One bad review can wreck your business—and Google doesn’t care.
I spoke with a business owner who was thriving last year.
His customers were happy, then—BAM—a 1-star review out of nowhere.
He didn’t even know the person.
Sound familiar?
Today we will take a look at:
- Why fake reviews happen
- 10 ways to spot them
- How to protect your business
- 3 Bonus Tips you won't want to miss
But first, we need to understand why these fake reviews happen. You would expect Google’s review system to be able to spot them a mile off, right?
(You can get this in your inbox as an email simply join my email list)
Why Do Fake Reviews Happen?
Online reviews are today’s word-of-mouth. But it's estimated 10% of them are fake.
Why? Because they impact perception—yours and your competitors’.
A dishonest competitor can ruin your reputation by adding 1-star reviews or boost their own with fake 5-star ones.
And removing them?
Not easy. That’s why spotting them before they do damage is crucial.
Why? Because they impact perception—yours and your competitors’.
A dishonest competitor can ruin your reputation by adding 1-star reviews or boost their own with fake 5-star ones.
And removing them?
Not easy. That’s why spotting them before they do damage is crucial.
10 Ways to Spot a Fake Review
Here’s how to identify fake reviews:
- Few Reviews: Click the reviewer’s profile. Do they have just one or two reviews? Are they from all over the map? Red flag.
- Account Created Same Day: If the account was created the same day as the review—beware.
- Unfamiliar Name: If you don’t recognize the name or have any invoicing records, it’s likely not a real customer.
- Generic Praise or Criticism: “Amazing service!” or “Terrible experience!” without specifics? Probably fake. Real reviews have details.
- No Personalization: Genuine customers often mention staff or products by name. No names? Could be fake.
- Suspicious Timing: A sudden flood of reviews, especially after a negative one, could signal an attack.
- No Profile Photo: Just a letter in a colored circle? It’s another red flag, especially when combined with other signs.
- Repeated Phrases: Seeing the same phrases in multiple reviews? Likely written by the same person or group.
- No Response to Follow-Up: If you reply to a negative review and get no response, it might not be legit.
- 1 or 5-Star Reviews: Extreme ratings with no middle ground, especially if they don’t match your overall trend, are suspect.
2 Ways to Deal with Fake Reviews
Found a fake review? Here’s what to do:
1. Flag It:
On the review click the 3 dots 1
Use the ‘Report Review’ option 2
Now choose the appropriate reason 3
2. New Method:
Try this link for better results: Google Business Support.
Persistence is key—follow up if your report isn’t addressed.
3 Bonus Tips & Tricks
I was going to leave these out as I think they were better explained in a future video on my Youtube Channel, but they are so good I decided to add them in as I concluded the email.
Bonus 1. The best defence against fake reviews?
More genuine ones. Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews.
Here’s a workshop to help you skyrocket your reviews: Google Business Reviews Workshop.
Bonus 2 and 3.
Two more tricks to identify who’s behind the thumbnail:
- Right-click their photo, open in a new window
- Trick 2. Now enlarge the image by changing “s=w60-h60” to “s=w600-h600.” in the URL string - recognise them now?
- Not sure who it is? Trick 3 Use Google Lens to search the image and see if it’s just stock photography or stolen from someone else.
Still stuck?
These guys can remove all your reviews.
I've not tried it out but these guys look like they are the real deal if you just need a fresh start to your business profile.
📰 In Other News
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