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In this post:\nWhy it’s so important for you to claim your business listing on Google\nHow to claim your business on Google\nHow to verify your Google my Business listing\nWhat to do if someone else has already claimed your business on Google\nHow reputation management software can help you save time and money\nAs we’ve written before, the first step in getting control of your online business reputation and responding to reviews is to \nclaim your Google business listing\n as well as your pages on all the relevant sites like Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, etc. \nListings on these sites are basically your “digital storefront,” or the way most consumers discover you before they come to your place of business. \nPlus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple review sites make more money! Let’s start with discussing how to claim your business on Google.\nClaim your Google business listing as one of your most important marketing tools\nWhen it comes to finding and attracting new customers to your business, the right marketing plan make all the difference. And for many small and local businesses, tight budgets and tighter schedules can make a solid marketing plan feel constantly out of reach.\nRaquelle Dickerson, \nDirector of Marketing at SEO.com\n, recommends the following to small business owners looking to marketing their business on a budget. \n“Every business, regardless of size, needs to have some sort of digital marketing strategy in order to succeed. While big companies can experiment with all the latest and greatest digital marketing tools and services, this isn’t an option for the limited budgets of small, local businesses. That’s why I strongly recommend every small and local business get set up with a Google my Business page.\n“Google my Business is essentially a free marketing listing for any business. Once you’ve claimed your listing, you can add pictures, menus, products, hours of operation, contact information . . . Everything you’d want a prospective customer to know about your business. All for free. And remember, it’s Google. It’s where your customers are searching for your product.\n“If your Google listing is unclaimed or uninteresting, you’re going to struggle to get people in the door.”\nUnfortunately, far too many businesses aren’t following Raquelle’s advice. In fact, 56% of local business haven’t claimed their Google my Business listing. This is \ncrazy\n.\nThe good news is that claiming your Google Business listing is quick and easy. Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through the simple process of how to claim and verify your business listing on Google so you can take control of your online reputation and attract more customers.\nHow to claim your business on Google\nStart by going to the Google page for business owners: \nbusiness.google.com\nStep 1: Identify your Google account\nIf you are already signed into a Google Email account, you will see the screen below. \nIf you are not signed into a Google Email account, proceed to Step 2.\ngoogle my business login screen\n\nYou can hover your mouse over the icon in the top right hand corner of this screen to view the account holder’s information. \nIs this the Google email account you wish to use to manage your Google Business account?\nYes? Skip to Step 4.\nNo? Log out and proceed to Step 2.\nStep 2: SIGN IN or START NOW\nClick on the “Sign In” button in the top-right corner.\ngoogle business login screen\n\nIf you are not currently registered with a Google email account, click the “Start Now” link to create a Google account with any existing email address (ex: @hotmail.com, @yahoo.com, @businessname.com) or create a new “FirstNameLastName@gmail.com” email account that’s available.\nPlease note: The email address, recovery phone number and other profile information you provide when creating your Google account will NOT be visible to your customers. List the best recovery email and phone number in the event you forget your login password.\nStep 3: Log in to your Google account\ngoogle my business listing sign in screen\n\nSign in with the Google email account you wish to use to claim and manage your Google Business account.\nStep 4: Search for your business\ngoogle my business listing login business name search screen\n\n \nType the name of your business the field provided. If your business name along with the last part of the business address auto-populates your business listing in the dropdown list below, select it and click Next. If not, you’ll need to add your business.