How to get rid of 1 star reviews on google

If you’ve found this article on How to get rid of 1 star reviews on Google, the chances are your business has had one – Sucks doesn’t it! We feel your pain, especially if the review was unwarranted, left in error or worse still, spiteful.

Like us, you no doubt understand that having a Google rating of 3.9 or less can dramatically affect your business. Like it or not, people judge a business by its reviews and whatever the reason for your low score it’s there for every potential new customer to see. Worse still, the fact that many people use on-line reviews over personal recommendations means you could be missing out on lots of new local enquiries.

Fear not though… all’s not lost – Let’s address the problem of How to get rid of 1 star reviews on Google and start finding a solution. Like most things, the answer can often be simpler than you think and acting swiftly and decisively will get things moving your way before you know it.

The simplest and most effective solution is to get more 5 star reviews. I said it was simple but it’s true – why try and remove the bad reviews when you can bury them instead? Your low rating is only an average score and 1 bad review out of 5 can hugely affect your rating.

For example: If you only have 3 reviews and one of them is for one star your average will be 3.3 at best. If you have one bad review among 20 five star reviews your average will be much healthier

On average, businesses with under 20 reviews and a low rating can turn things around by getting just 20 5 star reviews. This can not only boosts your overall rating but also adds more positive comments that prospective customers can view. One school of thought even goes so far as to say that the odd bad review shows your reviews are genuine so remember –the more 5 star reviews you get the better things will be all round.

So now I hear you ask ‘How do I get these reviews?’ The best piece of advice and again, it’s so simple – Don’t be afraid to ask! Every happy customer is a potential reviewer so ask away and make it easy for them to act.

Here’s where personalized Google review cards come in – give one to every customer and prompt them to leave you a review saying they will help you as a local independent business. Thanks to their unique design, customers can leave a review in seconds and on any device – how cool is that!

The second solution to the question of How to get rid of 1 star reviews on Google is the tactic of removing the review. Other than pleading with Google (which rarely works) I suggest the following:

Answer the review honestly and politely – don’t get angry or make excuses and whatever you do, don’t get into a very public slanging match. Take a deep breath or count to ten then tackle it head on and don’t forget, everything you write can be read by potential new customers. Here are some scenarios to work with.

• If there was a genuine problem, apologise, take the criticism on the chin and offer a discount – Sometimes reviews can be upgraded if handled properly.
• If you don’t recognise the reviewer politely challenge them and ask if they have mistaken you for a similar business. Ask them to remove the review if this proves to be the case.
• Thank the reviewer for their comments and explain that you’ll use it to improve your service. Reassure them that all comments are taken seriously and that you’ll be implementing changes.
• Try to avoid excuses like supply chain error or outside factors as it looks shallow. Honesty, diplomacy and courtesy are definitely the best policy.

This is a link to another useful article called 8 types of negative reviews Google will remove.

I hope you have found this article about How to get rid of 1 star reviews on Google useful and good luck in building your portfolio of amazing 5 star reviews. Don’t forget – if you’ve done a great job you deserve them so get out there and ask!!!