Google reviews play a crucial role in online reputation management for businesses. In today’s world, people rely heavily on the internet for information, especially when they are looking to purchase a product or service. Google reviews help customers to determine whether a business can be trusted or not. However, not all reviews leave a positive impact on a business’s reputation. Occasionally, a negative review may appear on your Google My Business page which can harm your business’s reputation. If you are faced with such a situation, there is good news. Google provides an option for business owners to delete reviews that violate their policy. In this article, we will guide you through the process of delete google reviews (google bewertungen löschen).
1. Understand Google’s Review Policy:
Google has strict policies regarding reviews. It’s essential to read and understand these policies thoroughly before attempting to delete any reviews. If a review doesn’t violate Google’s policies, it cannot be deleted. Google’s review policies prohibit fake, spam, or inappropriate content. To report a review, click on the three-dot menu (located next to the reviewer’s name), and select “Flag as inappropriate.” Once Google receives your request for review, its team will assess its eligibility for removal.
2. Respond to Negative Reviews:
Before contemplating deleting a review, try and resolve the issue brought up by the reviewer. Responding appropriately to negative reviews may result in the reviewer retracting or adjusting their review. Many times, responding to the review may make the reviewer realize their mistake in posting a defamatory review. The final goal should always be to keep your business’s reputation intact.
3. Flag the Review:
If you feel that the review violates Google’s policies, you can submit a request to Google to remove the review. To do this, you should flag the review using the three-dot menu located next to the reviewer’s name. It is helpful to note that Google takes a strict stance against policies violation, so your request for removal must be valid. Google will remove reviews that contain hate speech, threats, or discriminatory language. Reviews that do not violate Google’s policies, however, cannot be removed.
4. Follow Up:
Google takes between 24 and 72 hours to review flagged reviews. After this period, if it still appears online, it has either not violated Google’s review policy or Google has not reviewed it yet since they did not find any policy violations. In such cases, you can request another review of the flagged review. Contact GMB support and provide supporting evidence to show how the review violates the policy.
5. Make Use of the “Remove this Review” option:
While flagging a review is a possible way to remove it, there are times when the error was made by the reviewer. For example, they may have mistaken your business for another one, or an inappropriate review could have been posted mistakenly. In such cases, the reviewer may want to remove the review. An excellent way to achieve this is to make use of the “Remove this review” option which is available in their original review.
Negative reviews can harm your business’s reputation. It is crucial to keep an eye on the reviews on your Google My Business page and handle them with care. It’s important to note that Google’s review policies strictly prohibit the removal of reviews that are not policy violations. You can either flag a review or use the “Remove this review” option if the reviewer wishes to delete the review. However, the ideal approach is to take steps to avoid negative reviews by resolving issues as they arise.