Negative review for the wrong business

[BaggySEO]

Hi there, hopefully someone can help me. I've posted this on the GMB forum with no joy.

We've had the following review left on our business and I wondered if someone could look into getting it removed for me as it is for the wrong business:

Browns Family Jewellers is a busy, bustling jewellers, and always has full cabinets, contrary to what Paul says. We believe that Paul is reviewing a nearby jewellers called 'Herbert Brown' which is a closed down jewellers in the same shopping centre (link below). You can also see in one of the reviews that this place closed long ago.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Herbert+Brown/@53.8065959,-1.4520172,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1...

Please could someone help me delete or move this review?

I have flagged it and reported it through Twitter support. My response via Twitter support was that it didn't violate guidelines, but I believe it to violate the 'Off topic' section. I've also flagged this in the GMB forum here with no response.

Many thanks in advance to anyone that can help with this.

J

 

[Cherie Dickey]

Hey there!

I'm afraid you are not going to have any luck getting this review removed. The issue is that Google only looks at the content of the review when deciding if it violates standards or not. The review does not mention a business name, so Google is going to see this as a difference of opinion with regards to your store vs the reviewer's perception of the store they are reviewing. There is nothing in the content of the review to indicate they are reviewing a different store, and it doesn't contain any abusive language, etc, that would be in violation of standards.

Your best bet is to politely reply to the review, which you have done. I would also take some more interior photos of your business to highlight your excellent selection of stock.

I'm sorry I don't have better news for you!

Cherie

 

[BaggySEO]

Thanks for your help on this Cherie! Much appreciated.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@BaggySEO, I've reported that review. Chances are slim Google will do anything, but who knows.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

I agree with @Cherie Dickey advice on this one but it's always a good idea to flag the review anyway as Phil alluded to.

When you flag a review make sure to flag it from within the GMB dashboard. Those reports are much more effective.

 

[BaggySEO]

Thanks Phil and Colan for your help on this.

Interestingly although I flagged it as 'Off-topic' when submitting, I got a notification through saying I flagged it as Spam:

Not sure if this is something one of you guys can flag to Google.

Cheers, J.

 

[Phil Rozek]

Yeah, Google always does that. They throw "off-topic" into the hamper of "spam."