How to deal with a fake Google review

Spotted a review on your Google Business Profile that doesn't appear to be from one of your customers?  

Unfortunately, there's no way for you to remove a review from your profile by yourself and Google won't remove a review just because you disagree with a customer's feedback. 

The good news though, is that Google will step in and remove it for you if that review violates its policies, which includes fake reviews.

This article will share the steps you need to take in order to flag the review to Google so they can ultimately remove it from your listing. 

How to get a fake review removed by Google

To remove a fake review from your Google Business Profile, you'll need to report the review for removal. Google will assess your case and if they agree the review is a fake, it will be removed. Keep in mind that it can take several days to complete the assessment so you'll want to get onto it quickly.  

1. Head to the Review management tool in your Google Business Profile
   
   
2. Check you're in the right account by making sure the email address is the one you use to manage your Google Business Profile
   
   
3. Click 'Confirm' 
   
   
4. Select your business then 'Report a review for removal' 
   
   
5. For each review that you want to have removed, click 'Report' 
   
   
6. Inside the new tab, select a category for the review then hit 'Submit' 

Now that you’re on track to having the fake review removed, find out how to get more great reviews by downloading our guide on how to ethically explode your Google reviews.

After all, the best way to prepare for fake reviews is to have an abundance of positive ones - making them a needle in a haystack.