Will Deleting Google Business Account Also Delete Reviews

If your small business has been the victim of inaccurate, malicious, or other negative reviews, are you considering deleting your Google business account altogether just to get rid of the black mark on your company's reputation? And will deleting your as well? Well, yes...and no.

When you delete your Google business account, your reviews will be deleted. However, if you have reviews on other platforms, they will still be available and visible, even if your Google business account has been deleted. And though your account is deleted, it could still show up in searches and you would have no control over it. The better way is to delete the review that is problematic.

How Google Reviews Can Be Damaging to Your Business

No matter what you are questioning, the modern go-to is to Google it. Google has become the know-all, tell-all, that answers our questions and guides us to make the best choices. It is our electronic word of mouth. The same can be said for Google business accounts. That's why . Looking for a service or product, most people check out the reviews before making a purchase. So if your business receives a negative review that is inaccurate, exaggerated, or an out-and-out lie, you want your customers and prospective customers to know that it is not true!

Negative reviews can be from unhappy customers, disgruntled employees, or even competitors.

For small businesses, they can make or break a sale. Sure some negative reviews may be normal. But not if the review is personal, threatening, or untrue. So what can you do?

Google May Remove Some Reviews

Google sets certain criteria that will prohibit a review or photos from being posted. If a reviewer violates these criteria, you and the rest of the world will never see the post. Some of the violations are:

Spam and fake content with the intention of manipulating the ratings.
Personal and political rants.
Illegal activity.
Sexually explicit posts.
Terroristic posts.
Offensive, profane, or harassing statements.
Biased or dishonest posts or posts made by impersonating others.

What Do I Do if Google Does Not Remove the Review?

Before you consider deleting your Google business account, first see if you can respond and make it right with your customer. Here are a few tips to go about it:

Respond professionally	If the review is unkind and could be damaging to your business and reputation, respond to the review. It could be difficult, but try to be as kind and understanding as possible.
Offer to rectify whatever caused the issue	If they are complaining about poor service at your restaurant, compliment them a meal with an apology.
Don't try to defend yourself	If you are able to communicate through a private channel, such as messenger or email, do so.

You never know, with a bit of communication the customer may be so impressed with your genuine attempt to satisfy them that they remove the negative review. But when the review is just a baseless attack on your business then it’s time to consider reporting them,

Can I Remove the Negative Review on My Own?

You cannot remove a review posted by someone other than yourself. However, you can flag the review for Google to consider removing it. The review must violate one of Google's review violations. Follow these steps to flag a review:

Log into Google My Business.
Select the location (if you have multiple).
In the menu, select "Reviews."
Find the review in question. Click the three-dot menu, then select "Flag as inappropriate."

Google will respond to your request to remove the review within several days. If Google will not remove the review, you can contact Google Small Business Support, and ask for help via phone, webchat, or email.

How Can DoNotPay Help Me Remove My Negative Google Business Review?

DoNotPay knows that you work hard and the reputation of your small business is important to you. We want to help you get negative reviews removed that are malicious, inaccurate, or even done by a competitor.

We make it easy and quick with just three easy steps:

Select which platform the review was posted on.
Enter the url to the review and upload a photo to help us identify it.
Indicate why you want to report the review and also provide a detailed description.
And that's it! We'll report the review so that it gets investigated by the platform and taken down once they determine it's inappropriate.