Missing or filtered Google reviews⁉️
It’s a pretty common tale because of Google’s automatic review filter, which is ever-so super keen to filter out legitimate reviews and practically defective when it comes to filtering out the actual fake ones.
Seriously… have you ever tried to get a spam review removed? It’s darn-near impossible!
That said, here’s an approach to try if all or some of your legitimate reviews aren’t getting published.
In other words, you asked a client for a review, sent them your special review intake link, and then they submitted a review. However, unbeknownst to you or them, it was filtered by Google. Later on you might’ve followed-up asking for the review again—but they claimed they’d already done one. And, in fact, they can even see it on their end—but to anyone else, it’s “unpublished.”
If this is happening to you (and only if), instead of sending folks to your custom review intake link, try this: perform a Google search for your business. Doing so should trigger your Google Business Profile to show in what’s known as Google’s “Knowledge Panel,” as if you’re a customer searching for your business organically.
From there, copy the URL in your browser, which will preserve your search query that triggered your profile to display in Google’s results page.
Finally, send THAT link to customers and ask them to manually select the “write a review” button about midway down your profile’s “Knowledge Panel.”
Typically Google filters reviews when it suspects a business is using some unfair means to procure them—like paying for them, for instance. It’ll mark ‘em as SPAM and then they’ll be unpublished.
Between you and me, though, Google’s a downright lousy judge of what is or isn’t a SPAM review. Kind of like my dog (Rosie 🐶) losing her ever-loving mind whenever a squirrel 🐿 glances at her funny—like it’s plotting to steal her bone 🦴… but I digress.
This isn’t a guarantee by any means, however, it removes you, the business owner, from the equation. You may also wanna peruse Google’s official review policies. Here’s a link to do so: https://bit.ly/3ReseG1.