How to Remove a Negative Review From Google Business Profile

Managing your business’s online reputation is a must as a multi-location marketer. Eighty-eight percent of consumers now trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. 

When to Consider Removing a Negative Review 

Before we get into removing a negative review from Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly Google My Business, let’s dive into what to consider before deleting a negative review. Negative reviews happen. They often show potential consumers that your business is real and provide an opportunity to win a customer back. Still, sometimes, there are reasons for a negative review to be removed. 

Google states that businesses should only report reviews that violate their policies, which include: 

• Spam and fake content 
• Off-topic content 
• Restricted content 
• Illegal content 
• Terrorist content
• Sexually explicit content
• Dangerous and derogatory content 
• Impersonation 
• Conflict of interest

Get a more detailed explanation of each type of review content that Google prohibits, here. It’s also worth noting that you can’t report third-party hotel reviews. To flag a third-party review that your business would like removed, Google suggests contacting the third-party provider directly. Next, we’ll look at how your business can get any qualifying reviews removed by GBP. 

How to Remove a Negative Review From Google Business Profile

When it comes to removing a negative review, the process is relatively simple. When reporting a review for removal, your business can use Google Maps or Google Search. When flagging a review in Google Maps, start by opening the Google Maps app. To open your business’s GBP, click on the image or initials and then “Your Business Profile.” Next, tap reviews and click on the review you’d like to report. Once you select the review, you can click “report review.” The process is the same for reporting a review on Google Search, but you’ll open Google Search rather than Google Maps and then click on your profile and follow the same steps mentioned above. 

While there may be some reviews your business needs to report, Google does have automated spam detection measures to remove reviews that are likely spam, saving your marketing team time and effort.  

Now that you understand how to remove a negative review from Yelp, it’s time to start managing your online reputation. Learn how SOCi can help.