I spend lots of time in the Google community forum, and I see lots of fake review complaints. I thought it might be helpful to share the reasons you can give when reporting a review that I’ve found are most likely to get Google to take action. (See this post for a detailed breakdown of the steps in the review reporting process.)
There are many signals that might indicate that a review is fake, like an account created just to leave the one negative review, or an account used to leave fake reviews in just one industry across the entire country. And there are other signals we can’t see, such as the reviewer’s IP address or the history of the account. But I'm not looking at those more nuanced details here. This post is just to share a few tips on evaluating the review content, determining how it violates Google’s policies, and what to report to improve your chances of getting it removed.
It largely boils down to a few sections in Google’s policy: Prohibited & restricted content. (Large portions of that policy document are devoted to things like obscenities, profanity, jibberish, sexually explicit or adult-themed content, etc., but those issues never seem to be a problem. It's easy for an algorithm to spot and remove those types of violations.)
A) Not a customer: Don’t bother making that argument that a review was left by someone who was never a customer, based on the fact that you don’t have a record of any transactions with the reviewer. The name on a Google account doesn’t have to be the user’s real name. So, there’s nothing connecting the name on the reviewer’s Google account to the name of the person who actually wrote the review, or to any of your customer records. The argument that you don't have a record of doing business with the reviewer never works.
There is an exception: If you get two negative reviews from different accounts that display the same user name, Google tends to accept that they are from the same person and will remove one (or both).
B) Dispute/Lies: Don’t bother trying to argue that the review is inaccurate or a lie. E.g. If the review says a service technician was late, don’t try arguing that they were on time. Don’t argue that you did a good job when the review says you did a bad job. Don’t claim that your food tastes good if a review says it was bad. Here’s the bottom line: Google will not mediate a dispute.
So, you need to find a different reason why your review violates policy. The following tend to be effective, in my experience.
1.) Wrong Business: Was the review written for the wrong business? If so, find a way to show that.
E.g. It’s about a product or service you don’t offer. The error needs to be glaring. If the review for your hardware store says that the business serves lousy sushi, Google will probably remove it. If it says something about a brand of hammer you sell and you want to argue that you don’t actually sell that kind of hammer, your chances of success are much lower.
E.g. The review mentions something about the location that makes it clear it’s for the wrong business. If a review mentions “the hardware store on Garden St.” when you’re not on Garden St., or “lousy pool” for a business without a pool, use that as the reason it should be removed.
2.) Complaints about a service vehicle: Reviews complaining about a branded service vehicle driving badly tend to get removed. I suspect this is because they don’t have to do with the physical business location. Or maybe Google just doesn’t consider them engagement with the business. I don’t know exactly what the rationale is; I just know that Google tends to remove them.
3.) Shows full name: Reviews showing the full name of an employee used to be a slam dunk; if the review contained a full name, it would get removed. This changed in 2024 or 2025. Google updated the policy to allow a full name “if it is part of the commonly known or advertised business entity” or “An individual’s name if they are a public-facing professional conducting business under their name”, which is common for doctors, dentists, lawyers, realtors, financial planners, contractors, etc. It’s still an argument worth trying, especially if a review mentions the full name of an employee who is not a “public-facing professional”, but it’s not as reliable as it once was.
4.) Written on behalf of someone else: This is often a family member or a friend. A review must be about your experience with the business. E.g. “My mom hired this company to...”
5.) Response to news or social media story: Content written in response to a negative news story, and that is not based on an actual experience with the business, is fake engagement. These reviews usually come in large numbers after a negative story is published, making them easy to spot. Reporting a large number of such violations at once helps illustrate that it’s a review attack (of sorts) and improves your chances of success.
Is there a particular type of content violation you’ve had good luck removing? Add it to the list.
There are many signals that might indicate that a review is fake, like an account created just to leave the one negative review, or an account used to leave fake reviews in just one industry across the entire country. And there are other signals we can’t see, such as the reviewer’s IP address or the history of the account. But I'm not looking at those more nuanced details here. This post is just to share a few tips on evaluating the review content, determining how it violates Google’s policies, and what to report to improve your chances of getting it removed.
It largely boils down to a few sections in Google’s policy: Prohibited & restricted content. (Large portions of that policy document are devoted to things like obscenities, profanity, jibberish, sexually explicit or adult-themed content, etc., but those issues never seem to be a problem. It's easy for an algorithm to spot and remove those types of violations.)
What To Avoid
There are two types of review-related complaints that I see all the time and that never get taken down. Let’s look at those first because knowing what to avoid can help point you in the right direction.A) Not a customer: Don’t bother making that argument that a review was left by someone who was never a customer, based on the fact that you don’t have a record of any transactions with the reviewer. The name on a Google account doesn’t have to be the user’s real name. So, there’s nothing connecting the name on the reviewer’s Google account to the name of the person who actually wrote the review, or to any of your customer records. The argument that you don't have a record of doing business with the reviewer never works.
There is an exception: If you get two negative reviews from different accounts that display the same user name, Google tends to accept that they are from the same person and will remove one (or both).
B) Dispute/Lies: Don’t bother trying to argue that the review is inaccurate or a lie. E.g. If the review says a service technician was late, don’t try arguing that they were on time. Don’t argue that you did a good job when the review says you did a bad job. Don’t claim that your food tastes good if a review says it was bad. Here’s the bottom line: Google will not mediate a dispute.
So, you need to find a different reason why your review violates policy. The following tend to be effective, in my experience.
Reasons To Report A Review
Interestingly, these all fall under “Fake engagement”. Specifically, “Content that is not based on a real experience and does not accurately represent the location or product in question.”1.) Wrong Business: Was the review written for the wrong business? If so, find a way to show that.
E.g. It’s about a product or service you don’t offer. The error needs to be glaring. If the review for your hardware store says that the business serves lousy sushi, Google will probably remove it. If it says something about a brand of hammer you sell and you want to argue that you don’t actually sell that kind of hammer, your chances of success are much lower.
E.g. The review mentions something about the location that makes it clear it’s for the wrong business. If a review mentions “the hardware store on Garden St.” when you’re not on Garden St., or “lousy pool” for a business without a pool, use that as the reason it should be removed.
2.) Complaints about a service vehicle: Reviews complaining about a branded service vehicle driving badly tend to get removed. I suspect this is because they don’t have to do with the physical business location. Or maybe Google just doesn’t consider them engagement with the business. I don’t know exactly what the rationale is; I just know that Google tends to remove them.
3.) Shows full name: Reviews showing the full name of an employee used to be a slam dunk; if the review contained a full name, it would get removed. This changed in 2024 or 2025. Google updated the policy to allow a full name “if it is part of the commonly known or advertised business entity” or “An individual’s name if they are a public-facing professional conducting business under their name”, which is common for doctors, dentists, lawyers, realtors, financial planners, contractors, etc. It’s still an argument worth trying, especially if a review mentions the full name of an employee who is not a “public-facing professional”, but it’s not as reliable as it once was.
4.) Written on behalf of someone else: This is often a family member or a friend. A review must be about your experience with the business. E.g. “My mom hired this company to...”
5.) Response to news or social media story: Content written in response to a negative news story, and that is not based on an actual experience with the business, is fake engagement. These reviews usually come in large numbers after a negative story is published, making them easy to spot. Reporting a large number of such violations at once helps illustrate that it’s a review attack (of sorts) and improves your chances of success.
Is there a particular type of content violation you’ve had good luck removing? Add it to the list.
