Every business can receive bad reviews along with good ones. In fact, customers are more likely to trust businesses with mixed reviews rather than businesses with only good reviews. Reviews are supposed to reflect the quality of your service. But, if the review violates any of Google’s policies, there are ways you can take it down.
The best way to remove a bad review from Google is by directly asking the reviewer to remove it. If it is false or promotes any kind of violence, you can request Google to remove the review. You can do this by flagging the review and filling out a form.
Reaching Out to the Reviewer
If you see that a review includes inaccurate information about your business, you can reach out to the reviewer to take it down. It is important that you address their concerns first. Then, you can follow these steps to contact the reviewer.
- Go to Google Maps.
- Search for your business and select it from the results.
- Click on Reviews.
- Click on Reply on the review you want to respond to.
- You can ask the reviewer to remove their comment here. You can address their comment about your business first and then talk about how it might not be an accurate representation. You can then ask them to take it down.
Flagging the Review
To flag a review, you can use Google Maps, Google Search, or your Business profile account. It is important to note that if Google decides that the review does not violate any policies, it will not remove the review. It also takes some time to complete this review.
Using Google Maps
- Go to Google Maps from your browser.
- Go to Your Business Profile.
- Select a business from the list then click on Reviews.
- Click on the review you want to report and click on the three vertical dots next to it.
- Click on Flag as inappropriate.
- Select a reason why you’re reporting the review and click on Done.
Using Google Search
- Go to Google and search for your business.
- Click on Google Reviews.
- Click on the three vertical dots next to the review you want to report.
- Click on Report review
- Choose the type of violation and select Done.
Using Google Business
- Go to Google Business and sign into your account.
- If you manage a single business, click Read reviews on the left side of the screen.
If you manage multiple businesses, click on Manage Reviews on the left side of the screen and choose a location from the drop-down menu. - Click on the three vertical dots next to the review you want to flag and select Flag as inappropriate.
Through Google Business Profile Help Page
You can also use Google Business Profile Help to review and take down any review of your business. You can do so by following these steps.
- Go to Google Business Profile Help.
- Click on Engage with customers > Reviews.
- Go to How to Remove reviews from your Business Profile on Google.
- Click on the Request review removal button and follow the steps given in the new window.
