For the past couple of years, Google Reviews has transformed into a social media that is used by not just consumers but also businesses. Google’s word-of-mouth marketing has been like Yelp and TripAdvisor in the way it provides companies with an opportunity to get feedback on their services and products. More than three billion reviews have been left on Google Maps’ website where people can share their thoughts about any type of business from a restaurant to a computer store.
The system works by allowing customers and businesses through consumers to provide feedback, both negative as well as positive on various subjects such as service quality or product performance. This information is then shared online for other potential customers to see. Reviewers are asked to answer questions that include how satisfied they are with their experience, how likely they’d recommend the business to friends and family, as well as their overall rating of the companies on a 5-star scale.
With the vast number of reviews on Google, it can be difficult for companies to monitor the websites that employ their own. With over 3 billion reviews and an average star rating between one and five stars, there is an overwhelming amount of data that can become overwhelming if not used correctly or misinterpreted.
So, negative Google Reviews can ruin your business reputation online, which is why it is important to learn more about how to manage negative reviews when they do happen; it could be positive or negative feedback that can make or break your business.
Can you turn off the Google Reviews for your Business?
The answer to this question is – “It is impossible.” Google has certain rules that every business listing needs to follow to be on the Google Maps. Whenever you create a listing (add your business) to Google Maps then Google Reviews are enabled by default.
And, we think these should be enabled by default also because business reviews are the best way to judge a business’s credibility. This is because they have been written by someone who has actually gone to the business and interacted with it. All review websites including Google Maps have clear guidelines as well as policies that govern what can be seen on their sites. These reviews not only talk about what a person thinks was good or bad about a certain business on Google Maps but also provide advice that people should take before going to that company.
You can’t turn off google reviews for GMB because Google has made it mandatory for businesses to have a presence in the GMB. It is true that Google makes some changes according to the feedback they receive from businesses and users. So, if they are receiving any negative feedback regarding how reviews are managed on business listings, then they may make some changes in the future. But for now, it is not possible to disable or turn off the Google Reviews for your Google My Business listing or you may say, your business on Google Maps.
Who can leave a review on your business on Google Maps?
Google makes the sending Google Review section very easy and secure also. But, one just simply needs a Google Account to leave reviews on Google Maps. You simply need to sign in to Google Maps or create a new Google Account. Now after creating a new account or signing in with the previous account, anyone can leave a review for any business following Google’s review policy.
Google Reviews itself can not be turned off but reviews can be reported
So, as it is described above that you can not disable the Google Reviews on your business listing on Google Maps but you do have an option to report the reviews that you feel is a fake. You can check the review that you feel is fake and report it to Google. If Google agrees to your report and takes necessary action against the same then it will be removed from your Google My Business profile.
How to report fake reviews on your Google My Business profile?
Well, if you do think that your business is getting a lot of negative comments then you need to take action on that because maybe your competitors have launched a campaign to de-rank your business. So in this situation, you can report the review or number of reviews that you think are fake or misleading.
Follow the steps given below to report such fake reviews,
- Go to your Google My Business profile dashboard
- Click and open the “Reviews” section
- Be specific about the review that you want to report
- Move your cursor to the wanted review
- Click on three dots that will be shown on the right side of that review text.
- Click on “Flag as inappropriate”
- Choose the appropriate reason to report
- At last, submit your report and wait for the final decision
Conclusion
So, this was a brief article on Can I Turn Off Google Reviews For Google My Business (GMB) Listing. Hope now you know why it is not possible to turn off Google Reviews on your business profile and how to report fake reviews if you feel that any review is fake. Because if Google agrees with you on your report and takes necessary action against the same then it will be removed from your Google My Business profile but you can never turn off the Google Reviews entire section.
