Update 2/14/17: Google eventually removed the review, after keeping it up for 3-4 days. I suspect that, as I requested, enough readers flagged it down. Just to see if
Google would do anything. Thanks to Glenn Gabe for alerting me. Now I have a little more faith in Google’s system – though it’s still a mess.
So much for Google’s automatic review filters.
They used to be so uptight, man. Then they tuned in, turned on, and dropped out.
I posted that review of my business yesterday (2/9/17). I suppose it’s possible they’ll remove it tomorrow, or next week, or next month, but I doubt it. I’ve seen too many business owners self-review and have the review stick around indefinitely.
I even wrote the review with the same Google account I use to manage my Google My Business page. There’s no way Google could have mistaken me for a customer. Google probably knows more about my life than I do.
It’s simply that Google doesn’t care if you review yourself. Doesn’t care one pinch. As with policing business names and addresses on “the local map,” Google’s policing of reviews doesn’t extend beyond the donut box. Say what you want and do what you want, as long as you don’t make Google look bad.
Anyway, I’ve found that the only thing that will usually get your reviews filtered is if you ask for too many of them at once. Google still looks askance (as they should) at big spikes in your review count. Perhaps in time they’ll ease up on that, too.
One hanging chad in my little test: it’s possible that a self-review of a business with no reviews or few reviews would get filtered. Google is used to seeing a trickle of reviews on my page.
I was about to say that another theoretical hole is that I’ve written a number of reviews over the years, so maybe Google “trusts” my account in that regard. But I’m still reviewing my own business.
Google has pushed reviews hard for several years now, after a brief period of subjecting reputation-conscious business owners to a Spanish Inquisition. They’re invaluable for data-mining and – mostly in indirect ways – for filling the AdWords cup.
What does Google’s seemingly relaxed attitude toward self-reviews mean to you, the business owner? Mostly that you probably don’t need to hand-wring over details like whether you can ask 5 customers one week and 8 customers the next week, or whether it’s OK to send a direct link.
It also means that – now that someone can have your business show a 1-star average rating after a single negative review – you can probably take care of yourself with swagger.
—
What crazy Google reviews have you seen not get filtered?
What kinds of reviews has Google filtered?
Leave a comment!
P.S. Want to flag down my self-review and see if and when Google will take it down? Might be a neat experiment for a follow-up post.
Ha, Phil, your P.S. was exactly what I was about to suggest as I was reading this post. I just flagged your review (sorry, man). Let’s see what happens!
Way to harsh my mellow 🙂
Fun test, Phil. I’ve seen cases where review spikes were no problem either. A chiropractor held a wellness seminar at his office, and passed around an iPad for people to review him. Each person logged into their own google account to leave their review, but they all can in on the same day, from the same IP, on the same device. None got filtered. Google doesn’t seem to care.
Thanks, man. I’ve seen some review spikes play out that way, too. I’d be curious to know: had the chiropractor been getting a pretty consistent influx of reviews before iPad Review Fest?
I think he tended to get them in bursts like this. He had 30ish when he did this.
Ssshhh! Everyone will be doing it soon and then where will be be? Or maybe they already are. Hilarious.
Yeah, the cat’s long since out of the bag – and then scratched it up and used it as a litter box. This was just a little test to see whether Google’s filters filter.
Interesting experiment Phil. After seeing a fair share of false and spammy reviews on a number of different My Business pages, I’ve always wondered at what point Google’s filters actually kick in. Can’t say I’ve encountered a business reviewing themselves yet, so it was neat to see the reaction.
Yeah. Because the review wasn’t filtered initially, and only seemed to get filtered after I encouraged readers to flag it, it’s tough to say whether the filters even did kick in or a Google beat cop saw the blog post and did something.
I think Google does indeed know that it’s an owners review and they’re okay with it. Like you said, it’s when too many reviews start flowing in too fast that they start getting suspicious.
Phil,
Sorting by “most recent” reviews, I am not seeing yours on your own business anymore. Did the flagging get it taken down?
Hey Josh,
The flagging must’ve worked. I’m not seeing the review in my GMB Dashboard anymore, which is usually where filtered reviews show up. Glenn Gabe also let me know about this. Thanks for letting me know.
This is good news. Either I’ll update this post or do a new one a postmortem.
Phil:
Regarding this comment: “it’s possible that a self-review of a business with no reviews or few reviews would get filtered” I can tell you it doesn’t matter. I have a new client who left herself a glowing review about 3 years ago. Her review is still her only review on Google:)
Travis
What I should have said is: “It’s possible that a self-review of a business with no reviews or few reviews is more likely to get filtered.” I’ve noticed what you describe, too.
Thanks for sharing – we’ve really noticed businesses ramping up their Google Reviews in the last 6 months, and while it’s still extremely important, if every business has a 4.5 – 5 star rating with 75+ reviews I think consumers might get suspicious or, expectations might be too high. Mike Blumenthal <a href="https://blumenthals.com/blog/2017/01/30/can-a-5-star-review-profile-backfire/"did a good blog post on it here, with a link to Harvard Business Review (albeit, this was talking about Amazon type companies, but for service businesses it can apply as well)
Also, on mobile devices, when doing a Google search, you can select businesses within a certain radius, or by ‘star rating’ to filter local results so we’ll see how it plays out in the end.
Yeah. Google wants all reviews to be Google reviews. Many business owners only focus on Google reviews. Customers want to see more than just Google reviews.
Hi
Does anyone know how to report a company that is make up there own reviews and getting staff to do the same
They get a bad review then they post 5 star reviews and ask staff to do the same
Ive flagged the reviews but nothing seems to being done as the reviews are still up on google
I dont want people being ripped off by these con men
Right now I have a fake negative review that’s been there a month. It’s very obvious, it’s fake.
Google removed it once, yet reinstated it. Isn’t that odd?
The negative review I received has hate speech in it as well, but Google will not remove it.
Why do they do this?
It’s 2023 now, abd this blog post is 6 years old…but I just had to weigh in.
That sounds about right, Levi. I believe the salient technical term here is FUBAR.