again.
Hopefully, they will update or remove their negative review.
Recap of do’s and don’ts
Do:
- Solve the customer complaint first
- Be 100% confident the customer is happy with the solution
- Use nuance when asking them to change or remove their review
Don’t:
- Incentivize your customer to change or remove their review
- Ask them to alter their review until you’re confident they are satisfied
- Ask them more than once to update their review
#3 Use The Content Removal Tool
This tool allows you to report a review from within your Google business profile manager page.
Step 1: Visit the removal tool and request review removal
Step 2: Confirm your account
Step 3: Select the business name
Step 4: Tap “Report a new review for removal” and continue
Step 5: Find the review to report and tap “Report”
Step 6: Click the reason why you’re reporting the review
Step 7: Confirm and submit
You will then see confirmation that the review was reported.
If they agree with your report, they will remove the review from your Google business profile.
As you can see, this process is almost the same as “How To Flag A Review” as described above.
Both methods do the same thing.
Choose whichever is easier for you.
#4 Use X (Twitter) To Get A Review Removed
Step 1: Open your Twitter account and tweet @GoogleSmallBiz
Here are three examples.
Step 2: Include all the information they need to remove the negative review
If you’re tweeting @GoogleSmallBiz, be sure to:
- Include a link to the negative reviews
- Include a screenshot if applicable
- Include your reason for reporting the review for removal
Remember that it’s best if your reason is one of their over twenty content violations.
Google moderators will communicate with you if necessary.
#5 Report A Legal Issue
Step 1: Follow The First Two Steps From “How To Flag A Review” Above
Step 2: Click “Report a legal issue”
Step 3: Follow The Prompts, Consult With Your Attorney
I recommend consulting with your lawyer if you’re going to use this option for reporting negative reviews.
#6 Use Affordable Reputation Management To Remove The Review
If you would like to use a reputation management company like ours to delete reviews, then follow these steps.
Step 1: Go To Our Contact Page
Step 2: Locate “Request Quote” Form
Step 3: Complete The Form Details
To expedite service, please include the following:
- Link to your Google business page
- Details of which reviews you want removed
We’ll get back to you within 1 business day with a quote.
Please note that we cannot remove every single negative review, but we only charge you for those reviews we successfully delete from your profile.
Now, you’re probably wondering, “How do you you do it?”
Well, like many other services you may’ve seen on this website, we have an independent contractor who has found a way to permanently delete bad reviews on Google.
Success rates vary and you only pay for those reviews that get removed.
We don’t know exactly what the removal process is; all we care about is that it works.
** Since making the video below, we’ve found a more reliable source that provides the following:
- Much higher success rate for removal of bad reviews
- Ability to reset an entire Google business page, so you can start fresh with a new one
How To Respond To Bad Reviews That Aren’t Removed?
The best way to turn a negative review into a positive review is to respond to in hopes that the review of your business will be changed.
Follow this guide for responding to negative or fake reviews.
My advice is to respond to each bad review, following this guidance:
- Be nice. Keep in mind that other customers are watching how you handle the situation.
- Be expedient. The minute you see a bad review on your page, address it. Nothing is worse than unhappy customer who feels like they are not being heard. The quicker you address is, the higher the chances you can resolve it and maybe the customer will update or remove the review themselves.
- Be sympathetic. Even if you don’t agree, find some truth in what your customer’s complaint is and sympathize with them. You can refer to psychologist David Burn’s tips on effective communication for advice.
- Be personal. I have a client who runs a large contracting company with hundreds of employees. He personally responds to negative reviews and gives his phone number.
If you follow these tips and address the problems as best you can, you give yourself a great chance of seeing your remaining 1-star reviews get removed by the customer – or updated and turned into 5-star reviews.
Remember that your star rating is one of the first things people see when they Google you.
Take control of your brand’s online reputation by quickly responding and resolving complaints made by unhappy customers.
FAQ
Can I Turn Off Google Reviews For My Business?
No. Other review sites may allow business owners to hide customer reviews, but Google does not.
Will Liking Positive Reviews Push Down Bad Reviews?
No. We’ve “liked” hundreds of reviews for business owners and not once did they ever push down the negative 1-star reviews.
If I’ve Already Responded To A Bad Review, Does It Hurt Removal Chances?
No. Responding to reviews does not effect the success rate of our removal service.
What Is The Cost Of Removing Bad Reviews on Google?
The cost to remove negative reviews varies based on how many you want to remove and how many we actually remove. Contact us for a quote. You only pay for the reviews get deleted.
How Much Will My Rating Improve?
You can use our free Google Review Calculator to find out how much your star rating will improve after 1-star reviews have been removed.
Summary
You know how critical your review rating is to attracting new customers.
Even one or two negative reviews can hurt your reputation and cause new customers to think twice before hiring you.
With our guaranteed service to delete Google reviews, we help you mitigate the damage done by poor reviews left on your Google Business account.
We can also help you offset negative reviews by generating more positive reviews.
We look forward to helping you restore this critical part of your online reputation.