Receiving negative Google reviews can be an unexpected disappointment. However, bad Google reviews are also an opportunity to learn how you can improve your business services.
Reviews are people’s opinions and you can’t please everyone all of the time. Unless a review violates Google’s policies, or the reviewer removed his review myself, it can’t be removed. If the issue that your customer mentions is one you believe you can improve, consider responding to them by calling first. If the issue isn’t one you can meaningfully improve upon for this customer, letting it go and moving on can be the best option.
Can you legally delete bad reviews from Google?
Of course, some negative reviews are fake or violate Google’s reviews policy, and in those instances, it’s important to know how to remove bad reviews from Google.
However, should you want to remove negative reviews from Google, the first thing you should do is contact the reviewer to try and resolve the issue. If you can resolve the issue to the customer’s satisfaction, it’s very likely the customer will edit or remove the bad review. If that doesn’t work, the only way to remove reviews is if they violate Google guidelines. Unless a review violates one of these guidelines, Google can’t remove it.
If you believe that a review violates Google’s policies, you can report it. Reviews that are negative, but that comply with Google’s policies won’t be removed.
Reviews violate Google’s policies if they:
- Spam and fake content
- Off-topic
- Restricted content
- Illegal content
- Dangerous & Derogatory Content
- Offensive content
- Conflict of Interest
If you feel a client’s review is inaccurate, contact the client directly to work out the matter. Clients have the ability to edit their reviews.
If you receive a review that you believe violates Google’s policies, You should report it. Google automatically removes the reviews that were reported as inappropriate.
How to respond to a Google review?
If you understand why your customer leaves a negative review, offer a solution that helps address the issues raised in the review. We suggest responding to Google reviews – Positive or Negative- as doing so helps new clients get to know you a bit better.
Reply to reviews on Google My Business
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google My Business app.
- Tap Customers Reviews.
- Tap the review to respond to.
- Write a response and tap Send.
Since your response will be public, here are some tips for responding:
- Keep it short and simple.
- Respond in a positive and professional way.
- Address the specific concerns from the review and any changes you made as a result.
- Focus on your service, not the reviewer.
Your response will appear in the Reviews section of Google. You can delete your response at any time and the client will receive an email letting them know you’ve replied.
And, here’s an example of a professional, polite response to a negative review:
Do I really need to respond to all of my positive and negative reviews?
Replying to negative Google reviews shows you care about customer feedback. When people feel listened to, they’ll be more likely to support your business. Potential customers research small businesses by looking at customer reviews to see if a business has a good reputation. This includes how a company handles negative reviews. In some cases, replying to bad Google reviews gives businesses an opportunity to win a client back or even mitigate further reputation damage.
Why You Should Address Negative Google Reviews?
90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business. Are online reviews like Google hurting your business or Law or physician practice? Are you a business owner, physician, or lawyer seeing false or bad reviews about you? Sometimes people put false and harassing reviews.
Is it possible for an attorney to address Google in an attempt to remove a negative review?
Google can hurt a business. Imagine if you had a law practice with 10 locations and each location had its own location page on Google. Focusing on one of those location profiles, potential clients may be able to see that there are 10 reviews, each with a 1-star review. Anyone who’s looking for a lawyer would take their lawyer elsewhere. one-star Google review can bring down a five-star rating causing clients to go to competitors.
If you are a victim of a false or bad faith review, you should actively find ways through the guideline above to redress those harmful reviews.
There are many content removal services that help you take down reviews on Google or other web platforms when a false or bad faith review damages your business, but your first step to removing a review should be to contact the reviewer. Even wondering about speaking to terrible belief reviewers, you would sense difficult to manage your temper. However, like the announcing “the slower you go, the farther you will be,” you need to hold your calm and set your thinking firmly on the intention of getting rid of the false review. Based on the following, you have to be capable of right inaccurate feedback or completely take down false reviews.