Customers are precious, so are their reviews. But what when they are fake and also negative, done either to beat the competition or to degrade the brand reputation. Well, it is not always fake reviews, sometimes poor star rating given by trollers also become the arrears to success.
Regardless of the intentions, Google does not delete them until they are violating the guidelines. We understand the pain of the newbies, startups and small scale who are putting endless efforts to gain the online presence, but struggling hard to get rid of the fake reviews. However, Google has dynamic review policies which modifies either considering the lawmaking or some external pressure. Also, it is possible to get the review removed, if the claim is proven strongly citing the rights and laws from jurisdiction.
Did this sound too technical for you? Relax! We will help you understand and follow the tactics that can let you win the fight of getting rid of fake and negative Google reviews.
Deleting The Reviews Is Possible
If you are managing Google Adword account. Thumbs Up! If not, talk to the professional, who is doing it for you. The reason being, Adword account will enable you to contact the representative and report the issue. This is the one of the easiest way to send the concern to the appropriate department.
However, if you do not work with Adwords, there are many more ways you can resolve the issue.
#1 – Flag Review As Inappropriate
Get started with searching your business name in Google maps or search. Tap the review panel. Hover on the review date and click the flag icon. Once the flag is marked on the review, Google editors examine the comment and the user’s profile who published it.
Once you mark the flag on the review, it will ask for your email address and the violation type as follows:
- This post contains hateful, violent or inappropriate content
- This post contains advertising or spam
- Off-topic
- This post contains conflicts of interest
In order to report the false profile, tap “This post contains conflicts of interest”. In other case, choose other options. Google does not make any action unless they are flagged by at least 5 different Google accounts. So, you can make 5 different account to deal in short span.
# 2 – Contact Google Directly
Well! You can start with making a phone call to support, texting for instant chat or sending email. However, making a phone call will not support at a greater extent. Above all, you may find the best response contacting the support assistance using Twitter.
# 3 – Log Into Google Product Forum to Flag The Issue
Google Product Forum can help you the best of all. It offers their all products and services including reviews assistance. You can log onto Google My Business account and its subcategory to resolve the fake reviews issue.
The forum searches the review complaints and trolls to fix the issue. There are forum users who are the top contributors and have good visibility. You can get the assistance from them to gain the escalation for your issue.
# 4 – Make A Review Removal Request Legally
Google accepts legal removal requests for the fake reviews and get them fixed setting the top priority.
One of the privacy rules i.e., right to be forgotten came into existence that oblige Google to mould search engine results and remove the reviews on request. Though reviews are not considered as the search engine results, but they do appear on queries.
If you are a USA resident, you surely need the legal removal request, while you are a UK resident, you can get the review remove easily.
Above all the deeds, there are a few important things you always need to consider when you are going through fake review removal process. All you need to do is:
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Keep Calm
While you are performing all the processes to get the reviews removed, hold your patience. The reason being, if you respond the reviews aggressively, it would leave the poor impression on the readers and other customers. However, you can respond maintaining your professionalism by apologizing and promising to give the satisfied experience for future. This will reflect your activeness and efforts towards your customers. However, if you cannot keep calm, the best would be not to respond at all.
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Ask Existing Customers For Feedback
No doubt, businesses put immense efforts to win the customer’s trust and make them to become a returning customer. This practice can help you in a long way. Always ask your customers to leave their feedback. This way you will get positive reviews which may push down the fake reviews.
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Work For Quality, Not Quantity
No matter, how much pages your website has or how much frequency you have to publish the blogs. All that matters is the quality. Always aim for the quality website with unique content and good infographics. You cannot ignore the social media activities too. Do not go blind posting the irrelevant or negative content.
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Get In Touch With Professionals
SEO has always been a win-win when it is anything about digital marketing or online presence. If you cannot handle the hassle and any of the tactics discussed above, just get connected with a reputed digital marketing company or across to resolve the issue. The professionals will assist you with online reputation management which includes the process of gaining good online reputation.
Conclusion: Fake Reviews, No More A Huge Challenge
No doubt, fake and negative reviews are the pain, but not something impossible to get rid of. Simply, keep your patience and start dealing with them like a champ. Respond to them in a gentle way, get Google support, ask for reviews from existing customers and last but not the least, go for online reputation management service or social media optimization services. Remember, these negative reviews are not going to stop ever, but you can come over the issue following the easy methods or connecting with the experienced professionals.
