Introduction
If you have noticed a sudden decrease in your Google My Business (GMB) reviews in the last few weeks, you aren’t the only one. Business owners from around the world including India have reported issues related to disappearing GMB profile reviews. However, alongside the benefits, it also has many businesses worried about their reviews, falling into many GMB review drops.
In this post, we’ll explore possible reasons why reviews on Google My Business profiles might be disappearing, what could be causing this, and what businesses can do to lessen the damage.
What’s Up with GMB Reviews?
Reports from Business Owners
The drop in GMB profile review has grown concerns among various business owners. They’ve seen a drop in the overall number of reviews on their business profiles.
One Google Product Expert, Ekant Puri, answered a user who asked about the missing value for reviews, confirming that although the reviews themselves are intact, the number shown might be inaccurate. He said to double-check that all reviews appear individually.
User Reports (Screenshots):
- A business owner said six of its reviews vanished overnight.
- Various Google forums users also have confirmed a similar drop in their total review count.
Why Is the GMB Review Drop Happening?
Geared Towards Google My Business: Many reviews on Google My business profiles have potentially dropped without an official announcement from Google.
Why Did Google Spam Filter & Review Purge
Google updates its spam filters regularly to delete false or Non-compliant reviews. Anyone whom Google feels some reviews were created in bad faith or don’t meet Google policies may be automatically removed.
Algorithm Updates
In recent updates to Google Business Profile (GBP) Google may have nerded out on a review count glitch. Some businesses are seeing an inaccurate total review count displayed even though individual reviews are still showing.
Technical Glitch
Interestingly, several of those businesses who are facing this issue think it may just be a bug — not an intentional removal of reviews. We’ve seen instances in the past where reviews would get lost and end up coming back with Google.
Inactive or Flagged Accounts
The customer reviews can be withdrawn by Google if accounts making reviews are dismissed or suspended. This may explain the drastic GMB review decrease.
Policy Violation
We encourage you to take a close look at what Google is actually doing (removing reviews) vs. what Google is simply stating they will do (implementing a stricter review authenticity policy that may result in, on occasion, the removal of suspected incentivized or paid reviews).
How to Check If Your Reviews Are Still Available
Fourthly, if your Google My Business profile reviews have disappeared, you can check their status:
- Log in to your Google Business Profile (GBP) account and check the review section.
- Search for the reviews manually by looking at older customer feedback.
- Compare with your previous review count to determine how many have been removed.
- Ask customers who recently left reviews if they can still see them.
What Can Businesses Do About The GMB Review Drop?
If your business was impacted by the Google My Business reviews drop, here are suggestions for what you can do:
Contact Google Support
If you find a lot of legitimate reviews are missing contact Google My Business support and inform them with details like:
- URL of Business profile
- Estimated number of lost reviews
- Screenshots (if any) of before and after the drop
Encourage Customers to Post New Reviews
Since some previous reviews might be unrecoverable, request your satisfied customers to republish their legitimate reviews on your profile.
Google’s Official Updates Monitor
Look for any announcements about review problems on one of Google’s official support forums or social media accounts.
Follow Google’s Policies
Make sure your reviews are in accordance with Google guidelines. Avoid:
- Buying fake reviews
- Soliciting reviews from non-customers
- Providing incentives for reviews
Is This a Temporary Issue?
There’s a chance, as many affected users reported this issue to Google, that it may restore missing reviews when the bug is fixed. If it is a technical issue, Google should be able to fix it in no time.
On the other hand, if Google has purged reviews as part of policy enforcement, businesses should be looking forward to gaining new, legitimate reviews instead of hoping the ones lost will be reinstated.
Need Help? Work With Digital Marketing Experts
In case that the review drop in your Google My Business profile has affected your online presence badly, then you might need experts to help you build your reputation.
GMCSCO Media Group provides SEO strategies, optimization for local businesses, and digital marketing for businesses struggling from a sudden change in Google’s algorithms.
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Conclusion
However, the recent drop in GMB profile reviews has left business owners baffled and confused.
However, if you have been impacted, see if any reviews are missing and contact Google support, meanwhile, start acquiring new reviews from real customers.
So, stay tuned as we continue to follow this issue. GMCSCO Media Group is at your service if you require expert assistance.