Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to receive a fake review of your Google my business profile. Actually, it's quite common and has been experienced by many companies. The fake reviews have been filed by Yelp and Amazon, and 19 New York based companies involved in fake reviews back in 2013 were prosecuted by the State Attorney General. in New York. Legal proceedings have not prevented or stopped the publication of fake reviews and have no huge fines, but it does not mean that there is a way of fighting back as a business owner.

Try to remove a fake or spammy Google review sometimes feels frustrating as having the review (some question whether the guidelines or spam algos work), but it remains important to try to get the review removed, even if Google is not guaranteed to take it down.

When you have a false review: What can you do?

Respond to the Review

You may not be able to delete the review, but you can answer it. Yes, if the review is indeed false, however, you cannot really solve the problem for it; other customers and prospective customers can understand that you are aware of the review, take what reviewers are saying seriously, and, as a company, you're committed to "like it" remediation.

Like guidelines for leaving a review, Google has some answers. Your response should not be defensive, should be brief, and do everything possible to respond to a negative assessment.

Flag the Review

By checking the specific review you can inform the Google team of a breach of their review policy.

1. Hover and flag icon will appear over the review in question.

2. Click on the Flag icon to take a policy infringement page to the Report.

3. Specify the email address of your company and choose the violation type

You're finished then. If you need additional details or information from a member of the team, you can only hear from a member of the team.

When flagging a review:

A) If you can, flag the review by several people. The numbers are powerful and can help to raise awareness and ideally take action.

(b) Once an assessment is flagged, however, try waiting for a few days for an answer or it can best be removed; I would say escalate immediately if this revision is loaded with hatred, profanity, and/or heavily sensitive contents. Report and flag, then contact a support team member from Google immediately.

Google Small Business Support Report

When the flagging method has not removed the fake review, contact a support partner. This can be done by:

1. The Google My Business Dashboard

• Log in to the GMB page.
• Go to section Reviews.
• Choose support from the home menu.
• Select a contact method – telephone or email.
• Add a screenshot of the review and wait for the required contact parameters (you should hear back within 24-48 Hours).

2. Tweet the support team for small businesses on Twitter

It takes 24-48 hours for a team of Small Business people to contact you (no guarantee though).

• Sign in on Twitter.
• Send a tweet to the Google My Biz team from your business account (formerly you would reach out to the Google Small Biz team).
• Explain the situation and go there when you hear someone say it.

3. Request assistance from Google Community

You can use the Support Forum to find answers if you have a specific question about the spam policy or are seeking advice from other community members.

• Go to GMB's Spam & Policy Forum.
• You can search previous questions of similar problems or ask a question concerning your spammy/fake checking problem.
• There are some very helpful community experts who can scale and report on your problems and community managers who can help.

Make Your Case

Well, so finally you got in contact with a partner from the support team for small companies, now what? Well, you must try your best and show yourself

• Why is the review wrong,
• How their policies are violated,
• Why should it be taken away,
• Any pictures, links, or other information to back up your claim.

After reporting it to a supportive partner and making your case, they will tell you if they will extend the review(s) to a specialist or not, this specialist will determine the result. Once a decision has been taken, the SMS Support Partner will provide you with a telephone call or email confirmation. You will also get that how to remove fake GMB's to grow your business.              

The Best Defence is a Good Offence

A sound reputation management strategy is the best way to ensure that a fake review will not harm your business. Encouraging loyal and cheerful customers to leave an online review is a simple way to mitigate the risk of a fake review and to demonstrate how exciting your business is.