\nStep 5: Business address\n(Image)\n\nIf the address in the step above is inaccurate, now is your chance to update your business address to the current information and click Next\nIf the address is accurate with current information, click Next\nOnly select the check box next to the “truck” image shown at the bottom of this page if you do NOT have a storefront for customers visit to render services/products.\nStep 6: Business phone number & website link\n(Image)\n\nMake sure your business phone number and website address are correct and up-to-date on this next page. Again, if any of this information is inaccurate, update as needed then click Next.\nCongratulations! You have now successfully claimed your Google Business listing! \nHow to verify your business on Google\nNow that you’ve claimed your business, you might ask, “Do I need to verify my business with Google?” The answer is yes, and it’s the next important step in claiming your Google business listing. This step proves to Google that you own the business and gives you the ability to manage the information on your page, respond to customer reviews, upload photos, get your business found in search results, and more.\n(Image)\n\nPlease note: If you are claiming an “Unclaimed” Google Business listing, you will see the page shown above. Click Continue to choose from the verification options.\nIf you are claiming a Google Business listing that is currently Claimed and Managed by someone else, (for example; marketing manager, webmaster, previous employee, etc.) please scroll down to “What to do if someone has already claimed your Google business listing.”\nOption 1: Verify by postcard\ngoogle my business verification by postcard screen\n\nIf you wish to receive a postcard containing a verification code sent from Google to your business address, please click on the Mail button on the right hand side. \nPostcard: Look out for a Google-branded postcard to arrive by mail. This postcard will contain the verification code needed to verify your listing. Sign into your Google Business Account (\nbusiness.google.com\n), click on the Verify Now button next to your listing, and enter the verification code. Your business listing is now claimed and verified!  \nIf you wish to verify another way, click on the shield icon next to “Try a different method.”\nOption 2: Verify with a different method\ngoogle my business verification by phone screen\n\nA faster way to verify your business listing is to have Google call or text your business phone number. Please note: This option is not recommend if you are not at the business location at the time you request the verification phone call and/or if your business number cannot receive text messages. \nWork-around: If you choose to have Google call your place of business, ask an employee in advance to pick up the Google verification phone call once you send the request, then have your employee call you back with the verification code.\nVerify later: This option will allow you to verify your business listing at a later time. \nWhat to do if someone else claimed your Google Business listing\nHas someone else claimed your business on Google? Click on Request Access to notify the current listing owner that you wish to claim and manage this business listing. \nStep 1: Submit requester information\ngoogle my business verification request access screen\n\nShare your info with the current owner to continue: Check this box. This is a security measure to prevent any Google user from claiming a business that is not theirs.\nWhat level of access would you like?: If you are the owner and want to fully manage your business listing, select Ownership. You can add other authorized users to manage your account with limited features later on. Click on Learn More for more information. \nWhat’s your relationship to the business?: Select your role for the business, enter your name and phone number so the owner currently managing the listing has the option to contact you to inquire about the Ownership Request.\nStep 2: Await confirmation by current owner\n(Image)\n\nIf the current owner does not respond within 7 days, Google will usually grant your Ownership Request.\nIf the the Ownership Request is rejected by the current owner, log into your account to appeal the rejection and/or contact Google at: 1-844-491-9665.\nManage your online presence\nClaiming and verifying your Google my Business listing is a vital step for any local business, but it’s only the first step. Next steps involve \nresponding to reviews\n, building a strategy consistently \nget more reviews\n, and managing your reviews on all the important review sites for your business type. Make sure you stay on top of it, because online reviews can have a huge impact on your business.\nSee our additional guides: \n\nHow to claim your business on Yelp\n\n\nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n\n

