If you own a business online, Google reviews can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Why did we say that? Studies show almost 90% of consumers claimed they read reviews for local businesses.
Businesses, whether small or larger, need to protect themselves from fake negative reviews. Thus, it’s smart to start deleting these kinds of reviews that only do harm to your site. If you want to find out how to delete a Google review, keep on reading.
1. Why Do I Need to Delete a Google Review?
You can determine the success of your online business with how good Google reviews are for it. Positive reviews are very powerful tools that help to improve your site ranking. Yet, too many of them and too few negative reviews can make your site seem too good to be true.
Having a lot of bad reviews for your site is bad for your online reputation. The key is to have a reasonable number of negative reviews among the positive ones. This will make your site authentic and convincing.
The sad thing is that there are also fake reviews that can damage your site’s reputation. These are often created by your competitors. This is why it’s important you know how to sniff out actual client reviews from competitor sabotage.
2. How to Spot and Respond to Fake Google Reviews
The internet is an ocean of fakes and frauds. The Google business reviews for your website don’t have to be. Weak competitors may turn to use underhanded tactics to make it to the top.
The first thing you do is to check to see if this was a review by a past customer. It’s not easy to spot and deal with negative reviews that you think are fake. Sometimes, you might be wrong.
Potential customers looking through these reviews have no idea that reviews are fake. The best way to best these fake reviews is to be the most helpful and respectful you can be. This shows that you are on top of customer service to potential clients.
Reply with an apology and do it as soon as you can. Let the reader know that you understand the complaint and that you want to rectify the problem. Offer to fix the issue and bad customer experience with future discounts or refunds.
Leave your email address, number, or other contact information. Request that the reviewer contact you to get any other issues resolved. Next, flag the review.
The key here is to remain professional and calm throughout the process. This will allow you to respond with a level head. If you have a tendency to get emotional, take some space away from the drama and take time to cool down.
3. Before You Delete a Google Review, Win over the Reviewer
If you want to know how to delete a Google review, we can tell you that it’s neither simple nor easy. There is no “delete” button that will let you remove any review you want to. Many businesses that succeed in having bad reviews deleted go through a process.
Let’s say that the negative review was legitimate and coming from an unhappy client. Before you think about deleting their reviews, convince them to reconsider. They still have the power to edit or delete their reviews.
What you have to do is to respond to the review. The rules of responding remain the same: remain professional. Be as respectful and helpful as you can be in your responses.
Responding to negative reviews give you a chance to fix perceptions of the business. Ignoring these bad reviews can only make the problem worse. It shows that you don’t give too much importance on good customer relations and customer service.
Reach out to the reviewer and address the issues they raised. You can do this in private or in a public reply. Public responses show not only the complainant but also the audience that you care.
Offer to fix the problem and put a little bit more focus on them when they buy from you in the future. Later, it’s also smart to ask if they still feel the same way. This helps build rapport and wins them over.
At this point, you can request that they edit or delete their negative Google review. If they don’t know how to edit a Google review, you can offer instructions on how. Redirect them to the Google support page or give them the instructions yourself.
4. How to Delete a Google Review
A whopping 97% of business owners say online reputation management is important. Given how much consumers rely on Google ratings and reviews, the statistic is not surprising. This is why it’s also important to learn how to delete Google reviews.
As a business owner, there is no way that you can delete a Google review. The best approach is to win over a client and then ask them to do it, as we stated above. If it has odds of being a fake review, you can request that Google remove it after you give a professional response.
Let’s talk about reporting reviews that violate Google’s review policies. To report your review, go to Google Maps. Next, look for the review you want to report and then click “More”.
Choose “Flag as inappropriate”. Google will then review your report and decide whether to remove it. This process will take some time but there is a way to speed up the process.
Call Google’s support contact number that caters to businesses with grievances. You can see this on “support” under your Google My Business account. You can also report reviews edging on slander through legal means with Google’s Legal Removal Requests.
Manage Your Online Reputation
That’s it for our guide on how to delete a Google review. Remember that the key here is to show professionalism. Patience, professionalism, and compassion go a long way.
Want some more tips to improve Google ratings, website ranking, and marketing ideas? Come and check out our blog page for content like this. Got questions? Get in touch and feel free to shoot us your questions.
