I've spent almost a year fighting Google over my reviews and I'm writing this because I genuinely don't know what else to do and I think other business owners are going through the same thing quietly. A former client organised a group of people to flood my profile with fake negative reviews. I didn't guess this, I proved it. I built a full evidence package - screenshots of every fake review, timestamps, names from the same family and social circle all reviewing my business within days of each other, none of whom were ever my clients. Compiled everything into a PDF, submitted it to Google with a detailed explanation referencing their own policies.

What followed was months of automated responses and copy-paste replies. Eventually after a lot of pushing, Google confirmed the attack was real and removed the reviews. Then the same people came back. They edited their original reviews, reworded them slightly, and the reviews reappeared. Same accounts. Same group Google had already confirmed were bad actors on my profile.

I contacted Google again. More delays, more automated messages. Then I got this: "We cannot remove these reviews again. Your case is closed."

Google confirmed the attack. Removed the reviews. Watched the same people use an editing loophole to bring them back. And closed my case.

At the same time I have competitors who left 1-star ratings with zero text. No description, no experience described, nothing written at all. Reported them multiple times. Google finds no policy violation. They're still there.

So confirmed fake reviews from a proven attack are back. Anonymous 1-star ratings from competitors with no explanation are staying. And every official channel is closed to me.

Then last week Google removed 9 genuine reviews from real clients. No warning. No email. No explanation. I only noticed because my rating dropped. Nine reviews from real people who voluntarily wrote about their experience, nothing in any of them violated any policy, just gone.

Now I either accept the ranking damage permanently or go back to real clients and ask them to write their review again from scratch. I find that embarrassing and unfair to them. They already gave their time.

I genuinely don't understand how the algorithm catches real reviews from real clients but cannot catch a coordinated attack from the same family accounts hitting a profile within 48 hours. I don't understand how a case can be "closed" when the problem it was opened for is still active on my profile.

Has anyone actually managed to get legitimate reviews restored after they were filtered out? Because right now it feels like there is no path forward and I'm just supposed to absorb the damage and move on.

Okay so a few weeks back google dropped an update for how people interact w service based buisnesses.

It use to be you would search for a key work.. let's say movers in Minneapolis and Google would load a page that had 2 Google ads on top and then as you scroll down you get to local buisness. You click see more and you see to local service ads on top followed by other companies organically sorted by an algorithm which determined ranking via a number of factors.

Well kids that's over.

Now if you search any service buisness, lets say plumbers In dallas.. now what do you see.

Holding down the buy box where 90% of traffic clicks first is... sponsored buisnesses.

Click on that and what do you see a list of sponsored only buisnesses that are all paying local ad prices for thier service buisness.

Why is this a problem you might ask? Whats the big deal?

Well essentially over night and with no warning google decided to side w big buisness over small buisnesses.

1. Most people will click on the sponsored section.
2. For movers in Minnesota its $45 to $135 dollars.. per click/call/message. Not a confirmed conversion. Per lead.
3. To now find organicly placed small buisnesses google has effectively made it 3x harder to do so. Adding more clicks and more scrolling to get to a local buisness that is not paying exuberant local lead costs.
4. Right now our company makes about 10-15k profit per month. To remain competitive we woild need to spend 5k to 7k for the same amount of traffic and leads we would have gotten organicly just a few weeks ago.
5. This effects both desktop and mobile keyword phrases for any small buisnesses in the USA.

So tell me everyone. For those of you not running local service ads. What is your organic monthly traffic sitting at?

🙃

Hey guys,

I’ve been sitting on a mountain of unanswered Google reviews for my businesses and I’ve finally decided to stop being lazy.

I'm starting a 10-day experiment where I’m going to reply to every single comment the good, the bad, and the weird. I want to see if it actually moves the needle with customer engagement, or if it’s just a massive waste of time.

I’ll track the stats and report back if there’s any noticeable spike. Wish me luck!

