April 28, 2023

How to Request to Recover Missing Google Business Reviews – 10 Steps

Table of Contents

Recently while speaking with one of our clients, I was happy to hear that he was incredibly satisfied with our digital performance marketing services. So naturally, I asked him if he would be willing to share his thoughts in a review of our business on Google. I was shocked when his response was, “I already have. I left a review over a month ago, have you not seen it?” He even went on to show me in a screenshare, how on his end, he could see the review he had written for our business.

It was this moment it dawned on me, I have read about this before. Not referring to Google’s documentation on missing & delayed reviews, but a report about a bug that was causing legitimate reviews to disappear from Google.

It would appear that from time to time, the system can also be a bit over zealous when blocking reviews as well. This is when it pays to know how to request to have reviews recovered.

Please note: This article will cover the steps to recover legitimate missing Google Business Profile reviews, not reviews that were removed for violating Google Business Profile policies.

With that being said, lets dive into how to request to recover missing Google reviews!

  1. Visit the Google Business Profile Dashboard

You can find the GBP dashboard by visiting https://business.google.com/.

  1. Ensure that you have access to the email of the Google account you’re logged in with

Its important to verify that you will be able to check the email of the account you are logging in with, sometimes if you are working for an employer these Google accounts may have email forwarded to another address, so you will want to be sure that you are going to receive any correspondence from GBP support.

Screenshot of GBP account

  1. Select the location with the missing review(s)

You may be managing several locations or businesses from the same profile, so be sure to select the appropriate location.

Screenshot of Google Business Profile dashboard

  1. Click the three dots in SERP to open the Business Profiles settings menu

You will notice you are redirected to SERP after clicking on your Business Profile. Don’t worry, you are supposed to be here – this is how GBP works now. Click on the three dots to the top-right of the GBP menu as shown in the screenshot below. This will toggle the admin menu.

Screenshot of Google Business Profile settings in SERP

  1. Click “Send feedback” from the drop-down menu

Clicking “Send feedback” from the drop-down menu will open another menu with two options.

Screenshot of Google Business Profile Send Feedback button in SERP

  1. Select “Report an issue” from the pop-up menu

Clicking “Report an issue” should cause a form to pop-up. In the next steps we will cover what to put into this form to get the results that you are after.

Screenshot of "Report an issue" in GBP support

  1. Select “Other” from the drop-down menu at the top of the form

Under the questions “When you noticed this issue, what were you trying to do?”, select the drop-down option “Other”.

Screenshot of "Other" option on GBP support form

  1. Make your case – explain why your review is legitimate

This is the most important step of this entire process.

Explain why the review is legitimate, who the review is from (spelled exactly as they are listed on Google), and approximately when they left the review.

  1. Upload supporting documentation and/or screenshots

If your client/customer is willing to provide screenshots of the review showing up on their end, upload those here as well. Oftentimes if the review was inadvertently screened by Google’s software, the review will still show in the Google account of the reviewer.

If you have proof that this person is a client, you could also upload it here.

Screenshot of Upload option on GBP Feedback form

  1. Toggle “We may email you for more information or updates”

This step is essential. Make sure that you toggle “We may email you for more information or updates” before submitting the form. This way you will receive ongoing correspondence from Google Business Profile’s support team about the issue. They may have follow up questions, that once answered, may get your reviews published.

Be sure to check your email spam folder for the next couple of weeks, should you not hear back from the support team. Their correspondence could inadvertently be sent to that folder.

Screenshot of " We may email you for more information or updates" on GBP Feedback form

  1. Click the “Submit” button, and wait for your response!

By clicking “Submit”, that is it! Now you have to just wait to see what the Google Business Profile support team says. If you had supporting evidence and details about the reviewer, you should end up getting your review back, as long as it doesn’t violate Google Business Profile review policies.

Reach Out for Assistance

Do you still need help recovering your Google reviews? We can help. Our expert team has previous experience working with the Google Business Profile support team.

Contact us with questions, or schedule a free initial consultation.

Before you do, see what our clients have to say about our services.

 

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