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Loading...What Is Google’s Review Policy?
First and foremost, Google’s Review Policy requires all users to post truthful and accurate information about the service or product they are reviewing. Reviewers mustn’t publish false or misleading information. Additionally, reviews can’t promote the reviewer’s own business or someone else’s business, nor can they contain offensive language. If you need guidance on this or just need more insights from our SEO Specialists, be sure to read how to get more Google reviews.
Furthermore, Google reserves the right to remove reviews that violate its policies – this could be the main reason why your review is not visible on Google.
8 Reasons Why Google Reviews Don’t Show Up
#1: Violation of Google’s Policies
One of the main reasons your Google reviews might not be visible is that Google has determined your content is misleading, vulgar, offensive, off-topic, or considered spam. Specific situations that can lead to this include:
- posting multiple positive reviews with high ratings from different accounts under your profile
- using profanity in your review
- insulting or threatening others
- encouraging self-harm or harm to others
- mentioning illegal services, activities, or products
- adding prohibited or unsafe links in your review
- trying to undermine competitors with negative reviews
Remember, Google considers various factors when reviewing things the users publish online – not just the content and profile details, but also user behavior and patterns of harmful activity; it also uses its analytical data. Additionally, Google uses intelligent algorithms that quickly detect and prevent undesirable/harmful activities.
#2: Technical Issues
You must remember that Google’s algorithms aren’t perfect. While Google continually works to improve them, technical issues or glitches can still occur. Although rare, there have been occasional outages in the past that caused reviews to disappear.
#3: Using Public Wi-Fi Networks to Publish a Review
If you run a restaurant with free, unsecured Wi-Fi, avoid using the same IP address as your customers on your devices. Why? If visitors to your restaurant connect to the free network and leave positive reviews, Google might think you posted those reviews yourself. As a result, Google could consider this inappropriate and remove the reviews.
#4: Reviews Not Related to Your Business
Carrying on with the restaurant example, if reviews unrelated to your business (completely off-topic comments) start appearing on your Google Business Profile, you can expect Google to quickly detect and remove them.
#5: Reviews Posted from Your Google Business Profile
Simply put, reviewing yourself is a no-go. It’s considered a fake review and violates Google’s policies. Their system easily detects such reviews, swiftly making them vanish. Instead of self-reviewing, focus on optimizing your Google Business Profile. It’s highly likely that by adding a few pieces of information about your business, your website will get higher in the search results.
#6: Reviews Google Considers Dangerous or Harmful
As mentioned earlier, using inappropriate language in reviews is a red flag for Google. Obviously, while not everything you write may be harmful, Google’s algorithms – like humans – can sometimes fail to understand the main issue a reviewer wants to share with other internet users. This is why it’s better to pick words mindfully.
#7: Reviews Published by People Who Have Never Been Near Your Local Business
If your business spans regions, global praise is fantastic. However, Google may flag it as fake when a review comes from afar, like a Canadian review for a local Danish bar. Such reviews raise suspicion and are likely to be removed.
#8: Issues with the User Profile
Sometimes, reviews originate from inactive accounts. Whether users deleted their accounts or Google did, such reviews vanish from visibility.
How Can I Bring Reviews on My Google Business Profile Back?
Finally, you have an idea why your Google reviews don’t show up. Now it’s time to figure out how to make them visible for internet users. The only workable solution is to reach out to Google support. Follow these steps to initiate the process of recovering your missing reviews:
STEP 1: Visit Google Business Profile Help.
STEP 2: In the field titled Tell us what we can help with type “contact support”
STEP 3: Next, under Choose the best description of this issue, select Review missing, and click Next step.
(NOTE: Click twice if you prefer to avoid irrelevant content).
STEP 4: Finish by completing all the required fields in the form.
Once done, wait for Google to resolve the issue, which typically takes 7 to 10 business days.
Summary: My Google Business Reviews Not Showing Up
Google requires its users to publish authentic and accurate reviews, free from vulgarity, offensive content, or self-promotion. Violating these guidelines could lead to the removal of reviews from your Google Business Profile. Additionally, reviews might disappear due to other reasons, such as
- going against Google’s policies
- technical issues on Google’s end
- using public Wi-Fi networks or unrelated to the business
- Google flagging reviews as harmful
- reviews from individuals who have never visited the business
- deleted user account
The good news is that missing reviews can be restored. Simply reach out to Google support by filling out the form I mentioned above.
