Sharing experiences online through reviews has become quite the norm. The same goes for consulting reviews before buying something. But what if you get a fake or unfair review that makes your business look bad?
If you’re thinking of a review removal service, it might work. But also, it might not! It all depends on a tiny question. Does the review violate the platform’s guidelines? If yes, the service can come in handy. But there’s another side to this picture. This article will reveal it in detail. Here you’ll learn everything you need about review removal service. Let’s begin.
What Is a Review Removal Service and How Does It Work?
A review removal service is a company that helps businesses get rid of fake or negative reviews online. But here’s the catch: it can’t remove all reviews. It has to follow the platform’s guidelines for review removal. We will discuss Google and Yelp’s guidelines later in this article.
While there isn’t a guarantee, various companies promise to give your money back if review removal fails. Here’s how these services work.
1. Evaluation: These services look at reviews and decide if they are removable. Remember, they can only remove fake reviews or reviews that violate the platform’s guidelines. For example, to remove a fake review from Google, the review must breach the guidelines.
2. Documentation: Next, they ask the business for proof and documents that can support their request.
3. Contacting the Platform: The service reaches out to the website where the reviews exist. This is the step where they present the proof.
4. Review Platform Response: Now, it’s time for the platform to act. It reviews the request and evidence. Then they decide if the reviews go against their rules. If they do, they might remove the reviews.
5. Escalation: If the website decides the reviews are genuine and doesn’t remove the reviews, the service can try again. They might send more evidence or ask for help from the people in charge.
The Pros That Will Make You Run to a Review Removal Service
People’s first reaction when they see a bad review on a local review site is panic. Due to this, they rush to review removal companies for help. While they are helpful, that isn’t the main reason for their popularity. Here are some reasons to consider hiring a review removal service.
Firstly, these services know a lot about reputation management and dealing with negative reviews. They can give you expert advice and strategies to protect your online reputation. Why? Because they’ve done it many times before.
Secondly, these companies offer more than just review removal. They can also help with other aspects of reputation management. This includes monitoring what customers say about you, managing your online profiles, etc.
Negative reviews can damage your business’ reputation. These services can help you reduce the damage.
But again, remember that they can’t remove genuine negative reviews. So instead, they professionally respond to them.
Moreover, managing your online reputation can take time and effort. But if you hire a review removal company, they’ll handle the hard work for you. That way, you can focus on running your business while they care for everything else.
Overall, review removal companies are not worth hiring if you only want them to assist you in removing fake reviews. So, consider them if you’ll avail of all of their services, like obtaining reviews and responding to them. To help you decide, let’s discuss the cons.
But With the Good Comes the Bad: The Cons of a Review Removal Service
While a review removal service is helpful for reputation management, it has its fair share of cons. Let’s explore that now.
The first thing is money. Review removal companies charge money for their help. And not all companies give your money back if they can’t remove the reviews. Your money may go to waste if the website thinks the review is legitimate!
Moreover, some companies might resort to unethical practices to manage your reputation. They might try to balance out negative reviews by buying fake positive ones. This is dishonest and isn’t fair to other companies. Not only that, but if the platform discovers this, it may ban your profile.
And lastly, using a review removal company might make people wonder if your reviews are accurate. If customers think you’re manipulating your reviews, it can make them doubt your credibility.
But Do You Really Need a Review Removal Service? Here’s the Truth!
Now that you’ve discovered the pros and cons of a review removal service, it’s time to reveal the truth. You can actually handle the process yourself without using this service. Here’s why.
Websites like Google have instructions and rules on reporting and removing fake reviews. They want to make sure that their review systems are fair and reliable. So, they provide help to businesses dealing with fake reviews. However, they have very strict guidelines.
Reputation management services also follow these same guidelines to remove a review. There’s no difference! Then why pay these services to remove your reviews?
By following the platform’s instructions, you can effectively deal with fake reviews on your own. It allows you to take charge of your online reputation and protect your business from harmful content.
Thinking of Hiring a Google Review Removal Service? Read This First!
As mentioned, you don’t need to hire a Google review removal service to remove a review. Here’s what you must do if you encounter a fake Google review.
Check if you can report the review. It needs to violate Google’s terms of service; otherwise, Google will not remove it. So first, you need to check which reviews are acceptable to Google and which are not.
A review is unacceptable if it:
- Doesn’t come from the reviewer’s personal experience
- Is biased and shows strong opinions
- Contains false information, misunderstandings, or fake claims
But how does Google know a review falls into these categories? It has algorithms in place to detect them.
