Yes, Google may remove Google Maps reviews that the owner/admin of a Google My Business page wrote a public reply to. Responding to a review doesn’t seem to validate it in Google’s view, as in, “Well, if business owner replied to it, it must be legit.” Your response to a review doesn’t fossilize that review for eternity.
Every now and then a client gets a bad review from a non-customer, a real customer with a bogus or irrelevant complaint, a slimy competitor, or another questionable source, and the question I get is: “Should I report the review to Google or should I reply to it?” If you’re wondering the same thing, I’d say you should do both. Report the review and reply to it in a circumspect way (if you think you’re better off with a response up for all to see).
In the past I’ve suggested first trying to get a bogus or irrelevant review removed, and then replying to it only if Google doesn’t take it down (which is what happens more often than not).
But recently Google has removed a few reviews that (a) the owner of the Google My Business page replied to and that (b) I flagged for removal. In those cases it took a couple of months, but it was still a good outcome. Here’s an example of what that looks like when it works out.
WILL Google remove every review you report? No – not even close. What hurts your business doesn’t hurt Google’s business. For the same reason that Google didn’t auto-filter the review right out of the chute, the chances are high that Google doesn’t consider the review unfair enough to remove it manually after your reporting it.
What does all of that boil down to? Two things:
- You can go ahead and flag reviews that you already replied to. Of course, one possible danger is that the reviewer writes you another, angrier (or more bogus) review on Google Maps or elsewhere (or both). In general, I’d say that’s an acceptable risk.
- You can reply to damaging reviews even if you’ve already flagged them. You’re not making the review stick by responding to it. Does your response tip the scales at all, so that the review is more likely to stay put? That I do not know. I know only that Google may remove a review that’s been replied to.
How much success have you had any in getting Google to remove reviews of your business that you replied to?
How about reviews of other people’s GMB pages – reviews that they replied to and that you reported?
Any tips?
Leave a comment!
P.S. Do you know of anyone who’s already written on this (so I can give any due credit)?
I’ve always said ‘don’t respond’ till we get Google to look at it – Good to know – thanks for the update Phil –
Hey Phil,
Thanks for exploring this a bit further – certainly makes me rethink my typical guidance for clients!
You mention:
But recently Google has removed a few reviews that (a) the owner of the Google My Business page replied to and that (b) I flagged for removal. In those cases it took a couple of months, but it was still a good outcome.
Is that implying that you feel the review process would have still been a shorter one if the owner hadn’t already replied? There’s a sense of urgency from clients when asking us to handle negative reviews, so I still wonder if it’s better to flag then respond in 72 hours if the case hasn’t already been sorted.
Hey Mike,
Good question; thanks. Wish I knew whether one’s responding to a review slows down the process, and if so by how much (roughly). Like you, I’ve noticed that Google’s turnaround varies, if Google even removes a review at all. Kind of a “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” situation. So I’d say your SOP of respond fast + flag anyway is a good one in pretty much all situations.
Hey Phil,
Makes sense to me! And the response time does vary dramatically – there doesn’t seem to be a pattern – we’ll report both positive and negative that violate Google T&C, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference. And very serious violations seem to have the same pattern (or lack thereof) as borderline flag and pray reports.
It’s similar to when we’re flagging competitors for spammy GMB names in Maps, but those seem to be more likely to get resolved almost instantly, whereas some float in the Google support ocean for weeks (if we ever get a resolution).
Appreciate the clarification and thanks as always for the interesting insights – always look forward to your newsletter!