Fake reviews can hurt your business or give a competitor an unfair edge. Google removes reviews that break its policies, but you need to report them clearly, and it doesn't remove reviews just because they're negative.
Signs a review may be fake
- The reviewer was never a customer and you have no record of them.
- Several reviews arrive at once with similar wording.
- The reviewer has reviewed many unrelated businesses in different places on the same day.
- The review describes a business or service you don't provide.
Reporting a review on your profile
- Open the review in your Business Profile or on Google Maps.
- Choose the option to report it and pick the closest reason, such as spam, conflict of interest or off-topic.
- Use Google's reviews management tool to check the status of your report.
- Reply calmly to the review while you wait. See how to respond to negative reviews.
Competitors with fake reviews
You can report reviews on any business's profile the same way. Fake reviews can also mislead consumers, and the ACCC treats fake reviews as a consumer protection issue. See the ACCC website for guidance.
Never fight fake with fake
Don't post fake positive reviews to bury bad ones, and don't offer incentives for reviews. Build a steady flow of genuine reviews instead. See how to get more Google reviews.
Want this done for you? See our Google Business Profile setup and management, or get a free audit.