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Having been burnt a couple of times by so called SEO / online marketing agencies in the past I was a bit sceptical but very quickly realised my fears were unfounded and wish I'd found him years ago. I started using Chris for my online marketing in December and in a couple of months saw my business increasing and a now with a continual steady pipeline of new business I have been able to expand so very happy to recommend.
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How To Deal With Fake Google Reviews

You would think that by this point in time, Google would have pretty much gotten the whole fake reviews issue under control. Or at least, have implemented some kind of an easy system to get rid of fake reviews after being published.

Sadly, this simply isn’t the case at all.

Social proof has become the number-one deal-breaker for the vast majority of consumers. Around 90% of people now use online reviews, ratings and recommendations to guide their purchase decisions. Without a stack of positive feedback, you’ll lose ground to your competitors.

In addition, positive reviews are a major ranking factor on Google.  It stands to reason that if you have a Google My Business listing, Google will reward you for turning positive feedback.

But what happens if you find yourself on the receiving end of a negative PR campaign? What if out of the blue (or on a regular basis), your reputation is tarnished by fake reviews from people who have never even used your services?

How Easy is it to Leave Fake Reviews?

Google goes to extreme lengths to make it as easy as possible for people to submit feedback about the business. Research has shown that unless it is quintessentially straightforward to write and submit reviews, the average customer won’t bother.

Unfortunately, this also makes it far too easy for questionable characters to leave fake reviews. They see a competing business that poses a threat to them, and they embark upon a negative PR campaign. Whether they set up fake Google profiles en-masse (which is easy enough) or ask everyone they know to help them out, the result is the same – a flurry of negative press for a completely innocent business.

Irresponsible and immoral it may be, but it is something that happens with surprising regularity. At this point, you find yourself entirely at the mercy of Google, when it comes to setting things straight.

How Easily Can Fake Negative Reviews be Removed?

Short answer – not very easy at all. Google does not make it easy for businesses to successfully removed fake reviews posted about them.

There is a long and complex list and guidelines published by Google, outlining what is and is not considered ‘abuse’. Unless you can plead your case successfully and prove that they are indeed attacking your business for no good reason, you could be in for a tricky time.

Even so, the fact that removing negative reviews can be quite time-consuming means it is something to get underway as early as possible. There is a standardised process for reporting fake or abusive reviews, as follows:

  • Head into the dashboard of your Google My Business Profile to report the fake review.
  • Request an appeal – these are moderated by humans so you have a better chance of having your case heard.
  • If Google rejects your appeal, publish a post with a link and a screenshot on Google’s support community. This may result in your complaint being escalated.
  • After which, you should receive a response from Google after around a week, regarding whether or not they plan to remove the negative review.

Sadly, there’s really nothing else you can do, and Google’s decision regarding your appeal will be final.