How to claim your Google Business listing

In this article:\nWhy get listed on MerchantCircle\nHow to create and claim MerchantCircle business listings\nWhat you should do next\nMerchantCircle is a network of people dedicated to connecting busy consumers with top-quality local merchants. \nMerchantCircle wants to help small businesses like yours improve their online visibility, so they give you everything you need to do just that. That’s why we want to show you how to add your business to their platform. \nWhy should I add my business to MerchantCircle?\nMerchantCircle is the perfect platform for connecting with new, local consumers, and it also helps improve your local search rankings. The more online directories you can list your business on, the better chance you have to rank high in the local search results. \nCheck this out: \n25 free business listing websites every small or local business should be on\nSome other cool features and benefits that MerchantCircle can offer your business include:\nOnline advertising on their platform\nOnline reputation management services\nTop-rated customer support\nRead on to learn how to add your business to MerchantCircle.\nHow to create and claim your business account on MerchantCircle\nLet’s get started. \nStep 1: Create a MerchantCircle account\nIn order to add a business to or claim a business on MerchantCircle, you need to sign up for an account. \nGo to \nmerchantcircle.com\n and click “Sign up.”\n(Image)\n\nOn the next screen, fill out the form with the following information:\nFirst and last name\nEmail address\nPassword\nPassword confirmation\nZip code\nBusiness name\nBusiness phone number\nBe sure that the “I’m a merchant” box is checked at the top of the form, check the reCaptcha (“I’m not a robot”), and click “Create my account.”\n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Add or update your business on MerchantCircle and claim it\nWhen you add in your business name and phone number in the signup form, it allows MerchantCircle to check their database to see if your business is already there. If it is, it will show up on the following screen once you click “Create my account.”\nYou’ll be brought to a page that has your business listed. Click “Claim this business.”\n(Image)\n\nIf you don’t see your business listed, click “Add your business to MerchantCircle.”\n(Image)\n\nNo matter which option you choose, you will then be brought to the same form. If your business was already on MerchantCircle, some of your business information will be filled out for you. Just complete the form and click “Next.”\nIf your business wasn’t listed on MerchantCircle, and you clicked “Add your business…” then your form will be blank. Fill out all of your information and click “Next.”\nMake sure to include all of the following information in the form:\nBusiness name\nAddress\nPhone number\nBusiness category\nBusiness description\nBusiness website\nAccepted payment types\n(Image)\n\nYou will then be brought to a page to select the plan you would like to be on for your MerchantCircle account. To avoid paying any fees, select “Try It Free.”\n(Image)\n\nNext, MerchantCircle will prompt you to purchase “Hero Ads.” Feel free to skip this or click “Next” to stick with the free listing. \n(Image)\n\nOn the next screen, MerchantCircle will direct you to verify your email. Do this to gain full access to your business listing. \nCheck your email (this often comes into the spam/junk folder) and click “Verify your account.” \n(Image)\n\nNow you have a verified MerchantCircle account!\nYou added your business to MerchantCircle… what’s next?\nOnce you’ve added your business to this online directory, there’s still a lot more you can do to improve your online visibility and improve your opportunities to get more customers. \nAdding your business to this directory is one small piece of improving your local SEO (search engine optimization), and we have some other great resources to help you improve this even further. \nCheck out our guides:\n25 free business listing websites every small or local business should be on\nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\n\nHow to get more reviews\n\n