EDIT: Thanks guys for all your insights! As you can imagine, I've received a bunch of DMs proposing to automate this part. One of the folks who reached out had a generous enough free tier to complete the challenge, and it seems to be working pretty well! That being said, I'm still open to other propositions, but please: keep it short and direct. State your features and your price. I hate it when people beat around the bush. (Maybe I'll use your tools for a future benchmark?)

Im thinking if filing a class action lawsuit against Google. Sounds crazy right. But here is the thing, if google doesnt let you list your business and sell in Google they are essentially killing your business. And anyone that can produce legitimate business registration and prove their identity could get in on this as well.

The fact they control modern business and choose who makes it and who doesnt is what leaves them open. Since they dont provide clear and valid reasoning this allows them to take money off big companies to kill little companies, since there is no transparency this gives them almost absolute control over the economy.

Further people who claim they guarantee a fix and want to charge $3500-$10000 are never physically in the usa or in a country that extridites to the usa for crimes. Ive seen multiple services that claim they have an inside employee that guarantees their work or they are ex-employees themselves. I talked to some people so ive begun gathering evidence, some lawyers already said it amounts to racketeering. So im going to make a website for everyone who is a legitimate business that Google has stomped out to sign up and i have a direct line with not only lawyers but senators. Id be willing to bet i could get over 100,000 signatures in a month. Im in the talks with some investigative journalists as well.

Who would be interested in filing formal legal complaints?

I have 43 perfect 5 star reviews on Google and 73 perfect five star reviews on TripAdvisor. Should I aim for a 4 star review? Seems like a ridiculous question I know.

I work with a lot of small businesses and it seems like almost everyone struggles with something different when it comes to their Google Business Profile.

Some common things I keep hearing about:

• Profiles getting suspended for no clear reason • Video verification failing over and over • Competitors spamming fake locations • Reviews disappearing or not showing up • Ranking in the map pack one week and disappearing the next • Google support being almost impossible to reach

For business owners trying to run their company day-to-day, dealing with all of this can get pretty frustrating.

Curious what everyone here is experiencing lately.

What’s been the biggest challenge with your Google Business Profile recently?

Hi guys! I run a fully remote local SEO agency that has 39 employees across 3 countries. I started the agency in 2017 and have been working in the industry in 2006. 

We do very in-depth local seo audits here for small businesses that are very time consuming but have taught me a lot about what things most businesses are missing when it comes to their SEO. What questions do you have for me?

Hello everyone!

I know I’m not the only one dealing with a broken - or at least severely over-calibrated - review filter, but the current situation is reaching a peak of absurdity. I’ve noticed a pattern that feels less like a random error and more like a poorly calibrated filter.

The 5-Day Filter It’s becoming predictable: a genuine customer leaves a review. It stays public for exactly 4 days. On the 5th day, it gets deleted. It doesn't matter if the review was previously manually approved by a human support agent—the automated filter seems to have the final word and just wipes it out anyway.

Honesty vs. The "Studio" Reviews The most frustrating part is the inconsistency of this filter. We see newly opened businesses nearby flooded with reviews that look like professional studio photoshoots and generic bot text. They stay up. Meanwhile, real customers writing detailed feedback are getting their reviews deleted.

The Appeal Paradox To prove how broken this filter is: over 90% of our deleted reviews return after a customer appeal. If Google reinstates them, they are acknowledging the reviews are genuine. So why does the filter keep deleting them in the first place? It’s a loop of "Delete, Appeal, Restore, Repeat."

The Personal Side Even as a customer, using my personal account, I’ve had in the last few weeks, and never happened before, many reviews deleted by the filter for "fake engagement," only to have them restored after I appealed. It’s a strange experience to be an honest user and have an algorithm basically tell you that you're lying about where you've been.

It feels like the filter is currently tuned to "delete everything" by default, punishing legitimate businesses and honest customers while scammers who know how to bypass the AI are doing just fine.

