Michel van LuijtelaarWe noticed a question from Tim Colling on the Local Search Forum here – asking if anyone had noticed lots of reviews went missing last week. So we spent a bit of time on our customers’ data and uncovered a serious spike.
Google has deleted lots of reviews in the US on September 17th. We have noticed a huge spike in review deletion for our customers in the US. We are still investigating the reasons and will report on those. We checked for five US accounts with a total of 604 locations and slightly more than 75k reviews. Since the 10th of July 1500 reviews have been deleted from these five customers, the median is five reviews per day (on 75k), so only a tiny percentage. Most of these were probably deleted by users or by Google for any of the seven reasons mentioned below. Most of the deletions followed normal patterns, but they are specific date like September 17th that are showing an unusual spike:
Why does Google Delete a Review?
1. Violation of Content Policies
This includes:
Profanity or offensive language
Hate speech or discriminatory language
Sexually explicit content
Threatening or harassing behaviour.
2. Spam or Fake Reviews
Reviews that are flagged as spam or suspected of being fake are often removed. This includes:
Duplicate reviews or overly promotional content
Incentivized reviews (e.g., someone being paid or rewarded to write a review)
Reviews generated by bots or other artificial means.
3. Conflicts of Interest
Reviews that reflect a conflict of interest, such as those written by business owners, employees, or competitors, may be deleted. Google aims to maintain the authenticity of reviews, and those that seem biased or self-promotional are not allowed.
4. Off-Topic or Irrelevant Content
5. Legal or Policy Compliance
Reviews may be removed if they violate legal regulations or government policies, including:
Defamation or libellous content
Privacy violations, such as revealing personal information about others.
6. Multiple Account Violations
Users who repeatedly post inappropriate reviews or use multiple accounts to post reviews may have their reviews deleted, or even their entire accounts suspended.
7. Automated Filters
Google uses automated systems to detect suspicious activity. Sometimes, genuine reviews may be inadvertently removed due to these filters, especially if they resemble patterns associated with fake or spammy behaviour.
Recover Deleted Reviews from Google
If you feel a review was wrongfully deleted, users can appeal the decision or attempt to repost it while ensuring compliance with Google’s review policies. You can monitor your deleted reviews using our software.
Delete Reviews that Amount to Defamation or Spam
If you suspect a competitor left a review intended to hard your business, do not answer it but reach out to us. We can, with the help of specialised processes, sometimes uncover who left the review, or potentially get the review removed by Google.
