Uptick in Legitimate Reviews Missing - Any Options for Reinstatement?

[Ben Seidel]

Has anyone else noticed an uptick in reviews missing from their or clients' GBP listings? We now have multiple listings (including our own company listing and that of our clients) that we suspect are having legitimate reviews filtered out.

@JoyHawkins We read this thread Solution for Missing Google Reviews? and saw that you might be having some luck with GBP support. We submitted on the GBP help forum Issue with Reviews Not Coming Through on Listing - Google Business Profile Community to look into one specific case - would you mind pinging Google to take a look at this as we are not receiving any attention through the normal support route. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[keyserholiday]

I was the one that replied to the thread. A competitor can't block your reviews by marking your business as spam. You didn't provide the business name, address, and screenshots of the reviews, so it's impossible for us to help you.

 

[Ben Seidel]

@keyserholiday thanks for the speedy response. This is the first time we submitted information to the Google Business Profile Help Forum, so that's an oversight on our part. I did not see an option to submit the requested data privately. Is it required to publish that information publicly and simply put it in the body of the submission?
Let me know if you have a different recommendation.

 

[keyserholiday]

There isn't a way to submit the data privately on the forum. Can you dm here the info?

 

[Ben Seidel]

Yes, I've sent over a DM moments ago. Thank you for your assistance!

 

[keyserholiday]

That review won't be able to be published. It violates Google's TOS.

 

[Ben Seidel]

Per the additional information provided to Google via Issue with Reviews Not Coming Through on Listing - Google Business Profile Community and with Joy's help, Google agreed that the review did not violate their policies. They reinstated that review along with a couple others.

Moral of the story would be that Google's canned response that they "never reinstate reviews" is not fully accurate. If you suspect legitimate reviews are being filtered out on your listing, reach out via the Google Business Profile help forum, provide as much detail as possible, and you might have a chance that they'll re-review your account.

 

[keyserholiday]

Per the additional information provided to Google via Issue with Reviews Not Coming Through on Listing - Google Business Profile Community and with Joy's help, Google agreed that the review did not violate their policies. They reinstated that review along with a couple others.

Moral of the story would be that Google's canned response that they "never reinstate reviews" is not fully accurate. If you suspect legitimate reviews are being filtered out on your listing, reach out via the Google Business Profile help forum, provide as much detail as possible, and you might have a chance that they'll re-review your account.

I didn't agree that reviews from speaking events were valid and should be reinstated. I don't see how they bring value to your web design and SEO services. Google didn't agree with me. Duly noted.