Is this enough evidence to persuade Google that these 1-star ratings are fake?

[Jacki Kearslake]

Argh. Why do people do this?

My client, a dentist with an excellent local reputation, has received two 1-star, no-comment reviews a week apart. Neither name is recognisable to them as a patient or patient emergency contact.

When the first review (from Person 1 - HB) happened, I flagged it and, when Google wouldn't remove it, requested a review. Google replied fairly quickly to let us know they would not take it down, citing no violation. I understand this is a common outcome. I guided the dentist to write a response to the review, saying

• they didn't recognise the reviewer's name as a patient of record
• they genuinely wanted to understand the reason for the low rating
• and to please reach out with their genuine concern so it could be addressed.

Of course, there has been no reply.

Today, a second 1-star, no-comment review arrived from Person 2 - RK. Once again, this is not a patient of record or an emergency contact. The dentist cannot think of any reason why someone might be targeting them.

RK posted their review of my client at 6:00 a.m. local time.

At the same time, they posted two other ratings:

• Medical Centre A - 5 stars, no comments
• Medical Centre B - 1 star, no comments

We noticed that Person 1 (HB) also posted two new ratings at around 6:00 a.m. this morning

• Medical Centre A - 5 stars, no comments
• Medical Centre B - 1 star, no comments

Coincidentally, Person 3 (JM) posted two new ratings this morning - one was, you guessed it: at 6:00 a.m. local time!

• Medical Centre A - 5 stars, no comments
• Medical Centre B - 1 star, no comments

So I'm half expecting JM to post a review of my client's practice at some stage.

What do you think? Is this enough of a pattern for Google to remove the one-star reviews from my client's profile? Is there a better way to deliver the evidence than the screenshots my client and I have taken and a table with the evidence laid out like this (and not redacted)?

Or are we better off sitting tight and waiting to see if more low ratings appear?

Or is there something else we should do?

Thanks in anticipation of your comments.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Hey @Jacki Kearslake. I'm going to send you a private message. There is another forum member that professionally assists with negative review attacks like this. Their rates are extremely fair and they take care of all the needed research, supported documentation, and communication with Google.

 

[Tony Wang]

@Jacki Kearslake you're definitely on the right track. This recent article has some great insights, you may find it helpful in protesting the reviews.

Review Spam: Wipe Your Cheating Competitors Off The Map With This Strategy

Learn how to identify cheating competitors that are buying fake reviews, report them to Google, and even the playing field.

whitespark.ca

 

[Jacki Kearslake]

Thanks, @Tony Wang - fantastic article!

 

[Jacki Kearslake]

An update:

I gathered information about the suspicious pattern of reviews and made a case via Google's 'request a review' process. There is a limited character count in the form field, so I needed to edit my case a little. I made sure the pattern was very clear and provided the URLs of the fake reviews.

It took nearly four days, but the 1-star ratings from both suspicious accounts (HB and RK) have been removed from my client's GBP. Ratings from these two accounts have also been removed from Medical Practice A and Medical Practice B

JM's ratings remain on the profiles of both medical practices, but as they didn't trouble my client, I'm not so concerned.

I'm grateful for the advice from @JeffClevelandTN and @Tony Wang

And I'm grateful that Google listened and took action