Why Google Reviews Go Missing
If you’ve noticed a Google review disappear from your Google Business Profile (GBP) in the past year, you’re not alone.
Much like plumbing the dark recesses of outer space, trying to understand Google and its algorithms is often beyond our capabilities. There are still some conclusions we have been able to draw, however, based on circumstantial evidence and Google’s self-proclaimed content guidelines, that can point us in the right direction and help prevent future reviews from disappearing. We’ll cover many reasons why your Google reviews may go missing so you can make sure your customers are set up for success when they go to rate your business.
Moreover, Google has recently enabled a method for business owners to reinstate Google reviews – a true gift from Big Brother! In our upcoming part II of this blog series, we’ll give you step-by-step information on how to appeal to Google to restore your missing reviews.
First, you’ll need to make sure that your missing Google reviews qualify as “valid,” meaning they don’t break Google’s content guidelines or model suspicious behavior, so please check our list below for possible reasons your reviews have gone the way of Houdini and disappeared.
Google reviews disappeared because Your Business Is Newly Listed on Google Maps
If this seems counter-productive for new businesses, you’re right. We’ve compiled some tips and tricks to ensure your first customers’ reviews stick. Here are some common reasons these reviews might not be showing.
- The reviewer was not in the geographical area where your business is located. Reviewers from other areas, towns, cities, states, etc. will more than likely be marked as spam, especially if you provide a physical service that couldn’t conceivably have been executed from across the country. Don’t ask your cousin who lives in the opposite corner of the United States to post a review for your business.
- The review is too lengthy or mentions too many specifics about your business. We know this is an odd one, but we’ve noticed that these reviews end up in limbo, or what we’ve called “Google jail.” If you have a new Google listing with only a few reviews (or none yet), ask your customers to keep it short and sweet. The longer your GBP has been around, the longer and more detailed reviews can be.
- There’s a problem with your Google listing. For example, you accidentally created multiple listings for your business, or your Google Business Profile verification hasn’t gone through yet. This process can take a couple of weeks, but if you still notice a problem, you can contact Google Business Profile Support.
- Your business’s information isn’t accurate. It’s important to note that people other than you can add information to your GBP. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, make sure to report it to Google and request that the information be corrected. For more information, see our blog.
Violations of Google’s Content Guidelines
If the review is considered spam or violates one of Google’s Content Guidelines, you won’t be getting it back (which is probably a good thing!). This type of content – which includes violent threats, mature content, and harassment – is not likely coming from a devoted customer, but you can read more about the specifics in the Top Five Reasons Reviews Get Removed From Google. If, for whatever reason, a legitimate customer has included a phone number or URL in their review, this will also be targeted as spam and removed.
AI algorithms & Other considerations
In addition to the big offenders that violate Google’s content guidelines, there are other triggers that set off Google’s AI algorithms and make your reviews seem suspicious. Here are a few ways you can mitigate these problems so Google doesn’t remove them.
- Do your reviews all originate from the same location or IP address? Don’t set up a “review station” or computer at your business where people can write reviews. These may trigger a spam alert. Similarly, if multiple customers are using the same computer (even off the premises) to write a review, these will likely be deleted.
- Does the same review appear elsewhere verbatim? Although the easiest way for your customers to support you is to leave the same review on multiple websites, sometimes this can cause problems. If your customers really want to show you this level of love and support, ask them to vary the content of their reviews enough to not look like they’ve plagiarized themselves (mostly because spam posts do this!).
- Do you ONLY have Google reviews? This may seem contrary to the previous point, but it isn’t. If you only have Google reviews, and no reviews appearing on Yelp, Facebook, Home Advisor, etc., it may ring some alarm bells. It will actually boost your Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings to have reviews on multiple websites, so be sure to provide your customers with different ways of supporting your business, such as links to rate you on Yelp in addition to Google. If you’re on Yelp, posting a “We’re on Yelp!” sticker in the window is a good way for customers to know they can rate you there.
- Did you receive a huge influx of Google reviews, or have more reviews than your local population should allow? If you normally receive 1-2 reviews every day, and suddenly you get 50 reviews overnight, this alerts Google that something spammy or suspicious is happening. While it’s customary to ask your customers for Google reviews, make sure your requests are staggered among your clientele – don’t blast your entire email contact list at once. Also, if you have an abnormally large number of reviews compared to other businesses in your industry or city, it could mean you’re crushing the competition–or it could mean you’re engaging in shady practices, so you may find some of these reviews removed. Never pay external companies for positive reviews.
- Do all of your reviews sound the same? If your reviews all say similar things and/or are written with the same grammatical structure, this looks robotic and potentially spammy as well. Although this can happen with genuine heartfelt reviews, be sure not to coach your customers on what to say or how to say it. This technique may backfire.
- Does the review describe someone else’s experience? Reviews written in the third person, describing a friend or family member’s experience, may be removed. Since reviews are meant to reflect genuine customer experiences, a third-party account technically doesn’t qualify.
- Is the reviewer a manager of your Google Business Profile or an Employee? As we’ve noted, Google reviews are meant to reflect genuine customer interactions with your business, and while it can be tempting to review your own business or ask your employees to do so, this is frowned upon as a poor business practice. It’s also considered a “conflict of interest” under Google’s content guidelines, so it’s better to avoid this altogether.
- Have you offered incentives for reviews? Although it’s common for businesses to advertise contests, such as promising to enter people’s names into a drawing for a prize if they leave a review, if Google finds out, this could be a no-no. For the same reason Yelp prohibits businesses from even asking for reviews, the idea is that people who are incentivized are likely to skew the ratings incorrectly in a positive direction.
- Did the reviewer delete their review or their Google profile? Although this rarely happens when you want it to (say, for negative reviews), sometimes reviewers will delete their own review or delete their Google profile – and while it is unfortunate, there’s no getting these reviews back.
Google Glitches
There was a Google Glitch that began in November of 2022 in which businesses lost all of their Google reviews overnight. The suspected cause was Google’s automatic application of “suggested edits” to a Google Business Profile, particularly because these suggested edits were not accurate and came from random Google users. While this seems to be a rare issue, you can read more about this Google Glitch and ways to prevent it from happening to your business. The good news is that the reports of this glitch have lessened over time.
That’s all, Folks!
At least, these are the patterns we’ve seen consistently. There are other reasons that Google’s AI algorithms may have flagged a review as suspicious and either suspended it or deleted it altogether, but the good news is that there’s hope. In the next installment of our “Missing Google Reviews” blog, we will share the process for how to get them back. Stay tuned!
Want answers faster?
Our team at WebPunch is here to help you optimize your Google listings, boost your online ratings, respond to reviews, and even spar against Google for you. If you’d like to know more about how we can help your business, please reach out!
Jenny Shand
Jenny thinks of herself as a Jill of all Trades, with WebPunch’s “Renegade Review Responder” being one of her all-time favorite titles. As a former dolphin trainer, military school professor, and alcohol researcher, she now enjoys working from home and writing about her misadventures. She lives with her smokeshow of a husband and loves traveling the world with him. You’ll likely find the pair wandering through the horios of Greece.
