You cannot remove a Google review because it is negative or because you disagree with it. Google’s review system is designed to reflect genuine customer experiences, and removing reviews at the business’s request would undermine that purpose.
Google will remove reviews that violate its content policies. These include reviews that contain spam or fake content, reviews posted by someone with a clear conflict of interest (such as a competitor or disgruntled ex-employee posting as a customer), reviews containing hate speech or offensive content, reviews that are off-topic or unrelated to the business, and reviews containing private or confidential information.
To flag a review for policy violation, click the three dots next to the review in your Business Profile and select “Report review.” Choose the reason that best describes the violation. Google reviews the report and removes the review if it finds a policy violation. This process can take one to two weeks and is not guaranteed.
For reviews that reflect a genuine negative experience, the most effective approach is responding professionally. A thoughtful response can limit the reputational damage of a negative review and, in some cases, lead the reviewer to update their rating after the issue is resolved.
For multi-location brands, the volume of reviews across a dealer network means some negative reviews will always be present. The goal is not zero negative reviews but a strong enough positive review base that the overall rating remains high and the negative reviews are a small minority of the total.
See how Locus Intelligence manages this across your dealer network in 30 days.