How to create and claim your MerchantCircle business listing

A step-by-step guide on:\nHow to create a Yelp account\nHow to claim your business on Yelp\nHow to verify your Yelp business account\nIn this post we will take you step-by-step through the process of claiming your business’s Yelp listing. \nIf you want to improve your business’s online presence, the first step is to \nclaim your business listings\n on all the relevant sites like Google, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc. to begin owning your online reputation and responding to reviews.\nPlus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple online business reviews sites make 58% more money. Yet less than 1 in 4 local businesses secure and update their online review listings.\nHow to claim your business on Yelp\nStep 1) Search for your business\nStart by going to the Yelp page for business owners: \nbiz.yelp.com\n.\nyelp business owner login screen\n\nOnce there, type in your street address and business name then click Get Started.\nStep 2) Select your Yelp business listing\nStart typing the name of your business in the search field provided.\nyelp login business screen\n\nWhen your business appears, click the Claim this Business button to claim your business on Yelp.\nNote: \nIf your business listing does not appear\n in the dropdown list below, then you will need to add it yourself. For more instructions, scroll down to the “How to add a new Yelp business listing” section.\nStep 3) Create a free Yelp business account\nEnter any existing email address you own (ex: @hotmail.com, @yahoo.com, @businessname.com) to create your free Yelp Business account.\nyelp login for business screen\n\nPlease note: The email address you provide when creating your Yelp account will NOT be visible to your customers. List the best recovery email in the event you forget your login password.\nHow to add a new Yelp business listing\nStep 1) Add your business listing\nyelp business owner login screen\n\nIf your business doesn’t show up in Yelp’s business listings, that means you’ll need to add it yourself.\nIf you \nhave\n a Yelp Business account: Click Log In\nIf you \ndo not\n have a Yelp Business account: Click Add your business to Yelp at the bottom of the search field\nStep 2) Enter your business information\nOnce you’ve logged into a Yelp Business account, you’ll be able to enter all of your business information on this screen:\nadd a business to yelp screen\n\nDouble check to make sure you’ve entered your information accurately and click Add Business. \nNote: The email address you provide when adding your business on Yelp will NOT be visible to your customers. Provide the best recovery email address in the event you forget your login password.\nStep 3) Confirm your email address\nClick the Confirm email address button to receive your confirmation email.\nyelp business owner confirm email screen\n\nStep 4) Check your email inbox\nCheck your email inbox for a Yelp New Business message and click on the link provided within the email to log into your Yelp Business account. This will automatically claim your business on Yelp. \nBut claiming your Yelp listing is only the first step. You’ll next want to verify your business to take full advantage of Yelp’s features.\nHow to verify your Yelp business account\nYelp requires that you verify your Business listing to claim, manage, and update any of the listing information.\nStep 1: Verify your business phone number via phone call or text\nyelp business owner confirm verify phone number screen\n\nPlease note: Do not start this verification process if you are not at the business location at the time you request the verification phone call and/or if your business number cannot receive text messages. \nWork-around: If you ask Yelp to call your place of business, ask an employee in advance to pick up the Yelp verification phone call once you send the request, then have your employee call you back with the verification code.\nyelp business owner login confirm verification code screen\n\nEnter the verification code provided from the Yelp phone call or text message and click Continue.\nStep 2: Upload your photo\nIn order for you to reply to customer reviews, Yelp requires business owners to upload a profile picture.\nyelp login business owner account settings screen\n\nOn the top menu, click Account Settings.\nyelp business login add photo screen\n\nIn the Account Information section, click Add photo.\nyelp business owner login add photo upload screen\n\nYelp then gives you a “Right” and “Wrong” example of a photo to upload. Click on Add Photo to select a picture you have already saved to your device (computer, phone, iCloud account, etc.).\nOnce your photo has been uploaded and saved to your Yelp Business profile, please give Yelp 24 hours to review and approve your photo. \nTo check the progress of this status, log into your account and try to respond to a review. Before you are able to type a response, Yelp will notify you if additional information is required to respond to your customer review.\nSee our additional guides: \n\nHow to claim your Google my Business listing\n\n\nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n\n

