Online Reputation Management

Get more reviews with Podium

Google Reviews Missing? Here's What Might Be Happening.

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nothing is more frustrating than putting time, energy, and money into a specific goal, but not seeing the payoff right away. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you’re new to the world of <a href="https://www.podium.com/guides/online-reviews/">online reviews</a> or you’ve been working on building up your online reputation for months, it can be discouraging to make review gathering a priority but not to see the volume of reviews you expected. </span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">6 Reasons Your Google Reviews are Not Showing Up</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you&#8217;ve noticed that your Google reviews are not showing up or have gone missing from your Google Business Profile, you&#8217;re likely wondering what could be causing this. Here are a few possible explanations. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">1. A Reviewer Deleted Their Review </span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While businesses can&#8217;t delete reviews people leave for them, people can delete reviews they wrote. If someone had a change of opinion about your business or decided their review was inaccurate or dishonest, they may choose to delete a review they wrote. This could be the culprit if you notice reviews going missing from your Google Business Profile. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">2. The Review is Awaiting Moderation</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> If you&#8217;ve just started collecting reviews, it&#8217;s normal for them to take some time to appear on your profile. Google typically moderates reviews to ensure that they are appropriate and follow their guidelines.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is important to note that Google&#8217;s review filtering algorithms are constantly evolving, so what may be filtered today may not be filtered in the future. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">3. The Review Violated Google’s Review Policy</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Google has a number of guidelines in place for reviews—this helps protect both businesses and customers. Reviews that violate <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-review-policy/">Google’s policy</a> include: </span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reviews that contain spam or are posted by fake accounts.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reviews that contain offensive or inappropriate language.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reviews that are off-topic or not relevant to the business or location being reviewed.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reviews that are written by employees of the business or by business owners reviewing their own businesses.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reviews that contain personal information, such as phone numbers or email addresses.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reviews that were written with the intention of attacking a competitor.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">4. Your Google Business Profile was Suspended</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your Google Business Profile was recently suspended, it&#8217;s possible that some of your reviews disappeared during that process. Luckily, there might be a way for you to get those lost reviews back. If you think this happened to you, submit a support ticket to Google&#8217;s team </span><a href="https://support.google.com/business/gethelp?issue_description=contact+support"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">5. You Got an Unusual Influx of Reviews Overnight </span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For some brands, getting dozens of new reviews on a weekly—or even daily—basis is the norm. But if you&#8217;re a brand that has just started trying to build an online portfolio of reviews, a random influx of a bunch of reviews in one day can trigger Google&#8217;s spam alarms. Try asking a small handful of customers for reviews every week rather than asking all of your customers for reviews at the same time. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">6. The Review Came from Your Store</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having a dedicated review station in your store might sound like a good idea, but if multiple reviews of your business come from the same IP address, Google might flag the reviews as spam, causing them not to appear on your profile. Instead of setting up a review station, consider displaying a QR code in-store that people can scan to be taken to your Google Business Profile. Then, they can leave a review using their personal device. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you&#8217;ve checked all of these things and you&#8217;re still having trouble with missing reviews, it&#8217;s a good idea to reach out to Google support for further assistance. They should be able to help you figure out what&#8217;s going on and get your reviews back on your profile.</span></p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-25482 size-large" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-1024x555.png" alt="" width="640" height="347" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-1024x555.png 1024w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-300x163.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-768x416.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-600x325.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-360x195.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-160x87.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-350x190.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-100x54.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review-633x343.png 633w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/woman-typing-a-google-review.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></p>


Become a Local

<h2></h2>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to Gather More Reviews and Create a Stellar Online Reputation</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wondering how you can start <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/how-to-get-more-reviews/">collecting more reviews</a> to build credibility and boost your online presence? Here are a few tips. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Make it Easy for Customers to Leave Reviews</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The modern customer loves convenience. They probably won’t leave you a review if they have to go out of their way to do so. Consider adding a link to your Google Maps listing on your website, email signature, and social media profiles. By doing this, you increase the likelihood of people leaving you a review without being asked to. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Respond to All Reviews—Both Positive and Negative</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Responding to reviews is important—the negative ones and the positive ones.  Responding to good reviews shows that you value your customers and their feedback. Responding to bad ones—while a little intimidating—is just as important. It shows your customers that you care about their experience with you and you’re willing to do what you can to make things right. In both cases, responding builds trust and shows potential customers that they’ll be in good hands should they choose to do business with you. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ask for Reviews</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: The best way to get reviews is to <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/how-to-ask-for-online-reviews/">ask for them</a>. One of the best ways to ask for reviews is via text. If you send a text to a customer requesting a review, make sure to explain why the review helps your business and include a link to your <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/google-my-business/">Google Business Profile</a> so that leaving the review is quick and easy. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Offer Excellent Customer Service</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This one is a bit of a no-brainer, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind. The more satisfied your customers are with your business, the more likely they are to leave a positive review. Make sure to go above and beyond to provide the best service possible.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Use a Review Management Platform</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Using a review management platform like Podium makes it easy to generate and manage reviews of your business. You don’t have time to waste navigating between dozens of sites and tabs day after day waiting for new reviews to come in. Podium takes all of your reviews and displays them in one place. Responding to, monitoring, and requesting reviews has never been easier. </span></p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-25483 size-large" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-1024x555.png" alt=" follow us on google sign" width="640" height="347" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-1024x555.png 1024w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-300x163.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-768x416.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-600x325.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-360x195.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-160x87.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-350x190.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-100x54.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign-633x343.png 633w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/follow-us-on-google-sign.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Podium is the Secret to a 5-Star Reputation</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re ready to take your online reputation to the next level, connect with customers, and get more done in less time, you need Podium. But don’t just take our word for it. We want you to experience the power of Podium firsthand. Sign up for a </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/free-trial/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">free 14-day trial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> today.</span></p>


Google Reviews Missing? Here's What Might Be Happening.

Want more resources like this?

Sign up for The Local Digest

Ready to grow?