How to Remove Google Reviews: 5 Steps for Removing Bad Reviews

Before buying your products or using your services, people read reviews about your business. They look at positive and negative reviews to help determine if they’ll become your next customer.

But what do you do if you have reviews on Google you don’t want?  Is there a way how to delete a review on Google?

On this page, we’ll tell you how to remove Google reviews from your Google Business Profile. Plus, we’ll provide steps you can take to remove bad Google reviews without removing them.

If you need help managing negative reviews, browse our review management services today!

How to remove Google reviews posted by others

Google doesn’t give companies the option to delete negative reviews because all feedback, both positive and negative, helps maintain authenticity. People rely on reviews when deciding whether to make a purchase.

The only time you may get a bad review removed is when it violates Google’s guidelines.

If a review violates any of Google’s review guidelines, you can remove the Google review:

• Spam content that is posted specifically to sabotage rankings
• Off-topic posts staged as reviews
• Illegal content
• Promotion of illegal actions
• Terroistic
• Sexually explicit
• Obscene or profane
• Impersonation
• Harassment

How to remove Google reviews that are fake or violate Google’s guidelines

If you suspect that a review is fake or violates guidelines, Google will first confirm its legitimacy, and then take action. To report a fake Google review, follow these steps:

1. Go into your Google Business Profile account
2. Choose “Reviews” from the left-hand menu
3. Select the fake review option
4. Click on the three-dotted bar in the right corner
5. Click “Flag as inappropriate”

By following this process, you’ll get the reviewer’s feedback sent to Google. Google can then evaluate it to see if the review is fake or innapropriate.

If you’re looking for a more direct way to remove fake Google reviews, contact Google directly.

1. Go to your Google Business Profile dashboard and find “Support” in the menu.
2. From that point, you can talk with Google via phone, chat, or email.

This option allows you to get in contact with Google faster to remove the review.

Google will not remove the review if it is an authentic experience by a real user. However, if it’s a genuine review that wasn’t meant for your business, you can still appeal to have it removed.

For steps on how to remove negative reviews, jump to the next section!

“Remove” Google reviews with these remedies

Removing negative Google reviews isn’t as simple as deleting them. If the reviews are authentic, you have to take an alternative approach to “remove” those reviews.

The best thing you can do is address the reviewer and try to fix the situation.

Let’s take a look at five steps you can take to remove Google reviews posted by others.

1. Don’t react negatively

When you first receive a negative review, your initial reaction may be to lash out at the person who left the review. You’re passionate about your business, so it’s easy to get upset when people say bad things about your company.

The first step in handling negative reviews, however, is not to react negatively.

If you react badly to someone’s review, it will only make your business look worse. People will see your business as unprofessional.

It also leaves people feeling skeptical about your company because you don’t acknowledge problems with your products or services. As you can see from this example, the owner’s response was passionate and angry. While it may have felt good for the owner, this response leaves a lasting negative impression on the customer and causes others to view that business negatively.

To prevent more negative Google reviews, don’t react negatively to feedback from your clients.

Remember — bad reviews happen and aren’t the end of the world! It’s common to have a mix of negative and positive reviews.

People trust your profile more when you have positive and negative reviews because your profile appears more genuine. If you only had five-star reviews, people would remain skeptical as to whether the comments were authentic.

People care about others’ negative experiences, but they care more about how you handle those negative experiences.

So, take a breath and get ready to address the negative feedback positively. Remember, there are best practices for responding to negative reviews. 

2. Evaluate the review

If you want to know how to remove Google reviews, start by evaluating the review.

First, establish that the review is authentic.

Sometimes you’ll get fake reviews from competitors or people who never interacted with your business. You may even get reviews that aren’t for your company, like this example of someone leaving a review about a haircut on a florist’s Google profile! For reviews that appear fake, follow the earlier steps above on reporting and flagging false reviews.

Even if you think the review is fake, you should compose a response.

