Web posts related to your company’s reputation are growing exponentially.
If the reputation of your business, product, service or brand is important to you, then your main goal is to manage opinions and reviews, especially negative ones.
This is where Google comes in.
Google allows users to leave reviews and ratings about a business on Google business profile.
This leads to increased visibility for the business and a better ranking in Google search results.
However, having unfavorable reviews, especially in the top results, can lead to a decrease in your credibility and affect the opinions of potential customers.
In this article, we’ll explore the best way to manage those negative reviews and even eliminate them altogether.
So check out our tips below to learn how to remove reviews from Google with ease.
Here you will expand with more information on: What are Google Reviews?
Respond to the customer review
A recent study found that one of the first things you should do when you receive a negative review is to respond quickly.
This is especially true if there is still something you can do to improve the interaction.
When responding to a negative review, be sure to be direct enough, but at the same time maintain your professionalism.
When responding, it is important not to offend the customer or blame them directly.
If customers find that their case has been taken seriously, they are more likely to update their review.
This could lead to future removal of the review if you say a kind word in your response.
Mark the review as inappropriate
If a review or comment is abusive, contains inappropriate content or is not directly related to your business, you can flag it as inappropriate.
Google will stop displaying that review in search results. To mark a review as inappropriate:
- Sign in to Google My Business.
- Search for the review you want to flag as inappropriate.
- Click “More” (three dots) next to the review.
- Click “Mark as inappropriate”.
- Briefly write a problem report and leave an email to follow up.
It takes one to two days for Google to review the review, so it’s important to be patient.
Contact the customer
It is important to remember that reviews are unverified public opinions.
You can try to contact the customer to discuss their complaint and try to resolve the problem.
If the customer is satisfied with your response, they may want to change their review, which will improve the visibility of your business online.
You can also use this opportunity to showcase your customer service skills.
Businesses that receive more reviews definitely get better results online.
This is especially important if you are trying to improve your ranking in Google search results.
Ask your customer to remove the review
If a former customer has posted a negative or incomplete review, you can ask them to remove it.
This will only work if the relationship with the customer is still positive. If the customer is still openly critical, then it’s best not to mention the removal.
But if the customer is still friendly, you can send them a request to remove the review.
If you have already responded to the review, they may want to see a change in your position before taking action.
This will also help improve your relationship with the customer and help them have a better memory of your company.
Change the content of the review
Google business profile offers users the ability to edit previously published reviews.
To edit a Google review:
- Open Google Maps.
- Click “Menu” at the top left.
- Click on “Your contributions”.
- Next to the review you want to edit, click on “More” (three dots).
- Click “Edit”.
- Update the content of the review as you wish.
However, remember that editing the review is only available to the users who published it.
If the review is not yours, then you will not be able to modify its content.
Report the review to Google
If none of the above options work, you can always report the review to Google.
Google reviews all reported reviews and will take appropriate action.
- Open your Google business profile.
- Find the review you want to flag.
- Click on the three dots next to the review.
- Click “Flag as inappropriate”.
- Briefly write a report of the problem and leave your email address to follow up.
Note that this process is slow and does not guarantee success. So you will have to be patient and wait to see the results from Google.
Conclusion
Online reviews and opinions can be useful for your company’s overall visibility.
But they can also quickly become a problem if there are an excessive number of negative reviews on Google.
Taking the right action to manage these reviews effectively is an important part of your online marketing strategy.
Social communicator and audio visual producer.
I am an entrepreneur willing to learn, I like to train myself in different topics that have to do with the online world, I am currently improving my knowledge in persuasive texts (copy), SEO writing and community manager.