What do you do if you get a fake review?

Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car!

“Reviews drive almost immediate conversions” , so they’re pretty important for your business’ success.

No one likes to get negative Google My Business reviews; but there’s no bigger headache than receiving a FAKE negative review.

This week we are going to discuss what to do if you get a fake review on Google My Business.

If you have been the victim of a fake review, don’t worry; there are several instances in which you can get it taken down.

Sometimes, people write fake reviews for extortionary reasons.

If you have proof that someone is trying to obtain money from you in exchange for removing a negative review, make sure you document it.

Take screenshots of text and email conversations that show the extortion, then submit them to Google for review and they will remove the review in question.

You can also get reviews removed that are the result of public media attention.

Let’s say, heaven forbid, a scandalous article or video about your dealership is published online.

As people find out about it, they may post fake reviews that reference the scandal, and they may not even live near enough to you to do business with you.

Again, if you can prove it, Google will remove it.

Document proof of any review that references the scandal, any reviewer that lives way outside of your service area, or any defamatory social posts or articles that tell people to go leave you a negative review.

Finally, one of the biggest culprits of fake reviews for businesses, especially in automotive, are ex-employees.

The same advice applies here, too. Document the proof.

If you can find a public online source that shows that the employee worked for you, or if they mention working for you in their review, this is enough to get Google to take the fake review down.

Now of course, there are some instances in which Google won’t remove a negative review, even if you assert that it is fake.

The main reason a review won’t get taken down is if it’s just a star rating with no review comment.

However, this isn’t necessarily the worst thing ever.

Ratings without review text only appear at the bottom on desktop, and don’t appear at all on mobile; so, people won’t really see them anyway.

Plus, having a few negative reviews seems more balanced and realistic.

No one pleases 100% of customers, 100% of the time; so, having a rating score between 4.2 and 4.5 is seen as more authentic by the majority of users.

Ultimately, the best thing you can do is just keep providing stellar service to your real customers and earn those organic positive reviews.

That’s all the time we have left for today’s workshop.

As always, if you have questions or comments, leave ‘em down below and we’ll get back to you shortly.

We’ll see you next time with another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car.

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Kelcey Drapp is an SEO Manager working at Happy Hao Car since 2015, and in the digital space for nearly a decade. Kelcey enjoys digging deep into SEO research to discover the 'why,' and helping clients realize their potential for success online. In addition to her work in local SEO, Kelcey also likes to volunteer her digital marketing skills for non-profits in need. When Kelcey is not working, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her husband, son, & three dogs.

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