Google reviews are powerful. They’re essential for building trust, attracting customers, and boosting local SEO.
But what happens to your local visibility and online reputation when these valuable reviews suddenly vanish?
We’ve recently noticed a concerning trend:
A significant number of reviews are being deleted. And not just the negative ones.
To uncover the reasons behind these deletions, GMBapi (disclosure: I’m co-founder of the company) conducted extensive research, analyzing 5 million reviews from our customer base across 79 countries and over 20,000 locations.
The results were surprising, to say the least.
The 5-star shocker: Google’s war on fake reviews
While you might expect negative reviews to be the primary target, our analysis revealed that a staggering 73.1% of deleted reviews were actually 5-star ratings.
This indicates that Google is actively combating fake and incentivized reviews, aiming to maintain the integrity of its platform.
Businesses that engage in practices like buying reviews or offering incentives in exchange for positive feedback will likely see those reviews disappear (and run the risk of the reviews section being disabled with an explanation of why this was done).
Interestingly, while 1-star reviews were significantly fewer than 5-star reviews overall, they ranked as the second most frequently deleted, likely due to violations such as inappropriate language.
Moderate reviews (2 to 4 stars) were less likely to be deleted, as they generally appear more balanced and have a smaller impact on business reputation compared to extreme ratings like 1-star or 5-star reviews.
Could review deletions in the future be linked to algorithm updates?
Could future major Google algorithm updates lead to increased scrutiny of reviews, with those deemed low-quality or inauthentic being removed?
If so, staying informed about Google’s algorithm updates can help businesses anticipate and prepare for potential review quality algorithm fluctuations.
We know Google’s Trust & Safety team (that manages the review algorithms) is different than the team that works on the algorithm. So this is unlikely.
Nevertheless, it makes sense if you think about the way Google uses reviews in its local ranking algorithm, the new AI description of Google Business Profiles, and the AI Overview on the SERP.
The major spikes in review deletion for our customer base occurred on Oct. 12, Oct. 28, and Nov. 1.
No official Google updates were released in October. However, our research on deleted reviews (on 20,000 deleted reviews) and Localo’s analysis of 50,000 deleted Google reviews draw different conclusions about the timing of these changes.
Discussions in the Local Search Forum further confirmed the rise in review deletions during September and October, suggesting that there were noticeable shifts in review moderation.
The link between these updates and review deletions hasn’t been fully explored in the SEO world yet. However, we think that Google might start tying those together.
These algorithm changes, as they start using review data for more and more elements on the SERP, could potentially influence how review quality is moderated.