How to claim your Yelp business listing

In this article:\nWhy small businesses should consider Google Maps advertising\nHow does local business advertising on Google Maps work?\nHow much does it cost to advertise on Google Maps?\nPlacing local ads on Google Maps is a relatively recent phenomenon, but the reason for its explosion in popularity is clear. \nGoogle Maps is SIX TIMES more popular than other navigation apps. Mobile \n“near me” searches\n are the new normal, with 200% growth over recent years. Location-related searches have grown 50 percent faster than overall mobile searches overall over the past year.\nWhy does this matter? Because three out of four people who use their smartphone to search for businesses or services nearby visit a store within a day. So Google Maps advertising can be a great way to attract local customers to your business.\nHow does local business advertising on Google Maps work?\nWhen you search for local businesses with queries like “tire shops near me” or “mexican restaurants in [city]” (whether in the standard Google engine or in Google Maps), the search engine serves up the top results along with a map of the local area. \nWhere your business ranks in these search results depends on a variety of factors, including: your star rating, the number and quality of your reviews, your customer engagement, your “normal” website’s performance on Google, and whether you’ve optimized your Google My Business profile for \nlocal SEO\n.\nHowever, if you choose to pay for local business advertising on Google Maps, your store will often appear as one of 2 or 3 (maximum) featured results at the top of those local listings. \nIn our testing, for typical small businesses, you will likely be the only ad displayed at the top of that small list of featured choices. \nDesktop/primary Google search engine results will display like this:\ngoogle maps advertising 1\n\nSearches within Google Maps specifically will display like this: \ngoogle maps advertising 2\nSince studies show that the vast majority of shoppers click on the first business listed in search results, it may be worth it to invest some of your marketing budget to advertise on Google Maps and drive more traffic to your store or your website.\nHow do I set up Google Maps advertising for my business?\nThe first thing you need to do is \nclaim your Google business listing\n. (Click for our easy how-to article.) This may sound like an obvious step, but surprisingly, a recent report showed that only 44% of Google business listings had been claimed. \nAfter you’ve claimed your listing, you should optimize your profile by adding \nthe top 5 things every small business should include in their Google business listing\n. \nNext, \nset up a Google Ads account\n for your business. Then, you can \nenable location extensions for your Google Ads account\n. This will tell Google that you want your ads to be featured in local searches. \nFinally, \noptimize your keywords\n, set up what locations and areas you want to target, and \nbid by location\n.\nIt’s important to \nlearn the difference between “call extensions” and “location extensions.”\n For most small businesses, we recommend you use location extensions primarily. \nIn addition to being more visible on the world’s most-used mapping app and attracting local customers looking for what you offer, you can use your Google Maps ads to test different keyword strategies and click-through techniques with minimal effort.\nThe next thing you need to be aware of is, it’s not going to be free. Let’s talk about potential costs.\nHow much does it cost to advertise on Google Maps?\nThe cost for serving up local ads on Google Maps is based on your budget, your preferences, your local market, the level of competition, and multiple other factors (most of which Google will not divulge). So we can only speculate about what it will cost for you. \nGoogle Maps ads’ Cost Per Click (CPC) is also figured differently depending on how your customers click through from your Google Maps ad, whether it be “Get location detail” clicks, “get directions” clicks, mobile “click-to-call,” or website clicks. \ngoogle maps advertising 3\n\nHowever, Google’s own tutorials show examples with CPCs of $4 or more, so we can assume that is a real possibility. Luckily, you can easily set daily maximums to limit the total potential cost. \nFor example, you can set a $100/day limit (or whatever you want) so if you get a ton of clicks, you won’t exceed your planned marketing budget. Once you hit your limit, Google Maps will stop displaying your ad until the next day or whenever you have set your max spending to reset. \nThis is important because at a theoretical CPC of $4, if you get 500 clicks you’ll be spending $2000 a day.\nRemember these are just \nclicks\n, not \nsales\n. But if you have a high-converting website you want to drive customers to, or if you simply want to boost your visibility and brand recognition with local customers, this type of advertising could be well worth it for you.\nAnother advantage of Google Maps advertising is that they make it very easy to set up a profile, modify displayed content, and track results, even if you don’t know very much about marketing.\nConsider adding your local product inventory to Google Maps\nIn addition to allowing you to customize your ad content and make your map “pin” stand out against your competitors (at additional cost), Google also lets you link your in-stock inventory to Google ads. \nThis means customers searching for specific items in stock can get shown that info as part of your featured advertisement. For pharmacies, shoe stores, or other local retail shops, this can be very useful. \nClick to read Google’s how-to on \nlinking your local inventory\n.\nSources:\n
\nhttps://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/06/01/google-maps-local-search-ads\n
\nhttps://themanifest.com/app-development/popularity-google-maps-trends-navigation-apps-2018\n
\nhttps://themanifest.com/app-development/how-advertise-google-maps\n
\nhttp://info.brandmuscle.com/StateofLocalMarketing2017_Download-Report.html\n

