Client wants to delete Google My Business Due to Bad Review
-
My client has received a bad review on Google and although has other good ones, wants to delete the current Google My Business page and open a new one. I disagree with this strategy but need some evidence to back it up. They are ranking well and so I don't want to upset the cart. I need reasons not to in terms of potentially harming rankings. Am I right that this could impact?
-
@al123al As someone who has worked in the online review world - I have the script for the "Cancel it all because I got a bad review"
Bad reviews are a good thing because:
- They add credibility to all your reviews b/c the profile won't look fake
- They give you a chance to tell your side of the story and showcase your commitment to your customers
- They signal to the wrong potential customer who would give you a headache, that you aren't the right person
- They signal to the right potential customer that you are the right person b/c they disagree with the reasoning
- They fill out the story and show the market what you do when things go wrong
People want to know what a business will do when things aren't perfect - We know that things won't always go right and a bad review gives you the opportunity to say, "Yes, this wasn't perfect but this is how I stepped up to fix the problem, it's too bad that the customer thought I provided X when I actually do Y."
Bad reviews are the result of expectations not being met, manage the expectation and you may not get the sale, but you won't end up with a Bad Review either.
For more about why a bad review is a good thing - https://www.marketapeel.agency/post/bad-reviews-are-a-good-thing
-
You can delete it from your GMB data. Try to remove all the data of the business and details. just like I did for Bud apk program.
-
Thanks, John! Kind of you to say. Reviews happen to be my favorite aspect of Local.
-
This is for real ....Miriam definitely you are rockstar
-
In addition to the other recommendations, I would advise you to have the business owner leave a response to the bad review.
1. It shows that the business is active.
2. If the customers that left the review happens to be real, it could potentially mend that relationship.
3. It could lessen the concerns of any potential customers who see the bad review and are put off by it.
-Andrew
-
Thanks to all.
-
Great topic, AL123al!
I agree with all of the posters who are stating that your client's approach isn't practical. I have a couple of resources I'd recommend you share with the client that should get him up-to-speed on this topic.
- First, show the client this article on the realities of review spam. It's real, and there are actions you can take. It takes persistence sometimes, but you've got to be hearty in business:
https://moz.com/blog/review-spam
- Then, show him this second article which details how to handle all types of reviews, from 1-star disasters, to 5-star treasures, to spam:
https://moz.com/blog/mastering-owner-response-quintet-google-my-business-reviews
If you get get the client to sit tight and read through both of those, he should walk away with a completely different (and much better) perspective on dealing with the reality of reviews.
End of the day, attempting to delete a GMB listing is not an answer. The listing could simply come back again, and your client's reputation will follow him wherever he goes. Much better to get the necessary education to deal with all forms of reviews, and move forward confidently.
-
LOL. Funny analogy, EGOL.
-
The client has really pushed his clients to write a Google review so think we are going to keep the GMB and push the bad review low. The review was a spam review from a "Local Guide" as the client has not got a record of this person's interaction with the company i.e. he never used their services. The client has flagged it with Google but nothing has been done.
Thanks
-
Not a good idea, I know it's hard to explain these types of things from an SEO point of view that the customer understands. You're going to lose all your good reviews that the business has gained. I'm also not sure if you're able to just create a new GMB once you mark the current one permanently closed without changing the NAP. I agree with SEOman10, work on getting some new positive reviews going.
Also, if the review was not left by a real customer can't you report it to Google or no?
-
Every business will get a few bad reviews. The Pope could be selling Bibles and get bad reviews from cranky customers or customers who blame the Pope when the package is lost on the mail.
The client probably has a nice business, is perfectly honest and does an excellent job. Don't worry about one review.
-
You're welcome!
-
I had to deal with several cases like this one in the past, one technique that got me good results was pretty simple.
I created an email campaign with the most trusted clients of my client, requesting their opinion on Google, was pretty successful so then, I even integrated Trustpilot in the equation.
- Buy some good looking email template
- Take your time to create a good content for the email
- _You could even offer some kind of PR service _
- Launch the campaign and remember is a game of numbers if you have a total 5 reviews in your site and you have a score of 3 get 1 point up will take you 5 new reviews with 5 stars
-
Thanks Joe for your insight.
-
Hi there,
To be honest, I don't even think this is an option for them. Deleting/removing the Google My Business account does not actually delete the page, it just removes you as the manager/owner but that will still be returned in local search results (see this Google Help Forum Post).
