Are Negative Review Removal Services for Real?
- April 13, 2023
- Bradley Taylor
Anyone who owns a business by now knows the importance of having good reviews on Google, Yelp, etc. These reviews are actually read by potential clients. We also know how easy it is to get an unhinged person on there leaving negative reviews about something you had no control over.
Along comes negative review services who offer to remove these reviews for a price. But do these services actually work?
We have heard mixed reviews about these services anecdotally but have never actually seen them work first hand. As a web development company ourselves, we have reached out to Google to see about removing inaccurate reviews for clients in the past and have been completely stonewalled. In fact, it could be said that the only companies that don’t have to worry about getting negative reviews are the ones that publish them in the first place. I hope that changes some day.
The companies that perform these services claim to be able to remove 1 bad review from location. They say it can take up to 60 days and cost $200. Before you go and sink the money on a 2 month coin flip there are some things you can try yourself.
Steps to Remove Negative Google Reviews
1. Eliminating Unsuitable Google Reviews
Some folks prefer to merely observe the planet burn. The same people are typically behind unfavorable, improper, or even false Google evaluations of companies of all sizes. Fortunately, Google has measures in place to permanently remove this type of content (or, at least until the next time it happens). The following content types are prohibited from being uploaded on Google Reviews, Google Photographs, or Google Videos by Google:
Civil conversation
Harassment
Hateful language
offensive material
identifying details
Deceptive information
fake relationship
Impersonation
Misinformation
Misrepresentation
Mature material
profanity and obscenity
sexually graphic material
Adult-themed programming
violence and blood
regulated, risky, and prohibited
restricted material
hazardous material
Unlawful material
child protection
terrorist material
information excellence
Off-topic Solicitation and Advertising
repetitious and nonsense content
Cut-Through Advertising Google Reviews, as an illustration
You can ask to have a review of your company that contains any of the above offensive language taken down from Google search results.
How to Delete Unsuitable Google Review Content
Checking Google’s policy is the first step. You may then be guaranteed that the content of the review does not violate Google’s inappropriate content policy.
Next, mark the review as spam on your account. The procedure to ask Google to remove an offensive review is outlined here step-by-step:
- Choose “Flag as inappropriate” by clicking the three little dots to the right of the review you want to mark as improper.
- Choose a justification for flagging the material.
- Be patient for a potential resolution for up to 3 business days.
- On a phone or tablet, flagging inappropriate review content
- Activate the My Business app.
- Tap Reviews after selecting Customers.
- Then select Flag review under More.
- Improper Review Material on Google Maps can be reported
- On your PC, launch Google Maps.
- Go to the listing for your company.
Find the review that you want to delete. - Then select Flag as inappropriate from the More menu.
- As Google suggests, the final stage in each of them is to exercise patience.
- Each item that is flagged may need to be evaluated by a member of Google’s content review team for a number of days.
2. Request that a client remove or edit a bad Google review of your company. This May be the Best Option.
While responding to negative reviews requires a little extra time and effort, the long-term benefits of using this strategy to get rid of them are significant.
If you are successful, you will have removed a bad review and perhaps turned a bad consumer into a loyal supporter of your business. Here’s how to make the best of a poor circumstance in step-by-step order:
Consider your customer’s perspective first when you come across a negative review of your company on Google Reviews.
What specifically are they complaining about, and is it something you can fix now that you’re aware of the issue, ask yourself?
The second step is to respond to the customer’s review directly on Google once you’ve evaluated the case and confirmed that the review is genuine and appropriate.
Several people have varied ideas about what should be said, but the main idea is:
Identify and identify the client’s issue. “It sounds like you had trouble with the goods you purchased,” for instance.
Tell them that if you were in their shoes, you’d be frustrated as well. For instance: “I would also be upset if this happened to me.”
Assure them that you can and will solve their problem as soon as it is possible. For instance: “I would adore the chance to make this right. Please advise us how to deliver a functional product to you.
Even if the consumer is at fault, resist the urge to be rude or disrespectful! Future customers will regard your response as a reflection of your brand because it will be made public.
The last step is to wait for the customer’s reaction once you’ve written to them (or, to put it another way, be patient). Perhaps the consumer will respond so you can start a conversation about what specifically went wrong and how to rebuild your connection.
You can politely urge the customer to amend or remove their unfavorable review on Google after you’ve resolved the issue with them. It’s doubtful that they will refuse your kind request if you’ve been successful up to this point.
Even if the review is not taken down, the comments area will publicly demonstrate that you, the company owner, did your best to address the issue as soon as you became aware of it. If they still refuse to take the review down, you can always flag it for Google to review. Sometimes, this can speak louder than the review itself!
3. Send a tweet to @GoogleSmallBiz describing how to delete a bad review of your company.
You can always turn to that tried-and-true method of voicing your displeasure if the first two methods have failed: Twitter.
Consider the scenario where you reported the review as inappropriate but received no response. It’s possible that you replied to the reviewer as well, but they never replied to you.
After doing your research, it won’t harm to voice your concerns to Google directly in a public forum. Individuals should solve those issues as soon as they develop as people may see what tweets Google receives there.
Therefore, it’s not a good idea to tweet @Google. Instead, send a tweet to @GoogleSmallBiz outlining your circumstance. Follow them as well so they can respond to your problem-related Direct Message.
If you have any screenshots, include them in your tweet or direct message to Google’s Small Business division along with a brief summary and a link. By doing so, they will be able to see the problem more clearly overall and take prompt, effective action.
4. Submit a legal removal request for the negative review of your company to @googlesmallbiz on Twitter.
One more way is available to get rid of bad Google reviews of your business, but it only works in some circumstances. If a piece of content is unlawful, Google enables users to formally request that it be taken down.
This generally applies to slander against you or your brand, which is prohibited in the United States, when it comes to your company.
Go to the Content Removal Tool and choose Google Business Profile Manager to submit an illegal review. Google will quiz you about the review and your grievance with its particular content on the pages that follow.
For good reason, Google takes these accusations very seriously. You might be alleging unlawful behavior or other wrongdoing if you submit one of these complaints, therefore Google needs to make sure that they follow the correct procedure throughout the entire process.
Finally, be aware that each complaint must be sent separately “for each Google service where the content appears” if you wish to use this procedure to file more than one.
Click Here to Start This Process
Conclusion
The best practice is to monitor your reviews and nip bad ones in the bud as they happen. Usually, if you can get ahold of an unhappy customer and make things right while the issue is still fresh, they will remove the negative review. Always reply to negative reviews with a good attitude and a willingness to try to make things right.
