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Someone left a fake Google review. Here is what actually works

Reporting a fake Google review is worth doing and often does not work. The reply you write matters more than the report.

By Ben Raymond · · 5 min read

A one star lands from a name you do not recognise, with no detail, and you are fairly sure it is a competitor or someone with a grudge.

There is a process. It works sometimes. The thing that reliably protects you is further down.

First, be sure

Check before you act. Search the name against your jobs, your invoices and your phone records. Check nicknames, partners' names, a business name instead of a person's.

Reporting a genuine unhappy customer as fake, and then saying so publicly, is a far worse outcome than the review itself. Be certain.

Signs it is not a real customer

  • No detail at all. Real complaints name the job, the date, the problem.
  • The reviewer's profile has reviews of businesses across the country in a week.
  • It is their only review ever.
  • It arrived alongside two or three others in the same hour.
  • It describes a service you do not offer.
  • It landed right after you took work off someone.

Reporting it

  1. Open the review in your profile, hit the three dots, Report review.
  2. Pick the policy it actually breaches. Conflict of interest if you believe it is a competitor. Fake engagement if it looks like spam. Off topic if it describes a different business.
  3. Submit once. Repeating it does not help.
  4. Expect a few days to a couple of weeks, with no notification either way.
  5. If it is rejected, you can escalate through Google Business Profile support or the community forum, where product experts do get genuine cases actioned.

Reply to it, now

Do not wait for the report to resolve. Most readers will see it before Google does anything, and your reply is what they judge.

Calm, factual, no accusation. If it is a competitor, that reply makes them look worse than any argument would. If you are somehow wrong, you have left yourself a way back.

What actually protects you

Volume. One fake review out of nine is a 4.1 and it is the first thing anyone sees. One fake review out of ninety is a 4.9 and it is buried.

Businesses that panic about a single review are usually businesses with very few reviews. The fix is not winning the fight over that one. It is making sure the next one lands on a profile deep enough that it does not matter.

Don't want to chase reviews yourself? Our review management asks every customer at the right moment, with your direct link, and replies to what comes in.

Questions

Straight answers.

Can I get a fake Google review removed?

Sometimes. Report it under the policy it genuinely breaches, usually conflict of interest or fake engagement, and submit once. It works often enough to be worth doing but you should not count on it.

How do I know if a review is fake?

No specific detail, a reviewer whose profile shows reviews all over the country, a single lifetime review, or several arriving at once. Check your invoices and phone records before concluding anything.

Should I reply to a review I think is fake?

Yes, immediately. Most people will read it long before Google acts. State calmly that you cannot match it to a job and invite them to get in touch.

What stops fake reviews hurting my rating?

Volume. One bad review out of ninety barely moves the number, where one out of nine dominates it. Building review depth is the only real defence.

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Worried one bad review is doing too much damage?

Usually that means there are not enough good ones underneath it. Tell me your business and I will tell you what your rating should look like in three months.

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