How Do I Remove a Fake Review From My Google Business Profile?
If you’re dealing with a fake Google review, you can’t just delete it yourself. You’ll need to report it to Google and let them decide whether it actually breaks their review policies.
If Google agrees, they’ll remove it. If they don’t, you get one chance to appeal the decision.
So the process really only comes down to this: you need to check whether the review actually qualifies for removal, report it, and appeal if Google still leaves it up.
Will Google Remove a Fake Review?
Maybe. If you think a review is fake, the first thing you need to figure out is whether it actually breaks one of Google’s review policies.
The easiest way to think about it is this: Google is looking for things like reviews from people who never actually dealt with your business, paid or incentivized reviews, multiple accounts being used to manipulate ratings, competitors trying to damage your reputation, or reviews involving some kind of conflict of interest.
So a review might qualify for removal if:
- The reviewer never actually had an experience with your business.
- Someone was paid or rewarded for leaving the review.
- Multiple accounts are being used to manipulate your rating.
- A competitor is posting reviews to damage your reputation.
- The review involves a conflict of interest.
But this is where things get a little trickier. If it’s from a real customer who actually dealt with your business, the review can still stay up even if you think it’s harsh, inaccurate, or just plain unfair, as long as it doesn’t actually break any of Google’s policies.
How to Report a Fake Google Review
If you think the review actually breaks one of Google’s policies, you can report it directly from your Business Profile.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Open your Google Business Profile.
- Select Read reviews.
- Open the three-dot menu next to the review and select Report review.
- Choose the reason you think the review breaks Google’s policies.
- Submit the report.
You can also use Google’s Reviews Management Tool to report reviews and keep track of what happens after you submit them.
How Long Does Google Take to Remove a Review?
Reported reviews usually take several days to get reviewed, but there’s no exact turnaround time.
You can check what’s happening through the Reviews Management Tool.
It’ll usually show one of three things:
- Decision pending
- Report reviewed, no policy violation
- Escalated, check your email for updates
If it’s still pending, there isn’t really anything else you need to do yet. Just wait for Google to finish reviewing it.
What If Google Doesn’t Remove the Review?
If Google leaves the review up, you get one chance to appeal the removal decision through the Reviews Management Tool.
You can include up to 10 eligible reviews in the appeal, and you’ll get the final decision by email.
Before you appeal, save anything that might help show why the review actually breaks the policy you reported it under. That could be evidence that the reviewer is a competitor, for example, or something showing that several suspicious reviews are connected.
If the appeal works, the review gets removed. If it doesn’t, the review stays up. But if that happens, you can still do something about it.
What Should You Do While the Review Is Still Live?
If the review is still up, whether you’re waiting for Google to decide or they’ve already left it up after the appeal, you should probably respond to the review.
Keep the response short and professional. You don’t need to get into an argument or publicly accuse the reviewer of lying, even if you’re pretty sure the review is fake.
The main thing is that anyone else reading the review can see that you took it seriously and responded reasonably.
What If Fake Reviews Are Part of an Extortion Attempt?
If someone’s using negative reviews to try and get you to pay them, give them something, or meet some other demand, that’s a whole different can of worms.
There’s a separate process for review extortion scams; use that instead of the normal review reporting process.
Need Help Managing Your Google Business Profile?
You don’t have to manage your Google Business Profile yourself when you’ve got us.
We’ll take a look at your profile, fix anything that’s off, and make sure it’s properly set up and managed for local search. Take a look at our Google Business Profile optimization services.
