Why does Google Allow Businesses to Delete Negative Reviews?

Why does Google Allow Businesses to Delete Negative Reviews?

There are quite a few legitimate reasons, Google allows businesses to delete negative reviews. If the review is spam or has abusive language on it then the business will be able to delete the review. Moreover, if the negative review is from an ex-employee, competitor, etc. and the review is not relevant to the business then Google will allow the business to delete the negative review.

Key Takeaways

  • If a review goes against the Google Content Policy then you can report the review to Google
  • Google will check your report and then remove the review if it breaks any of Google’s policy
  • You can report a review from Google Maps, Google Search, or Google Business profile
  • You can file a legal notice to remove the negative review from your Google business page

What Types of Reviews you can Report to Google for Removal?

If you have a Google business page then it is very common for you to receive reviews from customers. These reviews can be positive or negative. As a business owner, you should keep in mind that you can’t report all the negative reviews to Google for removal. You can only report the reviews that violate Google policies. You, can’t report a review only because you disagree or don’t like it. Moreover, you can’t report third-party hotel reviews. Google doesn’t want to get involved in circumstances when the customer and the business owner disagree about something. So, according to Google’s policies, you can only be able to report a review –

  • If the review contains a specific threat of harm against individuals or defined groups of people or business
  • If the review results in unwanted sexualization or objectification of a person’s sexual activities, sexual orientation, or gender identity
  • If the review has direct calls to action to commit violence
  • If the review has dehumanized, belittled, or vilifies content
  • If the review uses Google products to attack the business
  • If the review is deliberately provocative
  • If the review contains unethical behavior or criminal wrongdoing
  • If the review is a paid one and it doesn’t represent a genuine experience
  • If the review is not based on a real experience and does not accurately represent the business
  • If the review is incentivized by a business in exchange for discounts, free goods, etc.
  • If the review is posted to impersonate any person, group, or organization
  • If the review looks like from a verified authoritative source but it isn’t
  • If the review contains deceptive information regarding health
  • If the review has harmful content about civic processes
  • If the review has promotional or commercial content
  • If the review has phone numbers, social media links, website links, email addresses, etc.
What Types of Reviews you can Report to Google for Removal?

How to Report a Negative Review on Google

If your Google business profile receives negative reviews then there are three ways you can report a negative review on Google. They are –

  • Report a Review in Google Maps
  • Report a Review in Google Search
  • Report a Review from the Google Business Profile

1. Report a Review in Google Maps

  • First, open the Google map on your computer
  • Now search and find your Google business profile
  • Then find the review that you want to report
  • Click on the “More” option and then select “flag as inappropriate” to report the review

2. Report a Review in Google Search

  • First, open a browser on your computer and Visit Google.Com
  • Then search and find your Google business profile
  • Now click Google reviews
  • After that, find the review that you want to report
  • Then, Click on “More>Report Review” and then select the type of violation you want to report   

3. Report a Review from the Google Business Profile  

  • First, open a browser and visit Google Business
  • Then log in to your Google business profile
  • Now from the left menu select Review
  • After that, find the review that you want to report
  • Then click on the “More” option and then select “flag as inappropriate” to report the review

How to Delete a Negative Review on Google

There are quite a few ways you can delete a negative review on Google. The best way is to report the negative review to Google. If you report a review and Google finds that the review has gone against its policies then Google will automatically remove the review. You can also ask the customer to delete or edit the negative review. If you can master the art of responding to bad reviews then it will be beneficial for your business and you also able to turn negative reviews into positive ones. If the customer complains about your business then try to solve the problem with that customer and then try to convince the customer to change the negative review or delete it.

If the above two methods fail then what you can do is send a tweet to @GoogleSmallBiz about removing the negative review of your business. Sometimes compiling to Google publically can speed up the process. Moreover, people will be able to see what type of initiative Google will take against spam reviews. If this method also fails then the last thing you can do is file a legal notice to remove the negative review from your Google business page. You can file a legal notice from Content Removal Tool. Google takes this type of action very seriously. According to Google –

How to Delete a Negative Review on Google

“A copy of each legal notice we receive may be sent to the Lumen project for publication and annotation. We may also send the original notice to the alleged infringer or, if we have reason to suspect the validity of your complaint, to the rights holder. We may also publish similar information from your notice to our Transparency Report.”

So, filing a legal notice is also a great way to remove negative reviews from Google’s business profile.

References:

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Google-allow-businesses-to-delete-negative-reviews

https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-delete-reviews-on-my-Google-business-page

https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114

Last Updated on October 2, 2022 by Ana S. Sutterfield

Scroll to Top