Google Maps advertising: an intro for local businesses

Type “remove Google review” into your Google search bar, and the search engine will return an astronomical 4.6 BILLION results! Clearly, bad customer reviews are on the minds of local business owners and operators.\nEvery business owner dreads receiving a negative online review from a customer. It’s a justifiable fear, since close to 9 in 10 consumers trust online reviews as highly as recommendations from friends and family, and one negative review can cost your business 30 customers. So, once a customer publishes a negative review on a site like Google, Facebook, or Yelp, what can you do to fix it?\nIt’s generally very difficult to remove bad reviews from a third-party site like Yelp or Google. You need to be able to:\nShow the site managers that the review violates the site’s terms of service by being “inappropriate” — a subjective area that relies on a judgment call.\nProve it has been written by a competitor or otherwise fabricated.\nConvince the person who wrote the review to take it down.\nPursuing any of these strategies can mean a long, difficult road with uncertain outcomes. Ultimately, you don’t have complete control over whether a posted review stays or goes.\nIf you can’t remove the negative review, what’s your recourse when negative feedback pops up and hurts your business? In this case, the best defense is a good offense. Here are some proactive steps you can take to protect yourself and mitigate the damage done by a negative review:\nClaim your business listings\n \non review sites like Yelp and Google\nBy claiming your business’s listings on review sites, you empower yourself as the owner to contact the site manager to request removal of the review, and to respond to reviews directly.\nClick for our easy how-to articles:\nHow to claim your Google My Business profile\nHow to claim your business listing on Yelp\nCreate and claim your Facebook business page\nClaim your TripAdvisor listing\nGet your business listed on OpenTable\nHow to claim your Foursquare business profile\nRefer to our \nfree business listings\n article for many more!\nRespond to negative reviews\nSince it’s rare for an online review site to agree to take down a negative review, the next best thing is to acknowledge the customer’s experience by posting a response. This is an important step, since studies show 56%-70% of complaining customers will use a business again if their concern is resolved. Keep your tone empathetic and avoid getting defensive — this can actually be an opportunity to generate more sales. By engaging with customers and resolving their concerns, you can generate repeat business, which can increase revenue by 47%.\nRead our complete article on \nhow to respond to bad reviews\n for more.\nGet more positive reviews from your best customers\nGetting more online reviews is one of the most important things you can do to attract customers and increase sales. First, it helps customers find your business online because review content on business rating sites accounts for 10.3% of your local search engine ranking. Second, research from Cornell University professors found that simply encouraging online reviews can improve a business’s online ratings—with one-star gains translating to 39% more revenue—and each additional review you receive increases revenue by .49%.\nRead our article on \nhow to get more reviews\n for more.


Can you remove negative reviews from sites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp?