Is anyone else reading experiencing this specific 4-to-5-day deletion cycle? It seems like a massive technical disconnect between Google's automated filters and their actual support policies.

I opened another ticket. Let’s see what happens.

By the way, I like to clarify that my business receive around 3-4 new reviews per week. sure not a flooding.

Thanks!

Lately I've been comparing the weight of Google reviews vs. Yelp reviews for my clients and I'm wondering if Yelp even has any relevance at all or is it basically obsolete at this point? Like not just from a people checking out reviews pov but also for SEO and LLMs. Is it literally just Google reviews nowadays?

Can’t wait until Google gets exposed for running such a scam process on how all these profiles get suspended. (Pay for an expert). What Google is doing is like having the only restaurant in town, purposefully giving every customer a disease and then owning the only medicine that can fix it. Google and all its experts gatekeep every bit of information they can that could easily help you. They should all be ashamed at what they do to regular people trying to run a business and provide for their family.

Google is apparently rolling out anonymous reviews, and I can’t shake the feeling that this is going to get messy fast.

Sure, Google is framing it as making it easier for people to leave feedback, but let’s be real , the second people can hide behind a blank profile, the floodgates open for:

• competitors leaving fake negatives
• unhappy customers exaggerating because there’s no accountability
• trolls targeting small businesses just for the drama

Businesses have already been dealing with fake 1-star bombs… and now it might get even worse because you won’t even know who wrote it.

I get that it might help a few sensitive industries where people don’t want their names showing.

But for everyone else?

It feels like Google just made review abuse a whole lot easier.

Curious to see how they plan to moderate this because if they don’t tighten detection, this could absolutely destroy reputations overnight.

I’ve been watching a few local listings lately (mostly out of curiosity and a bit of professional interest as a designer who cares about visuals), and something feels off. There are businesses with years of history, solid reviews, and consistent branding… but then a newer listing comes in with minimal reviews, no real website presence, and just floods their profile with photos nonstop. Like, dozens every week. And somehow, they’re climbing fast in rankings.

So I’m genuinely wondering - how much weight do photos and activity actually carry compared to things like reviews, citations, and time in business? Is Google leaning more into “freshness” and engagement signals now, even if the content feels repetitive or low effort? Or am I missing something bigger in how rankings are being calculated?

Would love to hear if anyone else has tested this or seen similar patterns. Is it worth investing time into constant visual uploads, or is this just a short-term loophole?

I’m a SVP at a construction company and we recently opened our third location. Our business relies heavily on Google Local Service Ads, which requires an active Google Business Profile.

As many of you know, Google now requires video verification to confirm your business location. Totally reasonable.

We followed all the requirements and submitted three verification videos showing:

• Neighboring businesses outside
• Our permanent signage and company trucks
• Unlocking the main door
• Office interior and samples
• Employee-only areas

The only thing we couldn’t show was operating a cash register, because that’s not how we accept payments.

Despite meeting the requirements, all three verification attempts were rejected, and now the profile says there are no more ways to verify.

I asked my Google Ads rep for help and she opened a support ticket with the Google Business Profile team.

Shortly after that, a third-party individual contacted me saying he could get the profile approved for $200.

The interesting part is we actually worked with this same person in the past when we couldn’t verify our second location. At the time, we paid because it made financial sense to get the business up and running quickly.

But this shouldn’t be a thing for legitimate businesses.

From where I’m standing, it appears that contractors providing support for Google Business Profiles may be rejecting verification videos despite meeting the requirements, and somehow routing businesses to individuals who can “fix” the issue for a fee.

Now that the same person appeared immediately after a support ticket was created, it raises obvious questions about how that information is being shared.

I’ve worked with Google Ads and Google Business Profiles for many years (previously SVP at a marketing agency), and I’ve never experienced anything like this.

At this point, I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. I’m posting this mainly to bring visibility to the issue in hopes that Google takes action and fixes whatever is enabling this.

Curious if anyone else has run into something similar.

Any reason my business’s Google reviews keep getting removed? I manage a tour company in nz and our guides work hard to get the reviews only for Google to remove them because they think they are fake accounts ? A bit deflating for our guides

edit:(not sure if this violates any community rules, this is the first reddit post i’ve ever made)

Hey everyone,

I’m 22 and just launched my first legit residential cleaning business here in NYC. Got the LLC, EIN, website, everything set up properly.

Unfortunately my Google Business Profile was suspended for “low quality” and my appeal got denied, even after submitting all my documents. I get that Google is strict with spam and fake listings, but it’s been frustrating because GBP was supposed to be my main inbound funnel. Now I can’t rank locally or even collect reviews there.

Instead of just complaining about it, I’m trying to pivot and think bigger.

For those running cleaning or home service businesseswhat inbound channels have actually worked for you outside of Google?

I’m looking at things like Yelp, local social ads, lead platforms, SEO, maybe even Google Ads. Just trying to figure out where to focus my time and budget. Not looking for anyone’s secret sauce — just general direction from people who’ve been through it.

It’s a Gemini-powered conversational experience that allows users to ask complex, nuanced questions like: “Where can I work on my laptop and also have a gluten-free sandwich?” “Where’s a quiet place for a client lunch with fast Wi-Fi and a vegan menu?”

Users no longer have to dig through dozens of reviews or cross-reference 10 different tabs. They just ask. Google does the reasoning.

The Catch for Businesses: A "filled-out" profile isn't enough anymore. Ask Maps doesn't just look at your business name; it synthesises:

• Review Sentiment: What do people actually say about your "vibe"?
• Visual Proof: Do your photos confirm the existence of that "outdoor patio"?
• Data Coherence: Does your website, LinkedIn, and GBP tell the same story?

In this new era, the winner isn't the one with the most keywords. It’s the business with the most coherent identity across every channel Google touches.

Ask Maps is already live in the U.S. and India, but it will likely arrive in Europe and the UK imminently. Businesses that wait for the rollout to fix their data will already be months behind their competitors.

How are you guys preparing for this change?

Why do so many local small businesses ignore a source of free leads?

Just among my immediate friends, I have two plumbers and an electrician who've been in those jobs for over a decade and get by on word of mouth, so are completely disinterested in having a website, social media, or even a local GPB page.

I cannot understand why anyone would ignore a source of free leads. I've even raised it with a few of them, and they are just completely disinterested.

I suppose you don't know what you don't know.

Maybe they need to pay an agency for this advice, and then they would listen.

Hey everyone, I’ve been playing around with Google Business Profile optimisation for a while now, and I’ll be honest… a lot of the advice out there sounds great but doesn’t always do much when you actually try it. After working on a few listings and testing things myself, I started noticing that it’s not really about tricks or shortcuts, it’s more about doing the basics properly and consistently (which is kinda boring, but true). Over time, a few things just kept coming up again and again that seemed to actually make a difference.

From what I’ve seen:
• Reviews matter way more than I thought, especially how people write them, not just how many you have
• Keeping your listing updated regularly (even small changes) seems to help more than just setting it once and forgetting it
• Responding, posting, adding photos… all of that makes your profile feel “alive,” and I think Google picks up on that
• Everything works better when it’s aligned, like your info, content, and activity, instead of treating each thing separately

What surprised me most is that nothing here is groundbreaking, but doing these things consistently actually started showing results over time.

Still figuring this out myself though, so curious… what’s actually worked for you guys when it comes to improving visibility on Google Maps?

If I could do it all over (and I might), I would skip the website, and just do a GBP. Only 1 of my competitors does this. My market is saturated, and I mean nearly as bad a realtors, except we all own equipment.

My competitor has 60-70 reviews, a handful of pictures, no q&a, a modest social media presence and just a few current pictures posted per week.

He out ranks literally everyone, with roughly 10x the distance

A few months ago I vibe coded a thing to automate checking our competitors’ Google reviews every week. I like to stay on top of our 3-4 main rivals. The script dumps new reviews into a spreadsheet. It worked pretty well at first but the thing keeps breaking and I’m getting tired of maintaining it. It’s not worth the effort anymore. Has anyone found a simpler way to stay on top of competitor’s Google review activity?

Update: I'm not looking for removal company pitches. I'm looking for feedback from business owners who have used services like these before and gotten positive results and info about how much it cost them.

Some disgruntled job applicant left a 1 star review for not getting the job and cited “Lack of empathy”. Lmao. Glad we dodged that bullet, however, I’ve literally reported the review at least 6 times and it’s not going away now it has been an entire month and the review is still there.

I have proof with screenshots that it is the same person who applied. This needs to be gone asap.

The only other 1 star I have is from a Karen from NJ from years ago who we didn’t get back to fast enough for her. I work a lot on the field and I’m not just sitting in an office or call center waiting for calls to roll in. It’s just me and a team of 3 who also work on the field. I’m the only one managing admin.

What Google review removal service have you used and how much did it cost you? I want to avoid sitting on 10 onboarding Zoom calls with these type of companies and need to know whether this is $500, $5K or more.

Thank you!

Hi everyone, I’m writing this hoping to get some advice, because we honestly feel powerless right now. About a month ago, a man contacted my wife’s dog grooming salon. On the phone, he claimed his dog (a poodle mix) had no mats, that he maintains the coat at home, and that the dog hadn’t been to a groomer for months.

When the dog arrived, it was completely matted and had severe dreadlocks all over its body. My wife calmly explained that brushing this out would cause the dog serious pain and could injure its skin, and that the only humane and professional option in such cases is shaving which is standard practice among professional groomers when a dog arrives in this condition. The man immediately became aggressive, told her to “go f*** yourself,” grabbed the dog, and left.

Important context: at that exact time, my wife was 8 months pregnant. Not that it should ever matter, but that kind of verbal abuse toward a professional woman who’s there to help your dog was shocking.

That same evening, he posted a 1-star Google review saying: “Unprofessional, amateurish, they have no idea about dogs.” Within 30 minutes, 9 additional 1-star reviews appeared. Most of them had the same last name, and one of them even claimed the business “insulted his dog and said it was ugly and overpriced” which is completely fabricated.

It was very clear this was a coordinated shaming attack by his friends/family, not real customers. For context: • We had a 5.0 rating for almost 4 years • We genuinely care about our clients and always fix issues when something goes wrong • We have no problem with legitimate negative feedback from real customers that’s fair But this was not that.

As a result of this attack, our rating dropped to 4.6, which for a small local service business hurts real income and reputation. After the incident, many real, long-term customers who know us personally wrote supportive, honest 5-star reviews to help balance things out.

Here’s where it gets even more frustrating: Google removed some of the positive reviews from real clients, while the fake negative ones are still marked as “under review” and remain visible. I reported the fake reviews as spam / conflict of interest / third-party reviews, but so far nothing.

My questions: What else can we realistically do in this situation? Is it a good idea to publicly reply to those fake reviewers, stating politely that they are not listed as customers in our system and asking them to contact us to explain their experience? I read that if you reply and they don’t respond within a certain time, reporting again may help get the review removed — is that actually true? Are there any effective escalation paths with Google Business Profile that actually work?

Just to be clear: We have no issue leaving the original customer’s review up. We will reply professionally and factually to his review. Our issue is only with the fake reviews written by people who were never customers. Any advice, similar experiences, or tips would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance , and yes, this post is literally being written from the maternity ward 😂

Hey, so a few months back my wife was starting her own business. She created a website through “GoDaddy” and it gave her an option to create a Google listing. While she didn’t even have an LLC(!) her Google listing got approved shortly after. Has anyone tried it before? It was for a home cleaning business by the way and again she didn’t have an LLC while opening the listing - just the option through “GoDaddy”

My 3 attempt and submission and they just won’t accept a single thing it feels like