Starting off a new business from scratch is a challenging task. What makes it even more complicated is the technicalities involved in digital marketing. Nowadays, the world is digitalized to a point where you can’t really achieve a lot if you are not targeting your audience through the internet.
That is where the clout around online reviews comes to the equation, and makes people like you search how to delete my google reviews. Because, let’s face it, not all the reviews that are posted online are 100% true, and you or anyone would not like your business to suffer because of some scammers.
Well, don’t you worry anymore, because I have got the most perfect way to get rid of these unwanted reviews and take your brand activation process to a higher level. But before that, let’s understand that not every review that is not glowing, needs to be deleted.
Don’t Delete A Review Unless:
Humans are not perfect, and so their businesses can’t be perfect either. What makes a business great is their ability to deal with the bad days/events and cater their consumers according to the need of time.
What I am trying to achieve here is that your business can sometimes provide a product that’s not the best quality, or a service that’s not upto the mark. Try compensating a customer so they don’t instantly give you a 1-star review online.
Now, even if they mention a mishap they faced, they will feel obliged to mention the compensation that you offered, which brings you back the credibility. Understand that you will not only get 5-star reviews always, but it’s ideal to have an average review score of 3.5+.
The reason I am emphasizing on not deleting all reviews is because Google does not let you stop someone from voicing their opinions, unless it goes against its policies.
Google’s Deletion Policies:
- Harassment:
If the review has content that goes against community guidelines; harass the business, or any customers/staff, or encourage others to do so, that comment will be taken down immediately, or on your report.
- Personal information:
Google will delete any comment or review that contains unnecessary, confidential information, such as credit card or medical records etc.
- Fake reviews:
Google won’t tolerate deceptive content; a review that does not match your products or doesn’t represent your service. It must always be related to a personal experience and accurately match the product or service you provide.
While we are talking about fake content, it is also important to note that any fake engagement, impressions will also be deleted even if they are positive.
- Mature or dangerous content:
Google has the right to remove any content that contains calls to action for goods or services that might be subject to regional legal limitations or that encourages risky behavior.
Any explicit material that contains violence, vulgarity, sexual content, adult themes, or falls in NSFW category are considered mature disparaging content will be removed by Google.
How To Delete My Google Reviews:
A Google review assists your company in highlighting what current and potential customers think of your brand. Your Google Business Profile in Search and Maps displays these reviews.
Customers can post reviews on Google using a star rating system, ranging from one to five stars. A customer who gave your brand a five-star rating clearly enjoyed working with you. A one-star rating, on the other hand, indicates that a customer had a bad experience with your company.
Click on the business’ star rating or the blue hyperlink with the number of ratings the company has received to browse reviews on a Google Business Profile. There, you’ll find a breakdown of the number of ratings per star and the most frequently used review keywords. Reviews can be sorted by most pertinent, most recent, highest rating, and lowest rating.
So, there are only two ways to delete a google review; either the user deletes it, or the company flag it as inappropriate for Google to review and delete it later.
How to Flag a Review as Inappropriate On Your Account:
- Sign in to manage your Google Business Profile on your computer.
- Select the review you want to comment on.
- For a single company: The Google Business Profile you want to manage should be opened. Click Reviews in the menu on the left.
- For many companies: Simply select Manage reviews from the left menu. Then select a location group using the drop-down menu.
- To mark a review as inappropriate, click more on the review you want to mark.
- Now Google will take some time to review it and then delete it if it falls in the appropriate category.
For hotel brands, it’s also important to note that you cannot flag independent hotel reviews even when they contain policy breaches.
Lastly, I would like to conclude this blog on a very crucial tip for every business. While you wait for Google to review negative comments, ask your customer support teams to be active and come up with thoughtful responses to every review, especially the negative ones. It helps in building a healthy brand image as it expresses that you care about your customers.