Spotting a fake Google review on your Business Profile is frustrating, especially when you know it hasn’t come from a genuine customer.
The good news is that Google does have a process for reporting reviews that break its policies.
There’s no magic button that guarantees a review will disappear, but if the review genuinely breaches Google’s rules, there are a few things you can do to give yourself the best chance of getting it removed.
Here’s where to start.
Google won’t remove a review simply because it’s negative, unfair or you disagree with what the customer has said.
For Google to remove it, the review needs to breach its content policies.
This can include things like:
So before reporting a review, have a quick look through Google’s review policies here and work out which rule you believe has been broken.
If it’s simply an unhappy customer sharing a genuine experience, the better option is to respond professionally, try to resolve the issue, and keep building genuine positive reviews from happy customers.
The stronger your overall review rating is, the more that one negative review becomes a needle in a haystack rather than the thing that defines your business.
Even if you’re confident the review is fake, it’s still worth replying.
Remember, your response isn’t only for the person who left the review. Potential customers could read it too.
Keep your response calm, professional and factual, and if you don’t recognise the reviewer, you could say something along the lines of:
Thanks for your feedback. We’ve had a look through our records but haven’t been able to match your name or experience with one of our customers. We’d really like to understand what’s happened, so please get in touch with our team directly so we can look into this for you.
This makes it clear to anyone reading the review that you’ve taken it seriously, without getting into an argument online.
Now it's time to flag the review for Google to assess.
You can do this through your Google’s Business Profile manager tool:
The important part here is choosing the most accurate reason for reporting it.
Google will assess the review against its policies, so reporting a genuine negative review as “spam”, for example, is unlikely to get you very far.
Once you’ve submitted the report, Google needs time to assess it.
Unfortunately, removing fake reviews isn't always instant, and Google may decide that the review doesn't breach its policies.
If the review is removed — great, job done.
If it stays up and you still strongly believe it breaches Google's rules, it may be worth taking things a step further.
If reporting the review hasn't solved the problem, your next option is to contact Google Business Profile Support and ask them to take another look.
Google support can be a little tricky to navigate, so we’ve put together a separate step-by-step guide explaining exactly where to go and which support options to use:
→ The Easiest Way to Contact Google Business Profile Support
When you contact them, explain clearly why you believe the review breaches Google's policies and which policy you believe applies.
You might receive an automated response first. If it doesn't solve the problem, keep replying to the existing support conversation and ask for the issue to be reviewed.
Sometimes getting a Google Business Profile issue in front of the right person takes a little persistence.
While you're trying to get the fake review removed, don't let one dodgy review stop you from focusing on the bigger picture.
Keep asking your genuine customers to share their experiences.
A steady stream of recent, authentic reviews helps build a much stronger picture of your business and means the occasional negative or suspicious review has far less influence over your overall reputation.
If you've got 150 genuine reviews from real customers, one questionable review is much less noticeable than if you've only got six.
The best defence is a strong review profile that accurately reflects the experience most of your customers are having.
This is the frustrating part: Google makes the final call.
Even if you're certain a review is fake, Google might decide it doesn't have enough reason under its policies to remove it.
If that happens, focus on the things you can control:
One review doesn't define a business. A strong collection of genuine customer experiences carries far more weight.
If you're stuck dealing with a Google Business Profile issue, our betterbunch team works with Google profiles every day.
We can help you figure out the best next step, navigate Google's support process and keep your profile working hard for your business.
And if the real goal is making one dodgy review matter a whole lot less, we can help you build a healthier flow of genuine customer reviews too.