If you aren’t paying attention to your Google Reviews, it’s time to start!
21% of online consumers ranked Google Reviews specifically as more influential to their purchase than pricing information, proximity, and search engine results pages (SERPs). With Google now being the number one review site (beating out Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor), it’s time for small business to narrow in on Google Reviews and make the most of that platform.
However, what happens when you reach out to past patrons, hand them your Google Review link with trust, and receive a negative review? Can you delete a bad Google Review? Should you delete it?
How To Monitor Google Reviews
In order for you to recoup from a negative Google Review, you need to see it.
Monitoring your reviews with your Google My Business account is simple. Click on the “Reviews” tab on your Google My Business homepage, where you can view and manage all of your current reviews. Within your dashboard, you can filter reviews by “All”, “Replied”, or “Haven’t Replied”. Here is where you can also reply to reviews.
Google will also email you notifications when a review is left on your page. They will look like this:
You are also able to see it them on the web as an online user once you gain 4-5 reviews.
Google Reviews appear in:
- Google Search results
- Google carousel search results
- Google Maps results
How To Manage Bad Google Reviews
One of the most common questions people ask about Google Reviews is, “Is there a way to remove or delete a Google Review?”. In short, no, you cannot. Unless you are flagging a user’s review as offensive (shown below), there is currently no way to outright delete a negative comment.
This is to keep a sense of trust between Google and people who read reviews on their platform. This also increases the value of your positive reviews.
Unless a comment is actually offensive to your company and the public, it is not recommended to try and flag the comment away. Instead, this is the time to showcase your customer service for all readers to see.
Try these steps for handling a bad Google Review:
- Catch the negative review in a timely manner.
- Connect with the user through open communication and empathy.
- Use your resources to find a solution to their problem.
- Initiate a private conversation via email.
- Kindly ask for the user to either delete the review themselves, or edit it.
Here is an example on how to engage with a user who left a negative comment for your business:
No business is perfect, and that’s okay! Although you cannot please everyone, you can ensure that every customer feels heard and valued. By monitoring your Google Reviews and properly handling not-so-pleasant feedback, you can build a sense of transparency and trust between you and your customers.
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