Can I Delete a Bad Google Review?

Please note: Google My Business changed its name to Google Business Profile in late 2021.

Google reviews are really important for your local SEO rankings (Search Engine Optimisation) – and ultimately getting leads for your business! And it can be very disappointing when you receive a negative review that you feel is unfair, or indeed what seems to be a completely fake review (by mistake or intentionally).

Unfortunately you can’t delete a review just because you don’t agree with it. You do however, have a couple of options:

1. Respond to the review. Apologise as appropriate. Explain briefly how you responded at the time to try and help (without going into lots of detail regarding the particular issues) – this will greatly improve peoples’ perceptions. Don’t get personal or share any of their personal data. Suggest they contact you by email or phone to discuss it further. Sign off with your name and position. If you have now helped resolve the issues and the customer is happier, you can ask them to update/edit their review once the issue has been resolved. If it is a fake review – you can again respond in a professional manner, saying that unfortunately you have no records of them as a customer as described or named in the review, and if they have been a customer of yours, to please contact (INSERT NAME) by (INSERT EMAIL) and say you will investigate and resolve the issue immediately for them.
2. Dispute review with Google – Note that this is only applicable if the review has violated the ‘Google Review Policy’. If you believe the review has broken the rules, then follow their guide on how to flag inappropriate reviews.
3. Ask clients for reviews – If you have only a handful of reviews and you have received one bad one, it can have a negative effect on your star rating average. You could undertake an exercise to ask more existing clients, who you know have been happy with your service/product, to leave reviews on Google. This will add to your overall star rating and mitigate the impact of the negative review. Read our blog about how to ask customers for a Google review.

Check out or other Google My Business blogs:

• Can I ask a client for a review without GDPR issues?
• Why is Google My Business important for local SEO?
• Google+ is shutting down!

Need help with your Google My Business profile? Have any questions related to Google My Business? Get in touch!