Any Success Getting Fake 5 Star Google My Business Reviews Removed From Competitors?
-
Hi,
I am working on a competitor who is obviously building up fake reviews using a 3rd party service. I need to build more evidence.
A majority of his reviews on Google My Business, they are done by reviewers with very few reviews (no profile pic), and that seem to review 3-4 companies in the Chicagoland area the exact same day. This happens again and again. It started about 1.5 years ago. Before that everything looks normal.
Any idea how much proof I need to actually get those reviews and/or his company removed? I am working on getting access to a private group on Facebook where he talks about it.
Thanks in advance!
-
Hi Jeff,
I would recommend that you gather as many screenshots and as much other evidence as possible. Then, tweet to @GoogleMyBiz and let them know you want to DM them evidence of a concerning case of widespread review spam. Wait for them to DM you back. I don't recommend doing any of this publicly. Confine your communications to DM.
All you can do is report it and hope for the best. Google doesn't always act on these reports, regardless of how much evidence you send.
If you aren't satisfied with the outcome of your private interaction with Google, you can then make the decision about whether to go public. If an issue is so egregious that it receives a large amount of press, Google can typically be shamed into removing review spam. However, the story has to be fairly sensational to garner that kind of attention.
Good luck. Fake reviews are so prevalent and so bad for real-world communities who don't know what they are reading is fake. Hope it goes well for you.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Should I publish Amazon reviews on my own site/products? Do I need to worry about duplicate content or anything else?
I'm redesigning my site expected launch early January. I'll be selling some products that are currently are only available on Amazon; and those listings have thousands of very positive reviews. I'm seeing apps that are available that will sync reviews from my Amazon seller account listings to my products on-site. I'd love to start my site off with the great validation these reviews are sure to provide customers, but I wonder how concerned I need to be about duplicate content or any other cons.
Reviews and Ratings | | VaporApparel2 -
Does having a Google My Business website help my local seo?
Everybody says it's important to put as much information as you can into your Google My Business listing. I'm wondering if it helps to take Google up on it's offer to give you a free website in addition to the website I already have of my own.
Reviews and Ratings | | KenLapp1 -
Not showing up in Google Local Pack despite being #1 ranked for keyword
Hey everyone, This has been an on-going problem that we've been having for a select location of ours. We've been #1 ranked for the keyword "dog groomers near me", however we don't show up in the Google Local Pack (top 3 locations box). We have a high 4.9 rating with 20+ ratings, and the other locations that DO show up have a 2.4 and 3.6 rating with less reviews! I've exhausted every resource and have even geo-tagged our specific photos on our landing pages. I'm not sure what to do anymore as we're already #1 ranked on every similar keyword. Thank you, Anthony
Reviews and Ratings | | anthonydegalbo0 -
Delete Google Business Listing
Hi there, I'm trying to delete a Google business address but need to know that this will not effect the other apps linked to my google business profile (analytics for example). Do these work independently? I dont really want to delete the profile but the company I work for feel the review section will be detrimental. Thanks!
Reviews and Ratings | | KateOBrien1 -
Potential Ethical Conflict: Google My Business Paid Reviews
I've been sitting on this for a while due to The Busies. So if this is nothing new, feel free to lash me several times with a somewhat moist noodle. And in that event, I promise not to make it weird. 😉 I use the Rewards application, from Google. Long story short, you fill in some demographic information and you receive Google Play credit when you complete surveys. It's a nice way to get a book, app, or music for little effort. But after giving a friend of mine a ride to a local hotel, I've received multiple survey requests that relate to that hotel brand. And it asks me to drop a local review, for extra Google Play credit. How is that ethical? Their own docs clearly state there is no way to pay for better local ranking, but they also admit reviews can improve local ranking. So isn't soliciting reviews, for any sort of compensation, at least a bit unethical? What are your thoughts? Attached are screenshots of the solicitation and GMB documentation. w4hEe
Reviews and Ratings | | Travis_Bailey1 -
Should I change to new URL after going through a period of bad reviews
A couple of years ago we had a series of bad reviews due to our billing company. We have not been able to recover from this and are unable to appear in Local listings due to the horrible reviews even though they are from years ago. Would it be a good idea to change domains and google+ accounts in order to start over with reviews and local citations?
Reviews and Ratings | | OhYeahSteve0 -
Customers can review business on New Google Plus
Google Plus for businesses has switched to a new Google+ page that does not have a "WRITE A REVIEW" button available for customers to leave a review for a business. This is preventing us from sending a link to our Google Plus business page directly to customers soliciting a review for our business. Has anyone else noticed this update migration and does anyone have a work around for how to send a link to our customers so they can leave a review on our Google+ business page?
Reviews and Ratings | | bcannon130 -
How to get star ratings from Google Places to show up for my site in the SERP
Hi my cottage has star ratings in Google places, is there a way to show them under my sites in the google results? Thanks for any advice UKAEds8
Reviews and Ratings | | PottyScotty0