Rushabh PatelNote: We have been receiving many messages about reviews not showing up and asking if we can help to fix it. But unfortunately, we can’t, only Google can fix your reviews. You can contact Google My Business Support for the same. Thanks!
Have you received an email notification that one of your customers has left a positive review with 5-star ratings on your Google My Business (GMB) page? Surely, it will make you feel that you have provided the best services and products. However, all your excitements can come to an end, if you find GMB not showing that review. Lots of questions will jam up your mind. Why have my Google reviews disappeared? Why aren’t these reviews visible to everyone?
There are several potential reasons behind it. Still, we have outlined 15 top reasons that can cause the reviews to disappear from your page.
1. Google reviews disabled temporarily for Corona outbreak
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an impact on almost every sector. Presently, Google has very limited members in its team, and it has disabled the review section of GMB business listing temporarily. Thus, your customers cannot find the option of posting new reviews. Similarly, you will not get a chance to send a response to a GMB review. Still, you may try out other ways of engaging your customers.
Moreover, constant engagement with loyal customers by asking them for reviews on other sites can help a business to retain the customers during this uncertainty.
2. Your Google reviews have URLs and links
Have you checked out whether the recently posted reviews have URLs? The chances are that Google can remove these reviews.
Thus, you need to somehow contact with authors of those reviews to omit links from reviews. Then it will reappear on your page.
3. Spam Google reviews
It is one of the probable reasons behind the disappearance of your GMB reviews. As quality is the priority to Google, this search engine is highly strict in fighting against the review spams. It has also set guidelines against the restricted and prohibited content. Besides, a GMB visitor may have flagged your review as something inappropriate. Google will then scrutinize the concerned review and then delete it from its listing.
4. Reviews are in private mode or deleted
Although a few users delete their GMB reviews in rare cases, we have found it as a potential reason behind your problem. Also, users might have kept their reviews private.
However, in the recent updates, GMB has eliminated the option for marking the review as private. Any review will automatically become public, and to keep it out of view, the user has to delete this review.
5. New business listing in GMB platform
In the past, it was tricky for a business to attract local customers. Finally, a GMB listing comes to help those businesses. Now, for startups and new companies, we have a question- Have you already developed a loyal customer base to find their reviews regularly.
Until you get reviews from five different users, Google will never show up the content. Thus, wait for the day to find the minimum number of reviews and ratings from customers.
6. Your business listings have turned out to be inactive
You haven’t touched your GMB dashboard for several months. Then, how do you anticipate the visibility of reviews? There is no update, post, photo sharing activity, and response to a Google review. Thus, you have a chance to lose the verification status of your business.
As a rule, an unverified business in the GMB platform will never show up its presence in Google Maps or Google Search. Hence, your customers have no chance of seeing your GMB reviews.
Therefore, open your email and you will find that Google has notified you of your GMB status. Manage your listing and restore your active status.
7. A new location of your business outlet
Have you moved your business to a new place without changing its name? Then, your GMB reviews also have been transferred to that location, shown on Google Map.
But, hotels and other similar businesses remain firmly tied to one particular location. In that case, Google will not send your reviews automatically.
So, you can better get in touch with the Google team to inform them about the new business location. Then, they will ask you to re-verify your business listing.
8. Duplicity in your listings
It is a mistake from your side, and you have to take a step to check it. Double-check your listings to find out any duplicity. When there are duplicate business listings, Google can remove your customers’ reviews from one of them. Thus, you must have a look at the alternate listing to confirm the posting of the latest reviews.
Moreover, you must note that you need to visit Google Maps for checking duplicate listing. We have found more than one way of deleting a listing. For instance, you may remove the location from your GMB dashboard or report the issue to Google using Maps.
9. A natural delay in showing up the review
Sometimes, Google usually delays for 3 days to make a review visible. However, we have not detected the actual reason for this delay.
10. Third-party reviews can never be visible on GMB
A few years ago, Google set no restrictions on posting reviews from third party websites, including Yahoo Local, Facebook, and Yelp. Thus, you no longer have a chance of posting those third-party reviews on your GMB page.
Still, reviews from a few reputable websites can find a place in Google listing. You can go to the Reviews around the Web section to check them. These are algorithmically generated reviews and have no accuracy.
11. Your GMB page receiving a big pool of reviews
You think that it is right for you to find customers’ reviews regularly on your GMB page. At times, the number of your business reviews is higher than that of your competitors in your locality.
Besides, most of the businesses with GMB profiles have a local presence. Now, imagine that your business is in a rural region of about 1000 people. However, your Google business reviews have crossed more than 4000.
Never be shocked to find the removal of some of those reviews.
12. Fake Google reviewer
Google continually monitors fake profiles that have no photo, name, and other details. Besides, real Google account holders do not keep their profiles blank. Probably, your business is getting reviews from those blank accounts. Hence, Google will assume that these are bot-created fake reviews.
13. A reviewer might remove his review
Reviewers have the right to do it without notifying you. For some reason, they may have decided on removing his reviews. In that case, you have almost no chance of recovering those reviews.
14. Repetitive reviews or Error-free review
Your GMB reviews are 100% correct from grammatical perspectives. You think that error-free content is always valuable. However, remember that you need genuine customer reviews, and no customer focuses on their grammar while writing reviews.
Moreover, too much perfection can trigger a sense of suspense in the Google team. Google will start thinking that your GMB page has pre-made reviews.
15. Google can play a trick with you
We know that you have never imagined this fact. However, Google can intentionally delete your business reviews in some cases.
Startups, promoting their small businesses, avoid using Google Ads, and they become the target of Google. Google always anticipates these businesses to use Ads. Moreover, Google may remove reviews of its strong competitors.
So, you can analyze the factors clarified by us and find the reason behind your issue. Never waste too much time worrying about the disappearance and deletion of GMB reviews. Thus, concentrate on your business and provide the best services to your customers. A 100% fulfillment will naturally encourage your customers to leave positive reviews.
