Google reviews are synonymous with making or breaking businesses. They can either help you break the glass ceiling and soar in sales or make you break your bank as you try to recover from losses. Why?

54.7% of your customers now depend on reviews to determine whether they will purchase your products or services before entering your store or browsing through your eCommerce site. 

Additionally, many customers purchase products with ratings ranging between 4.2 and 4.5 stars, and 53% expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week.

Your company relies heavily on positive feedback for excellent performance. What happens if you have a bad review? Can you learn how to delete a Google review and get rid of the bad press? How do you deal with negative feedback harmful to your business? We address these questions and more here.

How To Get a Google Review About Your Small Business Removed

You can get a Google review removed from your small business page in two ways: 

• Get the individual that posted the review to delete it 
• Or flag the review as inappropriate. 

Flagging is the most plausible option since it might be challenging to get the person to delete their post. Besides, the former option doesn't paint a good picture of your business. 

Follow These Steps to Flag a Review on Google:

1. Locate your business on Google Maps
2. Go to the Google reviews page and find the review you want to be deleted
3. You will see three vertical dots on the right side of the review. Click the dots
4. Choose the Report Review option
5. Choose the "What's wrong with this review?" option and select the reason why the review has a problem.
6. Go ahead and report the review

Violations That Google Will Consider Removing

Google has built-in spam checkers to automatically ensure that no irrelevant, misleading, or inappropriate reviews are posted on your business page. However, it's still possible to get inaccurate reviews that create a negative perception of your business.

Additionally, some terms and conditions allow you to flag specific topics or comments from your business page. These categories include:

• Illegal content: Certain products and services are prohibited in specific locations. Therefore, Google will ban any user that posts reviews or images with email addresses, websites, or links that sell or promote these illegal products.
• Explicit, Offensive, or Inappropriate content: If any user posts a comment or a review that is offensive, profane, or inappropriate, Google removes it. If the Google algorithm misses it, make sure to flag this kind of content.
• Fake content: Any user that posts spam or fake content is immediately flagged by Google.
• Irrelevant comments: Google aims to ensure users have accurate information about your organization. As such, flag any statement that doesn't represent your customer experience or organization properly.
• Impersonation: Google demands all reviews published by the individual who's written the review. Avoid posting reviews on behalf of someone or pretending to be someone else.
• Conflict of interest: Google doesn't allow employees or business owners to post reviews about companies they own or work for. Also, you cannot review the products or services of your competitors.

Please note that flagging Google reviews doesn't necessarily mean that Google will remove the comments from your business page. 

Additionally, the process takes time, which is risky for your business if you are already losing customers or traffic. Therefore, the best way to handle negative reviews is to take action using the tips below:

5 Tips for Responding To Negative Google Reviews

1. Ensure the Review Is Authentic

Fake reviews are common, especially among competitors. Therefore, before acting on the negative review, ensure you authenticate its viability. Look for missing details about your products or services, check the user account to see if they have left other reviews, and confirm they have a profile picture. Once you determine the review is authentic, respond to it. Flag it if it's not accurate.

2. Respond

A genuine apology is an excellent response to mitigate the disappointment a customer experiences after purchasing your products or using your services. Remember to thank customers that write positive reviews about your business as well.

3. Continue Practicing Customer Service

As mentioned, you can ask the customer to delete the comment using a private platform like an email message or a direct message. But don't make the customer feel pressured to delete the comment since it represents their experience with your business. Be patient and prepare for them to refuse. Regardless, thank them for engaging with your business.

4. Solve the Problem

Your first response to a negative comment should be to try to resolve the problem. Take this as an opportunity to improve your products and services. Listen to what the customer says about their experience, then offer solutions. 

After a few days, follow up with the customer to see if they are willing to try your products again. This customer-centric culture is the right move to increase customer satisfaction and experience.

5. Follow up

Google reviews determine your Google rating. Following up on reviews as aged as three months provides an opportunity to turn the tide in your favor. Remember, many customers prefer to purchase from businesses with at least a rating of 4.

 By following up, you present an opportunity to increase your Google review rating, especially if the customer has had a positive experience with your company since. Following up is also an opportunity to introduce your business's changes to better your products and services. 

How to Contact Google Small Business Support

Getting business support is also an act of taking charge of your professional development. As such, there are the steps to take to get Business Support from Google:

1. Go to Google support for businesses
2. Choose "contact us" located at the bottom part of the support page
3. Type in "customer reviews and photos" and click next
4. Select one of the review options provided below and click next
5. This will take you to the resources you need to resolve your issue. If you still need help, click "next step" and choose your preferred method of contact
6. Choose your preferred language, click on the email, fill in the details needed, then submit. Wait for a response which should come within 24 hours.

Social media platforms like Twitter or the Google community support forum are also excellent avenues for you to seek support from Google. Once you get a contact from Google, explain why you need the review deleted articulately.

You will be asked why you believe the Google review is fake or how it violates your business policy. This is your chance to defend yourself because Google won't delete a negative review unless it violates one of its policies. 

Why Google Doesn’t Let You Simply Delete Reviews

Google reviews provide every user a platform to share their unbiased feedback based on customer experience. As such, it would be unethical for Google to delete a bad review just because you flag it.

Additionally, Google prefers that every user be aware of companies' bad reviews since it allows customers to stick to high-quality companies, products, and services. This is why it is essential to understand the reviews that qualify for deletion and those that don't.

If you report a review simply because you don't like what the customer has to say, Google will step away from the conflict since it doesn't get involved in a disagreement between a customer and a business.

Why Are Google Reviews About Your Business Important?

People are more likely to do business with you once they know you. This is where reviews come in. They act as a critical tool where potential prospects and customers determine who you are and whether they are comfortable working with you.

Your reviews tell every viewer how you treat your customers and the quality of your products and services. As a result, business Google reviews are essential because they allow new prospects to trust your business.

This also means that your reviews can affect your reputation significantly. For instance, if one customer complains about your product, it might be easier to respond or ignore. But if a group of different individuals complains about the same thing, the resulting outcome would be a reduction in your business reputation.

When used correctly, business reviews help businesses increase their organic rankings. Google is big on ranking companies with excellent performance higher than others. Put simply, when many people show they like your business, Google increases your ranking.

Don't underestimate the other benefits of customer feedback too. The feedback you get from your customers is an opportunity to learn something about your business, products, and services.

The insight you get as a result allows you to improve areas in your business where you receive the lowest rankings. As you do this, your negative reviews will turn into positive ones, which, in turn, would enhance your business ranking, sales, and ROI. 

Where Do Google Reviews Appear?

Your Google Reviews appear next to your Business profile in the Maps and Search Google features. 

Removing Google Reviews: A Summary

You can learn how to delete a Google review and do it successfully, but it depends on factors like the authenticity of your claim. Because Google won't get involved in any conflict between your business and customers, it's up to you to determine the genuineness of your request to delete a review.

As such, you can regain your entrepreneurial status by flagging the comment, talking to the customer, or responding and offering a solution. 

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Sources:

10 Online Review Statistics You Need To Know In 2021/ Oberlo

Online Reviews Statistics And Trends: A 2022 Report/ ReviewTrackers

Google Business Profile Help/ Google