Building your online reputation is one of the most important things your business can do – especially for new companies. You’ve done your best to provide quality products and services, but every once in a while – out of the blue – the unthinkable happens.
A bad Google review.
Can I remove bad Google reviews?
We get asked this a lot and the answer, unfortunately, is no. You cannot edit, delete or hide a Google review. And that’s not a bad thing. Imagine a company that sells defective products. If they could delete bad reviews, people would continue buying faulty products, unaware of the company’s dark dealings.
What’s the best way to handle a bad review?
If your business receives a review that you feel is inaccurate, you have a few options:
- If you know who left the review: Contact them, acknowledge their review, offer to resolve their issues, and ask that they update or remove their review.
- If you don’t know the person who left the review: Respond to them publicly through your Google MyBusiness account. Below are some templates to help you respond:
- Hi, [NAME]. Thank you for your interest in our company, but we’ve never had a [CLIENT/CUSTOMER] by your name, so we’re concerned with the low rating you gave. If your review was a mistake, we’d appreciate you removing it. If it was not in error, please give us the opportunity to discuss it with you. Please contact us at (XXX) XXX-XXXX. Thank you!
- Hi, [NAME]. We’re so sorry you had this experience. We’d love the opportunity to speak with you directly to resolve this issue. Our desire is that everyone we work with has a positive experience. Please contact us at (XXX) XXX-XXXX. Thanks!
- Flag the review on Google: You can report the review using your Google MyBusiness account. Google does not guarantee they will remove the review, but we’ve seen some results with this method.
Next: Get More Reviews!
The best way to keep a bad review from hurting your online reputation is to get more reviews! Ask recent (satisfied) clients/customers to tell others about their experience with you. We love using email and text to send a direct link to your Google business listing. This makes the review process smooth and painless. We also recommend using a service like Grade Us to generate your Google Review link.
An easy way to ask for reviews
Dear [CLIENT],
Thank you so much for choosing to work with [COMPANY]. Occasionally, we ask clients to give us feedback via Google Reviews. This helps us continue to grow and partner with amazing clients like you! We know you’re busy, but we would greatly appreciate you taking some time to leave a positive review about your experience with us.
If you already have a Google account ([email protected]), simply click the link below to provide your feedback.
[LINK] (You can use this link generator to help)
If you do not have an account, creating a Google account is FREE and easy:
https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2/webcreateaccount?continue=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&hl=en&flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=SignUp
Thanks so much, and we look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[COMPANY NAME]
Google Review Rules
There’s nothing wrong with asking for positive reviews. However, you do need to make sure that you are not incentivizing these reviews! Offering someone a $5 gift card for a five-star review is directly against Google’s policy: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474122?hl=en
Increasing the number of positive reviews will help bury the negative one and improve your overall star ratings!