In this article:\nWhich Google reviews can be removed\nHow to flag Google reviews for removal\nHow to remove fake Google reviews\nHow to improve your online reputation and get more good Google reviews\nA bad Google review of your business can leave you feeling helpless, frustrated, and even angry. And who can blame you? You’ve worked hard to build your business’s reputation. And with 9 in 10 consumers saying they trust online reviews as highly as recommendations from friends and family, Google reviews make a real impact on revenue for local businesses.\nWhen a business owner ends up facing harsh feedback online, the first question many of them ask is: “How do I remove Google reviews?” or “Can I turn off Google reviews for my business?” After all, if someone spray painted “Don’t shop here” on the front of your business, you’d do whatever it took to scrub, sandblast, or paint over it as soon as possible.\nsarcastic young woman giving thumbs down for removing google review\n\nIt’s an understandable reaction, but unfortunately removing negative Google reviews isn’t quite as straightforward as rolling up your sleeves and grabbing a fresh bucket of paint to take care of some unsightly graffiti.\nLet’s start with the most simple question:\nIs it possible to remove Google reviews?\nIt’s complicated.\nOccasionally, it’s possible to remove Google reviews, but only in instances where you can definitively prove that the review in question violates \nGoogle’s review policies\n. We’ll go into detail about what that means in a moment, but first let’s be clear about the kind of reviews that \ndon’t\n violate Google’s terms of service.\nIt is not possible to remove Google reviews simply because they’re negative, unfair, or even if you feel the customer is totally misrepresenting their experience.\nbeautiful young women leaving an unkind online review for remove google reviews\n\nIf the review is from someone who actually patronized your business and is sharing their perspective, then chances are that review is there to stay. And if that’s your situation, then your best bet is to engage the customer in good faith and respond to the bad review.\nUsing a good reputation management solution is excellent way to manage all your reviews in one place, saving you time while helping you stay on top of your online reputation. Software makes it easy to respond to your reviews and encourage more reviews from your best customers.\nPlus, new research shows that negative reviews aren’t necessarily as harmful as you might think. Businesses with between 10 and 25% negative reviews make the most money!\nYou might also like: \nHow to respond to negative reviews\n\nWhat types of Google reviews can be removed?\nWhile you can’t remove Google reviews just because they’re negative in tone, Google will remove reviews they determine have violated their terms of service as outlined in \nGoogle’s review policies\n.\nLet’s take a look at the primary types of reviews that Google prohibits:\nFake Google reviews, false reviews, or manipulative reviews:\nSpam reviews (content posted multiple times from different accounts), conflicts of interest (reviewing your own business), impersonations (representing the views of someone other than yourself).\nblack gloved hand leaving fake review on laptop for remove google review\n\nMisleading Google reviews or inaccurate reviews:\nReviews or photos that clearly represent a different business or location.\nOff-topic reviews:\nContent not at all related to a customer’s experience patronizing the business in question.\nRestricted, illegal, derogatory, or explicit content:\nPhotos, content, or links to restricted, dangerous or illegal activities. This also includes threatening or discriminatory language.\nHow to flag and remove Google reviews that violate the terms of service\nIf you’re sure that a review of your business violates Google’s terms of service, your final step is to flag the report for Google’s review. You can do this a few different ways.\nFlag a Google review from your Google My Business account\nSign in to \nGoogle My Business\nIf you have more than one listing, select the location you’d like to manage\nSelect \nReviews\n from the menu
\n(Image)\n\nFind the review you’d like to flag and click the three dots in the corner\n(Image)\n\nClick \nFlag as inappropriate\n(Image)\n\nFlag a Google review in Google Maps:\nSearch for your business on Google Maps\nSelect your location and scroll to the \nReview summary\nClick the \nReviews\n link under your average rating
\n(Image)\n\nScroll to the review in question and click the 3 dots in the top corner
\n(Image)\n\nClick \nFlag as inappropriate\n(Image)\n\nComplete the form that appears and click \nSubmit\nIt can take several days for Google to evaluate the review, so you’ll need to be patient. But you should eventually receive a response from Google about the status of the flagged review and a decision about whether or not they’ll remove the Google review.\nTake reviews seriously, but don't freak out about a bad one\nIt’s helpful to know that Google does have safeguards in place to protect you from the most egregious type of online behavior. But it’s important to keep in mind that, with rare and unfortunate exceptions, it’s not likely that you’ll be able to remove Google reviews from your listing most of the time.\nNo matter how harsh a review might be, it’s important to think of it less as graffiti sprayed across the front of your store and more like digital word of mouth.\nangry young hispanic woman with megaphone making thumbs down gesture for remove google review\n\nIf you were to overhear someone in your neighborhood complaining about your business, even if you could paint over or delete that person’s unkind words, it wouldn’t really solve anything. It’s the same with trying to remove Google reviews.\nWe always recommend that you treat your Google reviews like you would an in-person complaint. Maintain the high ground, and follow our guidelines for \nhow to respond to negative reviews\n, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can turn the conversation around.\nThe most cost-effective way for small businesses to improve their online reputation is to encourage genuine reviews from customers. When you get a more accurate, positive picture of your business, you start attracting more new customers and improve your star rating.

127 articles found in “Online presence”

How to claim your Google Business listing

How to create and claim your MerchantCircle business listing

How to claim your Yelp business listing

Google Maps advertising: an intro for local businesses

Can you remove negative reviews from sites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp?

How to remove Google reviews

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