How to Delete a Google Review

Google reviews are essential in today’s online marketplace. For customers, they help make informed purchasing decisions. For business owners, they can make or break your business and play a key role in online review management. But sometimes, reviews aren’t the most accurate representation of a business, and need to be removed. Here’s how to delete a Google review:

Why Are Google Reviews So Important? 

Online reviews help you get new customers, and they are particularly important on Google. By far, it is the most-used site for people to evaluate local businesses.

Since most people go to Google to make buying decisions, you should focus your attention there. You want people to see an accurate representation of your brand. 

Here are some other reasons why Google ratings are important:

Influence purchasing decisions

Shoppers rely heavily on online ratings when making purchasing decisions. This is true for online purchases, as well as in-store buys. 

According to PowerReviews, 98% of consumers feel that reviews are an essential resource when making purchasing decisions. Furthermore, 57% of shoppers read them while in-store to assess potential purchases.

An abundance of positive reviews fmight just sway a potential customer into buying from you. But, anything negative will deter them from choosing your brand.

Get free marketing

Every customer review is essentially a form of free advertising for your products or services. They might even help your marketing efforts even more than paid ads.

That’s because word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective form of advertising.

92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising (The Social Media Hat). And, 86% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family (Status Labs).

This works because of a concept called social proof. It basically means that, when we see other people doing something, we learn from their behavior and copy it. 

When a customer sees that others have purchased a product and were happy with it, they want to purchase the product too.

Attract new hires

Reviews don’t just influence customers; they also affect your ability to attract the right talent for your company. Potential candidates check sites like Glassdoor, Indeed, and even forum sites to research employers.

Related: Learn everything you need to know about managing your business’s reputation on Glassdoor.

According to a survey from Software Advice, 52% of respondents use Glassdoor at some point in their job search. Nearly half read employee feedback before they even start the job seeking process to narrow down their search.

Nearly half of respondents also said they only take comments written in the last 6 months into consideration. 

So, to attract your dream team, work on getting better feedback about your company on employer review sites.

Boost search visibility

Beyond what your consumers think, Google also factors reviews in its algorithm. 

To reap the benefits of better search rankings, aim for an abundance of recent, positive feedback. This helps people find you in local search queries and Google Maps. In turn, this will drive more organic traffic to your website.

How to Delete a Google Review You Wrote

Business owners can not simply delete reviews written by their customers. However, as a customer, you can absolutely delete or edit your review if you’ve had a change of heart. Here’s how:

On a computer:

1. Open Google Maps in your web browser.
2. Sign in to the account used to write the review.
3. Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner.
4. Select “Your contributions” from the menu.
5. Click on the “Reviews” tab.
6. Find the review you wish to delete.
7. Click the three dots (⋮) and choose “Delete review.” Confirm the deletion when prompted.

On a mobile device:

1. Launch the Google Maps app on your device.
2. Sign in to the account used to write the review.
3. Tap “Contribute” at the bottom of the screen.
4. Tap “View your profile” at the top.
5. Scroll to find the review you want to delete.
6. Tap the three dots (⋮) and select “Delete review.” Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Note: Once you delete your review, you can not recover it.

How To Report a Google Review as a Business Owner

As a business owner, negative feedback can have a huge impact on your business’s online reputation. You can’t remove all negative reviews simply because you don’t agree with them. However, you can dispute them if they violate the platform’s policies.

Follow these steps to flag the review:

1. Sign into your business Google account.
2. Open Maps and search for your business.
3. Click on your listing and click on the “Reviews” section to see all your feedback.
4. Select the review that you believe does not meet Google’s guidelines.
5. Click on the three vertical dots at the top-right corner. This will take you to a separate “Report Review” page.
6. Select the reason for reporting, and then click the “Submit” button.
7. Wait for the manual review process to conclude, which usually takes a few days.

What To Do If You Can’t Remove A Bad Review

Removing negative criticism isn’t always an option, but you do have another option. 

In a previous article, we taught you how to bury negative Google search results, and guess what? Reviews are no different. With the right strategy, you can suppress any bad feedback that you can’t otherwise delete.

Use these tips:

1. Increase your positive feedback

To drown out the negative Google reviews, you have to get even more positive ones. A simple way to do this is to just ask customers to give feedback if you aren’t doing so already. As many as 69% of customers will leave a business review when prompted.

2. Don’t ignore reviews

Customers want to know that you value their opinion and the customer experience. So, replying to all reviews, whether good or bad, is critical. Show your appreciation for positive feedback by taking the time to thank each customer who leaves on.

On the flip-side, responding to negative reviews isn’t always straightforward, but you need to respond anyway. Remember, everyone can see your responses online. Taking the time to respond to negative criticism can actually serve as a positive form of customer service. A customer might even amend their original comment if you can turn the situation around.

Some negative feedback might actually be a good thing, believe it or not. According to PowerReviews, 46% of shoppers are suspicious of products with an average 5/5 star rating. Having too perfect of a rating might equally indicate fake reviews as much as having too many bad ratings. 

Negative criticism can quickly turn into a reputation crisis for businesses. In this case, you must act to address the ongoing issue.

3. Improve your services based on feedback

No business owner likes to read negative feedback. However, it can provide you with valuable insights that you need to improve your products or services. 

If several comments mention the same issue, make sure to address the problem.

After you make improvements, make sure to tell your customer about it. Sometimes, this can turn critics into brand advocates.

4. Offer quality customer service

Be proactive about negative reviews by reaching out to potential customers to resolve issues before they escalate. 

Teach your staff about the importance of customer feedback. Give them the training they need to effectively handle complaints.

5. Leverage social proof

Use your website and social media accounts to showcase positive customer reviews, testimonials, and case studies. This can offset the visibility of negative criticism. Consider partnering with influencers who can endorse your brand in an authentic way.

To learn more about leveraging social proof, check out our social listening guide for brands.

6. Monitor your business platforms

Staying on top of reviews is so important for businesses. Plenty of tools exist, like Google Alerts, to help you monitor mentions.

Make sure to keep your business information up to date, and stay active on review sites and social media platforms. Having an active online presence can mitigate the damage of bad feedback.

7. Flag spam reviews

Spam reviews can be a huge detriment to business, and they are on the rise. In 2023, Google blocked or removed over 170 million reviews that violated their policies – 45% more than in 2022.

Fake or spam comments can alter your online reputation (usually for the worse) and affect potential customer’s trust in you. Platforms are pretty good at detecting and removing them, but some still slip through the cracks.

It can be hard to spot fake reviews, but it is vital that you report them. If you aren’t sure if a comment is fake or not, use our free online review checker.

FAQs

Conclusion

Customer feedback, whether good or bad can have a huge effect on your business. Use these tips to remove negative reviews, or suppress them if you can’t delete them.

When dealing with poor ratings, sometimes it is best left to the experts. Reputation911 provides online review management services. We use proven strategies to increase positive feedback while removing or suppressing the negative. We monitor your reputation so you can focus on what’s important – your business.

About The Author

William DiAntonio

William DiAntonio is the Founder & CEO of Reputation911, a reputation management firm he founded in 2010 that has earned the trust of its clients for over a decade by helping individuals, businesses and brands control their online search results.