The reporting process from your Google Business Profile is somewhat similar to what a review removal service would do. Once you’ve detected the fake review, sign in to your Google My Business account. Now find the review you want to report and click the flag icon. Alternatively, there may be a “Flag as inappropriate” or “Report” button.
However, Google will only remove it with proof. So explain why you think the review breaks Google’s rules and provide proof. This is an essential practice for effective reputation management of Google reviews.
Now sit back and relax because if the review is fake, Google will look into it and remove it. But it might take some time. So, keep checking the reported review and be patient. If you need to, you can politely ask for updates.
Additionally, you can seek legal advice if you see a swarm of damaging consumer reviews.
Can a Yelp Review Removal Service Pay Yelp Remove a Review?
After discussing how to deal with fake Google reviews with and without a review removal service, let’s talk about Yelp. Yelp is a platform where people can find and share reviews about local businesses. They can give a star rating and write their thoughts. Getting reviews on Yelp might be very important to get new customers.
There are rumors that businesses advertising with Yelp can remove negative content. Or a Yelp review removal service can pay Yelp to remove it. However, they are just that: rumors. There is no truth in this information.
Yelp is strictly against paying for buying positive reviews or removing negative ones. Why wouldn’t it when its business model works on the authenticity of reviews? The process to remove a Yelp review is the same as that of Google. However, you need to list your business on Yelp. Here’s how.
First, go to the Yelp Business website. It has tools and resources to help you manage your business on Yelp.
Next, click the button that says, “Manage my free listing.” Fill out your business’s name and location. Yelp will use this to make sure your business is not already listed. If it is, you can click on it and choose “Claim this business.”
Then sign in to Yelp with your username and password, or create an account if you don’t have one. However, online reputation is a serious matter. They might ask you to do a phone call, verify your email, or send them some documents. Fill out your business’s details, and you are all set to receive reviews and remove fake ones!
What To Do if the Negative Review Removal Service Does Not Work
Suppose the negative review removal service you hired couldn’t achieve the expected goal. They start the process and report the review. But the platform doesn’t remove it.
You and the service get to work and find proof that the review is fake or harmful. You send it over, but still, the review is there.
In this case, you can’t remove it. But that is ruining your reputation, so should you let it be? No, you should take action. You can try a few workarounds when a review removal service fails. Let’s explore them.
Hack#1 To Deal With Negative Reviews: Make It Rain Positive Reviews
The first “hack” is to counterbalance negative reviews by getting more positive reviews. When you have lots of those, the fake ones won’t make much difference. This can protect your reputation even if the review removal service cannot remove false reviews.
So, how do you get good reviews? The secret is to make your customers happy by giving them excellent service. Remember, a satisfied customer can do wonders for your online reputation.
However, keep the review process easy and give them clear instructions. They may leave if you ask them many questions during the review process. Or worse, leave a negative review instead!
Hack#2 To Deal With Negative Reviews: Face Them to Defeat Them
Another hack, if the review removal service fails, is to respond to fake reviews. They’re not real, but other people don’t know that. And when they see you trying to resolve the issue, they think highly of your brand. Here’s what you can do. Therefore you need to learn how to answer bad reviews.
First, there’s no need to panic or smash the keyboard with bad words. Getting upset about negative opinions is understandable. But if you respond while you’re upset, you might end up doing more harm than good.
So, take some time to calm yourself and then carefully read the review. Pay attention to what the person is saying.
Only respond when you have fully understood. Give accurate information, clear up misunderstandings, and offer a helpful solution.
The last workaround, if the review removal service fails, is to contact the reviewer directly. However, you may have to dig to find out their information.
On Yelp, you can check the profile and see if they have attached any contact information or social media profiles. If they have, contact them there and try to explain your situation.
Ask them why they want to sabotage your reputation. You might not get an answer, but it’s worth trying. Who knows? Maybe they’ll realize it was a mistake, and they’ll take the review down themselves.
Try This if a Review Removal Service Fails!
Managing your business’s online reputation is an ongoing task. As discussed, a review removal service can help you remove fake reviews from a platform. But there’s no guarantee of removal. If the platforms think the review is fake, only then will they remove it.
They also give other reputation management services that can help you focus on your core activities.
If you are having trouble managing your reputation, consider the pros and cons discussed in the article. Outsourcing the review removal service might be necessary if you can’t do it yourself.
If you want to get more positive reviews and simplify your reputation management, try out Beambox’s WiFi marketing platform. With Beambox, you can leverage your free WiFi to grow your online rating. Moreover, you will be able to manage your online reputation from one single dashboard. Do you want to give it a try? Start your free trial today!
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