Removing Negative Reviews
Hey everyone, Blake here from TopDog Digital. Today, I want to talk about something that almost every business owner faces at some point: negative reviews. Specifically, how to deal with them—and even how to remove illegitimate ones.
Turning Negative Reviews into Opportunities
Recently, we received a one-star review from someone we had never done business with. While negative reviews can often be an opportunity to demonstrate professionalism and showcase how you handle adversity, in this case, it was not legitimate. Ideally, I’d rather maintain a perfect five-star rating, especially when the review comes from someone who wasn’t even a customer.
If you encounter a negative review that isn’t legitimate, you can actually have it removed. Here’s how:
- Go to your Google My Business account.
- Find the review in question.
- Flag it as inappropriate.
Google will then review your request and may remove the review if it determines it violates its guidelines. Keep in mind, this doesn’t always work perfectly, but in our case, we were able to get the review removed because the person hadn’t actually used our services.
Important: If the review is legitimate—meaning it’s from an actual customer who had a negative experience—it’s unlikely Google will remove it. In these situations, your focus should be on responding professionally and showing potential customers how you handle issues.
Improving Your Review Collection Process
While we were addressing this negative review, we also noticed that we weren’t getting all the reviews we should have. We realized that sending a direct review link to customers wasn’t always effective, especially for clients who aren’t tech-savvy or are located across the country.
Here’s what worked for us:
- Instead of sending a direct review link, send a link to your Google My Business page.
- Encourage customers to leave their reviews there.
- If possible, walk them through the process in person, especially for older clients who may not be familiar with leaving online reviews.
By doing this, we were able to recover reviews from customers we had been missing—turning a gap in feedback into a streamlined process for collecting testimonials.
Key takeaways
- Flag illegitimate reviews: If someone who has never used your service leaves a negative review, report it to Google.
- Respond professionally to legitimate reviews: Show potential customers how you handle issues.
- Optimize your review collection process: Sending customers to your Google My Business page and guiding them through it can dramatically increase the number of reviews you receive.
- Consistency matters: Collecting reviews regularly helps strengthen your online reputation and builds trust with future clients.
Negative reviews happen to everyone, but how you handle them can make all the difference. By addressing illegitimate reviews quickly and improving your review collection process, you not only protect your reputation but also increase your chances of attracting more customers.
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Final Thoughts
Negative reviews are part of running a business, but they don’t have to hurt your reputation if you handle them correctly. Knowing when to flag illegitimate reviews and how to respond professionally to real feedback shows potential customers that you care and operate with integrity. Just as important, having a simple, consistent review collection process ensures your positive experiences are reflected online. When you stay proactive and professional, your reviews become a powerful tool for building trust and attracting more customers.