It takes Google time to remove false reviews, ranging from five days to as many as 20 days. In that time, you could have dozens of people viewing your profile who don’t know that the review is fake.

Whether authentic or fake, check the review’s content. Try to verify that the person filing the complaint was an actual customer.

You may have a record of their buyer’s journey that can help you evaluate their experience better.

Look at the situation described in the review. You’ll want to take notes on the details so you can compose a genuine response.

Once you’ve evaluated the negative Google review, you’ll write your response.

3. Compose a genuine and straightforward response

The next step to remove Google reviews posted by others involves composing an honest reply. Make your customers feel heard. Keep your response brief, but acknowledge their problem.

It’s also ideal to respond to these reviews quickly.

Typically, you’ll want to respond to a negative review within 24 hours of its posting. A fast response shows dedication to providing the best customer service. Don’t have the time to dedicate to responding to reviews?

Use review management services, which can help you stay on top of and respond to all your negative and positive reviews.

If you want to handle review management on your own, follow these steps for providing a genuine and straightforward response:

• Own up to the complaint

If you want to know how to remove Google reviews posted by others, start by owning the claim. Don’t pretend like it didn’t happen or that it isn’t valid. If you don’t take responsibility for the complaint, it will only make customers more distrustful in your company.

• Apologize

Even if it’s not your fault, apologize for the negative experience. Don’t blame the reviewer or make accusations. Apologizing for the faulty product or poor experience goes a long way in removing negative Google reviews and turning them into positive ones.

Remember — sometimes, people want you to recognize their issue and feel heard.

A simple apology goes a long way in showing these customers that you listen to them and recognize their negative experiences.

• Offer a solution

People want your company to take action when they have a negative experience. If you want to know how to remove Google reviews that have a bad experience, offer a solution to the person’s problem.

Whether it’s a solution or reconciliation, you must offer solutions or opportunities to fix the situation.

When you offer solutions, follow up with them!

4. Fix the situation

If you want to know how to remove Google reviews that negatively impact your business, fix the situation. This part is the hardest for companies because it often requires evaluating your process, products, or customer service to make changes.

It’s hard to admit when a problem is your organization’s fault, but if you keep getting negative reviews about the same issue, it’s time for change.

Let’s say you’re a coffee mug company and sell insulated travel mugs. People buy them and keep leaving reviews about how your coffee mugs are cheap because the lid never stays on, causing constant spills.

If multiple people have the same experience, you need to review and improve your products. This approach saves you time in the long run, too.

In this case, improving your travel mug to have a secure lid leads to less negative reviews and, potentially, more sales. Improving your process or products is well worth the investment because it leads to a more positive experience and a healthier bottom line.

The same process applies if you offer services.

If people leave reviews and keep saying that they feel scammed about your pricing, you may need to alter how you present pricing on your website and to clients.

5. Stay vigilant with your reviews

If you want to know how to remove bad reviews from Google local, stay on top of your reviews. You can’t remove Google reviews if you aren’t on top of them. Check your local listing often to see if you’re getting new reviews.

When you’re proactive about your reviews, you build a better reputation for your business.

People will see that you take the time to address issues and help solve problems.

This vigilance can encourage previously dissatisfied people to change their reviews, too, because you’re on top of their concern and willing to solve it fast.

By staying alert and resolving issues fast, you’ll help remove Google reviews posted by others that highlight your business negatively. While this approach won’t remove all negative reviews, it will help you turn unhappy customers into happier ones.

Need help managing your reviews on Google?

Now that you know how to remove Google reviews, you can start taking control of your Google Business Profile profile and you can work on further optimizing GBP to get better ratings. By managing negative reviews and offering solutions, you can turn negative reviews into positive ones for your company.

At WebFX, we can help you manage your review profile.

With our team of over 500 experts, we’ll help you manage your reviews and respond to negative feedback.

With our review management services, you’ll get everything you need to help you stay on top of your reviews.

If you’re ready to start getting the most out of your Google reviews, contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist!