You can't delete a Google review yourself, even on your own business. What you can do is report a review that breaks Google's rules, such as a fake review, one about a different business, or one with abusive language, and Google decides whether to take it down. Reviews that are simply negative or unfair in your view usually stay up. In those cases a calm public reply is your best option.
How to report a Google review
- Sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile.
- Open your reviews from Google Search or Google Maps.
- Find the review, click the three-dot menu next to it, and choose "Report review".
- Pick the reason that fits best and submit.
Google has a reviews management tool for business owners where you can check the status of reports you've made and, if a report is turned down, ask for it to be looked at again. Decisions can take several days.
What Google will remove
Google's policies cover reviews that are:
- Fake or spam, such as reviews from people who were never customers or posted in bulk.
- Off-topic, for example about a news story, a political view or a different business.
- Written by someone with a conflict of interest, such as a competitor or a former employee.
- Offensive, harassing, hateful or sexually explicit.
- Including personal information, such as someone's phone number or home address.
- Promoting something illegal, or impersonating someone else.
What Google usually won't remove
- A genuine customer's negative opinion, even if you think it's harsh.
- A review with details you dispute, such as how long the customer waited.
- A one-star rating with no text from someone who did use your business.
Reporting these rarely works, and repeatedly reporting genuine reviews won't help your standing.
Signs a review might be fake
- You can't find any record of the customer, and the review describes things you don't offer.
- Several negative reviews arrive within a day or two from profiles with no other activity.
- The reviewer has posted similar reviews about lots of competing businesses.
- The review mentions a competitor favourably while criticising you.
None of these prove a review is fake on their own, but they're the kind of detail worth mentioning when you report it.
Reply as well as reporting
While a report is being looked at, the review stays visible. A short, polite reply helps the people reading it:
Hi, we can't find any booking under this name, and we don't offer the service mentioned. If you did visit us, please call us on [number] so we can look into it.
Keep it factual and calm. Our guide on how to respond to Google reviews has more examples.
Bury bad reviews with real ones
The most reliable way to reduce the effect of a bad or fake review is to have plenty of recent, genuine reviews around it. A single one-star review among two hundred good ones barely moves your rating, whereas the same review on a profile with eight reviews is very noticeable. Asking every customer for a review, and making it easy with a link, QR code or Google review card, is the long-term fix. Our guide on getting more Google reviews explains how.
What not to do
- Don't offer a customer a refund or discount on condition that they remove their review.
- Don't post fake positive reviews to balance out a bad one. It breaks Google's rules and UK law.
- Don't pay a company that promises to get reviews removed. Some charge fees and do nothing more than file the same report you can file yourself.
Common questions
Can a customer delete their own Google review?
Yes. The person who wrote it can edit or delete it from their Google account at any time.
How long does Google take to remove a reported review?
It varies. Some decisions come within a few days, others take longer. You can check progress in Google's reviews management tool.
Can I take legal action over a review?
In serious cases, such as false statements that damage your business, you can take legal advice. For most negative reviews a reply and plenty of genuine reviews are the more practical answer.