The only way I've seen people have any success with this was to mark the location as permanently closed (which I would not recommend here) or to contact Google Business support and ask them to delete the listing. The problem here is I don't think the Google Business support team is going to delete this listing for bad reviews, they are likely going to suggest (as SEOman suggested) you focus on building up positive reviews and responding to the negative reviews currently associated with the page.
-
Thanks. Yes my concern is that the person who left the bad review (and wasn't a real customer) would come back to the new GMB and do it all again.
-
I'm not too sure whether it's a ranking factor or not, there are varying opinions. I would say it's risky.
Additionally, I don't see what there is to be gained by deleting and recreating a profile that could just get another bad review, Also the person that gave you that bad review can come and leave another one!
I would work with some good customers and ask them to do reviews. Far more productive than trying to hide hide mistakes and Google will love good reviews to.
Explain to your client that resources are better spend on creating some new reviews and if you get enough good ones you can outweigh the bad ones to a large degree. Take a look around, you will see there is plenty of excellent brands that get bad reviews from time to time.
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
-
I just found original business name for client - its not the same as GMB or any aggregate site. What to do?
the business filing with the Secretary of State is a name of an individual (e.g. Matthew Smith, M.D.). This is on reflected on Localeze and such. However, the business is operating under a name "Healthy Body and Minds Clinic", which is the Facebook, Google My Business, and website name and info. So, how is it best to get consistency in NAP with the two different business names being used? (Ideally, no change in State registration or filing for a DBA). Thanks much! One idea I have seen is to include both and separate them by a colon. As in "Healthy Body and Minds Clinic : Matthew Smith, M.D." I appreciate any suggestions or tips to help. Thanks.
Reviews and Ratings | | Marky_Mark0 -
Paid review service stars in search ads - why is that allowed?
I'm looking at paid review services like Trustpilot, FeeFo and others. I'm told I can filter out bad reviews, which I can't do with my Google Certified Stores reviews. I'm struggling to understand why Google include these in the reviews it uses for the star ratings in search ads. I know it's a different thing, but surely these reviews are in breach of the rules that Google apply to their own "My Business" reviews? They talk about "Conflict of interest: Reviews are most valuable when they are honest and unbiased" here: https://support.google.com/business/answer/2622994?hl=en Does anyone have a take on whether Google will drop these as the momentum builds in collection of their own reviews? Thanks, Paul
Reviews and Ratings | | PaulS710 -
Combining reviews and duplicate content
We have some items in different colors or slightly different styles. For example if there is one series of helmets with almost same features and if we have many item pages we get reviews for each one seperate. We want to combine the reviews to increase our conversion rates. For example if style1 gets 5 reviews and style 2 gets1 review and style 3 has zero reviews combining them will help style 2 and style 3 conversion rates. Our review system cannot put all these reviews in one page. So if we combine reviews each page will have duplicate review content. Will this be bad for SEO?
Reviews and Ratings | | rbai0 -
How can a business turn off the Google+ review feature?
Is there a way to disable the review feature on our Google+ page whilst still retaining the rest of the Google+ features?
Reviews and Ratings | | CostumeD0 -
Difference between Google Plus Page and Google Business Page
Hi, Just wondering the differences between a Google Plus Page, and a Google Business page please? Should I have both? Also, will reviews for the business automatically show on both pages.. as Im starting to guess this is not the case? Thank you for the time to respond.
Reviews and Ratings | | Ampweb0 -
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 -
Bzzagent good or bad?
I am thinking about offering my products on Bzzagent. This is a social media system where I would send out free products and coupons to a large number of people who would in turn review my products on the Internet. This sounds like it might violate the "pay for reviews" rules. Looking for opinions.
Reviews and Ratings | | SmoothSkin0 -
Google Warns Local Businesses: You Have 3 Weeks to Save Your Places Listing
Has anyone heard anything about this Google warning that was supposedly sent to some Google Place owners recently. The message says: We are making some changes to Google Places for Business and Google Maps so we can continue providing people with the best experience when they're looking for local businesses. As part of this process, we're asking business owners to review and confirm some of the information in their Google Places accounts so we can keep showing it to Google users. We know this will be a few extra steps for merchants, and we apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your time. We have sent business owners affected by these changes an email entitled "Action Required: You have 3 weeks to save your Google Places Listing". Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2327744/Google-Warns-Local-Businesses-You-Have-3-Weeks-to-Save-Your-Places-Listing I haven't found much other information in the SEO community but I just wanted to see if anyone has actually received this notice or not? Someone suggested it may just be a test in Australia/Austria. (Not sure which one it is as the comment in the above list references both countries) Thanks for any information you have on this topic.
Reviews and Ratings | | DCochrane1