Have you noticed that you have missing Google reviews? For service companies, Google reviews can be one of the most important factors for a potential customer to call your company for a service call. Google Business profiles are a great way to connect with potential clients. They offer many benefits, such as having a place where people can find you online, see what you do, learn about your products/services, contact you, etc.
Several reports have surfaced that Google has pruned and removed some reviews from local maps results from Google Business Profile listings. Every now and then, this happens, and it’s unclear whether it’s a bug or a new filter.
However, there are some reasons why Google Business profile reviews may have disappeared.
My Google reviews were removed. Why?
Google has many systems to monitor the quality of reviews for a Google Business Profile. For example, if they notice that many reviews are low-quality or fake, the Google algorithm will get triggered and filter the review from being visible.
How does a review get filtered?
Reviews get filtered for various reasons, including IP addresses, fake Google accounts, URLs in the review, and even words Google doesn’t like. Reviews containing URLs will get filtered. Reviews that contain keywords Google does not like will get filtered. Reviews are filtered out if reviewers share the same IP address as business owners or if reviewers are incentivized to give good ratings. Employees shouldn’t ever write negative reviews about businesses. Businesses offering incentives to customers to post positive reviews will see those reviews disappear.
It’s Not Possible to Catch Every Fake/Paid Review on Google
The latest update to Google’s algorithm aims to reduce the number of paid reviews on the web. However, some loopholes still allow businesses to game the system. One expert claims that over half of all reviews posted online are fake.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google’s review filters don’t catch all fake reviews. The WSJ found that many businesses can pay people to write positive service reviews. These reviews often come from real customers but are written by someone else. They are called ghostwritten reviews.
There are many ways to trick the system. Some companies even offer incentives like cash rewards to employees who post positive reviews. Businesses can also use third-party platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork to find reviewers.
Some experts believe that the problem could be worse than we think. Even over 50% of reviews on Amazon are fake, according to a study conducted by Consumer Reports.
Missing Google Reviews? What caused Google to delete my reviews?
There’s nothing you can do to prevent this from happening. If a customer asks why a review disappeared, you’ll have no way to respond. You could try contacting the reviewer directly to ask him/her to change or re-post the review, but there’s no guarantee he/she will do it or that Google will not filter it again.
Here’s a list of why Google reviews can get removed or filtered:
- Reviews with bad language (profanity).
- Reviews with links (URLs) to other websites.
- Reviews that include personal information.
- Reviews that include phone numbers.
- Reviews that include email addresses.
- Reviews that include social media handles.
- Reviews that include payment details.
- Reviews that include any form of advertising.
- Reviews that include any incentive.
- Reviews that include any promotion.
- Reviews that include any spamming.
- Reviews that include any types of scams.
- Reviews that include any forms of harassment.
- Reviews that include any threats.
- Reviews that include any hate speech.
- Reviews that include any illegal activities.
- Reviews that include any malicious activity.
- Reviews that include any fraudulent activities.
- Reviews that include any unethical practices.
- Reviews that include any false statements.
- Reviews that include any misleading statements.
- Reviews that include any violations of Google policies.
- A bug or error in Google’s software.
- A mistake made by Google’s staff.
- The reviewer deleted their review, or they deleted their profile entirely.
How To Get Your Google Reviews Back
It may not be possible to get your disappearing Google reviews back, and there is no guarantee that they will ever return.
According to Google’s documentation, reviews flagged for policy violations are not eligible for reappearance.
It is recommended, however, that you submit a Google Business Profile Support Ticket to discuss your case with Google and (possibly) get your reviews reinstated.
The Takeaway
Google reviews are an important part of your business. One thing to consider, rather than spending lots of time and energy on getting old reviews back, perhaps your efforts would be more fruitful by focusing on getting new reviews from this point forward.
Google reviews are an important part of your business strategy. It is essential to keep them up to date so that customers know what you’re all about.
Reviews can be deleted without warning. There is nothing you can do to stop this from happening.
Your business should always keep track of its reviews. This way, you can make sure that you don’t miss out on anything negative that might happen.
Even though Google says that it catches all fake reviews, there are still loopholes.
Google uses software made by humans to monitor reviews. The software can be buggy, just like people.
It is possible to get your reviews restored if you contact Google support.
If you’ve had your own Google reviews removed and got them back, let us know how it worked out for you in the comments below.
This seems to be really good information. I’m pretty sure we keep all the rules that you mentioned, and it doesn’t look like we have lost previously posted reviews. I would like to know why new reviews from legitimate customers don’t show up for days or not at all. What have you seen that can help legit reviews get posted? We do use a service that requests reviews from customer. Could that be flagging something?
Also…any ideas on how to get customers not to use words that Google doesn’t like? I don’t know what those would be. I’m just happy they like us and want to share a review. I don’t want to be the review police.
New reviews can be delayed for multiple reasons. Google review platform updates, a surge in new reviews to your profile, reviews from outside your location/service area, the history of the Google account leaving the review, etc. There’s no way to know the cause of the delays without knowing the logic behind the developers at Google. Remember that it is also a software platform that can sometimes be buggy. One thing to note, Google does not trust listings in the service industry. You can blame the black hat SEOs, shady marketers, and lead gen companies for that. They are why Google has had to go to extremes to prevent abuse of Google Business Profiles.
As for customers not using certain words in their reviews, well that’s a bigger challenge because you cannot coach every customer to write a review in a specific way. And honestly, you shouldn’t want to do that. Replying to reviews is much more important for a service company to do. This is the only thing you have control over with regards to the content associated with the review.