According to Bright Local, almost two-thirds of consumers turn to the search engines to find online reviews. The remainder of those surveyed go straight to a review website instead. Since reviews left on Google My Business appear in the search results and on Google Maps, they are among the most visible of all. The world’s largest search engine also uses customer reviews as a ranking factor, meaning that poorly rated businesses are less likely to show up in the search results.
A major goal of online reputation management is to ensure that your business appears on the first page of the search results in a positive light. Unsurprisingly, poor ratings appearing beside your website listing in the search results can have a devastating impact on your business. While you can’t expect to simply pick and choose which reviews you want the public to see, there are steps you can take to either drown out negative feedback or, in some cases, remove it altogether.
If any review violates Google’s review policies, you have every right to try to remove it. To flag a review for removal, first check the policy before taking the following steps:
- Open Google Maps, and locate your business
- Select your business, and locate the ‘Review summary’ section in the sidebar
- Click on the total number of reviews beneath the star rating
- Scroll down to the review you want to flag, and click the flag icon
- Explain why you’re flagging the review, and click ‘Submit’
Google may take up to a week to manually review your complaint. However, their decision is made entirely at their discretion. If they decide not to remove the review, you will need to take steps to improve your reputation by effectively drowning out negative feedback with positive feedback. Alternatively, you may want to take legal action if the content is defamatory and you have failed to reach an agreement with the reviewer.
Reputation Resolutions understands very well the impact of online reviews on your business. If you are seeking options to remove a Google My Business review or would like to discuss strategies to improve your online reputation, please call us today at (855)239-5322.