How to report fake Google Reviews and get them removed
Don't let fake Google Reviews undo your hard work.
Fake, and even worse, scam reviews happen. Here’s how to handle them.
A few weeks ago, Kook was hit with 7x 1-star fake reviews on our Mooloolaba Google business profile in the period of an hour. They drove our average reviews score down from a well-earned 4.9 to a 4.6. All without a single real customer behind them.
The reviews weren’t real. Some even had phone numbers and email addresses on their profile pictures and encouraged us to “see my profile contact me”. It was a scam intended to make us pay to get the reviews removed.
Here’s the thing: it can happen to any business. And if it happens to you, how you respond matters.
How to verify the account reviewing you.
If you want to verify whether the account reviewing you is a bot or a real person, click on the name of the reviewer and view their Google "Local Guide" profile. If it says they have posted reviews previously and you can see the reviews in the list, that means their past reviews have been deemed to be legit by Google.
If the list of reviews is empty and/or not verified, that means any reviews they've previously posted have been removed, which indicates it may be a bot.
6 smart steps to fight back against spam reviews.
- Respond within 24-72 hours.
It's always best practice to respond to every review you get, whether it's negative or positive.
- Stay professional, but don’t let it slide.
Use a matter-of-fact response stating that you have no record of them as a client, and that Google is reviewing the matter.
- Remember your audience.
Other potential customers will see your reply, so the audience is really them, not the bot. Reassure real customers by pointing to your genuine reviews.
- Don’t violate any of Google’s policies yourself in your reply.
Kook used the following reply, "We have thoroughly reviewed our records and cannot find any legitimate customer interaction matching this description. This matter is being reviewed by Google."
You can also add something like "For anyone reading this, we encourage you to check out our other reviews to get a clearer picture of what working with us is really like."
- Report all of the reviews.
From an administrator profile on your Google business listing, click the (!) button near the review and choose "Report review". Select that the review is "Spam".
- Ask others to report the reviews.
Ask your co-workers and friends to take a look at the reviews on your Google business listing. If they agree that any of the reviews are spam, encourage your friends to report the reviews. They can do this by clicking the 3-dots near each review and following a similar process. The more reports the better.
What to expect next.
Google isn't always quick to review these reports. Reviews can take 1 to 14 days to be evaluated and removed. The more obvious an account is a bot (like if they have a profile image with a phone number and email address in it), the faster they'll be removed.
That said, there are no guarantees. If Google deems it to be a legitimate customer with a negative review it may stay, even if you don’t agree.
You can monitor the status of any reported reviews by going to reporting tool intro page from a Google account that has administrator privileges on the business's Google business profile.
At Kook, we’ve been through it and came out the other side with our 4.9 star rating restored.
What's next, Kook?
A meeting with us costs NOTHING. Even if you have an inkling you aren't getting the results you'd expect, let's have a chat.