Help! We've received an unfair Google review

The first thing we have to say is, 'Are you a HelpHound client?' If the answer is 'Yes,' then by far your best course of action is to call your HelpHound adviser. They'll discuss all of your options and advise on the best course of action (there will be one, we assure you).

For everyone else: please read on.

Google reviews

The first action a business should take, if and when it receives a negative Google review - accurate or not - is to respond. There is an article covering responses here. Google mods will look to see a) if the business has responded and we reckon they look positively upon businesses that have taken the trouble. Aside from this, it's just plain good business practice, readers are definitely impressed by businesses that take reviews - positive and negative - seriously enough to respond.

All it takes: a tap to choose a star rating and then write away

Anyone can write a Google review - absolutely anyone. The days of 'having to sign up/in' are in the past; Google loves the content reviews give its platform and is fully aware of just how often reviews are read by its users (great for businesses when the review is positive and accurate, not so great when it is not).

That said, there are two advantages to Google reviews*:

• Google has an appeals procedure
• Google know a lot about the person who posted the review 

*in this context. Of course, there are many more from a marketing perspective, and these are covered elsewhere on this blog in minute detail.

Appealing against a Google review

Here is the relevant page to begin the process. But this is not going to be as easy as Google's headline above might imply. Just because you are 100% sure that the reviewer has never been a customer of your business or that they are completely wrong in whatever assertions they are making, does not mean that the staffer at Google who reviews your appeal will allow it. We are dealing with a California-based business with deeply held US levels of attachment to personal freedom of speech (a.k.a. 1st  Amendment rights). 

Above is one of the 21 categories of 'Prohibited and restricted content', and it is the one that we most often find ourselves basing our clients' appeals on. Many of the others - violent, dangerous, illegal, child-safety, terrorist, adult-themed - rarely, if ever, apply to reviews of our kind of client (service and professional businesses, in the main). We should also say, right now, that in our well over ten years of experience in wording and conducting appeals on behalf of client businesses, Google mods' definition of 'Offensive' and ours - and yours - may differ quite considerably. Free speech, again.

All that said, it is always worth appealing against a factually incorrect, potentially misleading and commercially injurious** review. Always*. We have seen reviews succeed where our experienced staffers gave them seriously bad odds. 

*Why 'always'? Unfairly critical reviews can do untold harm in the long term. Consumers know to select 'Lowest' when they are reading Google reviews

**For anyone wondering about the kind of harm a single wrong-headed negative review can do, we strongly suggest reading these two articles:

• Case History 1: The firm of solicitors materially injured by a negative review (when we say 'materially injured' you will see that a judge agreed, and awarded the firm substantial damages)

• Case History 2: the hotel where bookings plummeted after a malicious negative Google review (which was successfully appealed following advice from HelpHound - see above)

Apply a simple test: if you didn't enjoy reading the review, it is bound to be unhelpful, in the sense, at the very least, of 'not encouraging anyone to use the business', and it will impact the business's overall score. 

It is rare for Google to include an outside video creator on its own website, here is a useful 4-step 'How to...' for those more visually inclined.

How to head off such reviews in the first place

We never advise businesses to be passive and wait until a damaging Google review comes their way. There are actions a business can take to ensure that the absolute minimum of factually inaccurate reviews are posted. Here they are...

This response tells the reader so much that is positive about the business: that they take every complaint seriously and that they understand the complainant's frustration; and it leaves the door open for a continued dialogue. Importantly it also warns others tempted to post a Google review as a first reaction to a perceived lack of service or some other grievance that they will receive a reasoned and reasonable response (and might reasonably expect a positive response should they email or phone the business in the first instance).

1.  Respond - to every review it receives: besides addressing the points made in the review, this sends a message, loud and clear, to anyone tempted to over-egg any issue they may have: they will receive a response

A great deal of hugely helpful information for the potential customer 

 

2.   Employ a moderated review management system: this ensures that your business complies with the CMA regulations (the law) and, importantly, allows you to address factually inaccurate, potentially misleading and, yes, plain unfair review before they are posted anywhere. We estimate that the - great - business in the example above would now be scoring between 4.6 and 4.7 on Google had it not adopted HelpHound (it had 6 Google reviews when it joined, it now has fast approaching 500, with a Google score of 4.9). 

In Summary

We'd rather you become a client before you receive an unfair or inaccurate Google review, but this article is intended to reassure you that there are mechanisms in place, both at Google and in the marketplace, to ensure the likelihood of a recurrence is minimised going forward.

Please don't hesitate to speak to us, we will happily ask all your questions (and give you specific advice on any review that may be causing you concern currently.

Further reading

• Results - the good news

• Compliance - a guide