How to Remove Bad Reviews

May 02, 2015
Mike Dolpies

How to Remove Bad Reviews – But Hope You Never Have to… remove bad reviews

I had a conversation the other day.

It started off pretty random.

It was with a seasoned business owner.

His online marketing has not been responsible for much of his business over the years.

I don’t know him or his company very well.

But my guess is not much effort or thought has really been put into the power of what a solid online presence/marketing plan can do for his business.

Most-likely a combination of not having the right advice and not really caring.

See… it is nice to know there are still tons of businesses out here that rely on old-fashioned hustle to bring in the bacon.

Sadly… for a successful business that pleads ignorance or apathy to online marketing – they actually lose out the most because they would amplify their results with the right plan.

On the flip side there’s the guy sitting around not hustling who sometimes gets led to believe that an online marketing plan will save him. Not the case. If you’re not making things happen in your business already… a website/online marketing plan will not help you.

Anyway… Back to the lecture at hand…

Reviews…

I don’t do it often – so I was sort of enjoying the random nature of this conversation with this guy. And who knows… maybe one day we can help him step up his online game.

The chat drifted into bad reviews online that were causing him a few headaches he really didn’t need or deserve.

There were a few bad reviews about his business on Google and Yelp.

To his knowledge these reviews were not left by any customers or clients.

He felt they were the work of a terminated employee. I’d say this terminated employee is a big loser if that’s the case.

So the question…

What to do?

What to do with bad reviews?

And what to do with bogus reviews?

Let’s start with bogus reviews…

If a review is bogus step one is to respond to it. Then… Document quickly that you have no record of the transaction. In this case… if beyond a reasonable doubt – this really is a previous employee… I recommend stating it in the response too.

Then… you could take this up with Google and Yelp. (or wherever the review is)

Let’s face it. Google and Yelp are here to protect their content. They usually will not stand a bogus review or this type of abuse. It will hurt their bottom line over time. It is not about protecting you – they will protect themselves.

Personal Story…

When I first became an author back in 2009 I was very sensitive to reviews. I used to check and see what was going on. I am happy to say I have more good reviews than bad reviews for all of my books. As an author the truth is… if you believe the good ones you will have to believe the bad ones. For an author – reviews are neutral. (That’s how I feel anyway).

But I did take a fight to Amazon and I won.

What happened was someone left a one-star review. But I proved that the review was bogus because the reviewer never read the book.

How did I prove it? I responded and asked.

Once it was documented that she did not read the book because she admitted it I immediately brought it to the attention of Amazon. They removed it!

What if the bad review is legit?

Legit means – this person actually does have a beef with you based on perceived or real problems.

The best thing to do is simply respond.

The good news is you already know how to deal with this!

How? As a seasoned business owner you have had your share of folks who have been upset with you for numerous reasons over the years. And if you are still around – you have dealt with each of them.

Fact is you may never get a bad review totally removed.

AND… be careful out there young one because anyone promising this (getting reviews removed) – you should run for the hills.

What you can do is have a strategy in place to gather as much positive feedback as you can.

Check out this video where I explain the three step process…

Click Here for a Video Revealing 3 Step Strategy for Awesome Reviews

About the author

Mike Dolpies Mike Dolpies (aka Mike D.) owns “Ocean View Publishing, LLC” - a diverse media/Internet Marketing and Consulting Company. He started his first business when he was just 18 years old. By the time he was 23 that business had generated well over a Million Dollars in sales and was consistently in the top 20% of its industry. He's the Author of 6 different books. His first book, “Motion Before Motivation, The Success Secret That Never Fails,” became a bestseller on Amazon.com He's been a guest on the Fox Morning News several times and has been written about in many newspapers. His work has also appeared on Entrepreneur.com and Fox Businsss.com