Let’s say a former client trashes you on your Google Places page. The client rips you a new one and tears you from limb to limb. Can you get Google to remove the review? What if it isn’t your client, but instead it’s your client’s spouse? Can you get Google to remove that review?
Google says it “reserves the right to remove reviews that include any of the following:
- Inappropriate content
We want to provide a clean and positive user experience for all users. We may remove reviews that contain or link to unlawful content, or content that violates our Google Places content policy. We may also remove reviews that include plagiarism or are copied from other sites. - Advertising and spam
Nobody likes spam and it can only make its author look bad. Don’t use reviews for advertising or post the same or similar reviews across multiple places. Obviously, don’t post fake reviews intended to boost or lower ratings. - Off-topic Reviews
Reviews should describe your personal, first hand experience with a specific place. Please do not post reviews based on someone else’s experience, or that are not about the specific place you are reviewing. Reviews are not a forum for personal attacks, rants or crusades. Please also do not use reviews to report incorrect information about a place — use the Report a problemlink for that place instead. - Conflict of interest
Reviews are only valuable when they are honest and unbiased. Even if well-intentioned, a conflict of interest can undermine the trust in a review. In addition, we do not accept reviews written for money or other incentives. Please also do not post reviews on behalf of others or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with the place you are reviewing.”
It’s pretty clear that an honest review from a client isn’t likely to be removed, even if you have differing opinions about how things went. However, it seems that a review from an opposing party could be subject to removal. At a minimum, you’d have an argument about bias to make when pleading your case to Google. It might still be tough to get Google to take the review down if the opposing party was clear about the facts of the situation.
Google suggests that, instead of seeking to delete the review, you respond. It provides guidelines for business owner responses.
These reviews are “word of mouth” on steroids, and you should become familiar with them and your options when things don’t go the way you’d like.
