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Contact UsCan We Prevent Reviews from Going Missing?
Since Google is so inconsistent with the reviews they don’t publish or delete, there is no direct formula to ensure a review that is posted will stay that way. There are some methods that you can try, but none of them are foolproof. These are merely suggestions on what may work in order to prevent Google’s filter from tagging a review as spam.
- Ensure you aren’t gaining lots of reviews all at once. An influx of reviews in a short window of time may raise a red flag.
- Try to avoid reviews in the same format/pattern. For example, don’t ask all of your clients to post the same text.
- Some business owners try asking clients to find the business listing through a Google search instead of a direct link in case Google can see all users coming from the same source. There are mixed reports if this helps or not.
Overall, the main thing businesses can do is gain reviews on a continual basis. If you gradually get reviews over time, it won’t be a huge issue if a random review goes missing. Invest in an automated tool to help speed up the process.
Takeaway: Follow Google’s rules to get real reviews, but there is no foolproof way to prevent real reviews from getting taken down. A better option is to put your energy in obtaining more.
Additional Information
In addition to these review takedowns, Google has been very active with rolling out new algorithms and paying more attention to spam in general. Below are a few articles that also show how Google has been updating their search engine.
- Google listing suspensions have spiked and reinstatements are backlogged by 2-3 weeks in some cases: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profile-suspensions-increasing-34183.html
- This list shows all the algorithm updates from Google over the years: https://developers.google.com/search/updates/ranking
- The product reviews update only applies to websites that publish long-form product reviews, such as those seen on websites like Wirecutter and Tom’s Guide. Customer reviews are not considered the same as product review articles. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-september-2022-product-review-algorithm-update/465021/#close
Remember, PaperStreet helps with your review management as part of our SEO campaigns. We also have options to help you get more reviews. Contact us to learn more.