Fake Google reviews on multiple locations: what to do

An attack on a brand lands on every listing that carries its name. A news story about the head office, a viral post about one branch or a call to boycott sends people to every location they can find on Google Maps. The same accounts often post on each one, sometimes with the same words.

The reviews are about the brand, not a visit to the location they sit on. Google's off topic rule asks for content based on an experience at a specific location, which is why reviews like these are worth reporting.

One person owns the log for the whole attack, so nothing is reported twice or missed. A shared spreadsheet works. For each review, record:

• The location and its Business Profile link.
• The reviewer name and profile link.
• The date, the stars and the full text.
• A screenshot and the review link.
• The date you reported it and its status.

Search a line from each review across your other listings. The same text on three branches is the clearest sign of copied content.

1. 1

   Pick the location

   In the Reviews Management Tool, sign in with the account that manages the listings and select the business you are working on.

2. 2

   Report each review

   Select Continue, then Report a new review for removal. Select Report next to the review, choose the reason and select Submit.

3. 3

   Repeat for the next location

   Each listing is its own profile, so each review is reported on the listing where it was posted.

4. 4

   Track and appeal

   Check each report's status in the same tool. For a review Google kept, Appeal eligible reviews lets you pick up to 10 reviews in one appeal, once per review.

• The same text on several locations, which Google's policy bans as content posted multiple times.
• Reviews from several accounts run by one person or at one person's request.
• Complaints about the brand, the owner or the news, not a visit to that location.
• Threats or attacks on a named manager or staff member.
• Reviews from a rival business or a former employee who says so.

A real customer who had a bad visit to one branch stays up, even in the middle of an attack. Reply to those and leave them be.

Write one short reply and use it on every location, so no branch manager answers in anger. For example: "We have no record of a visit matching this at this location. If you were here, please call the store and ask for the manager." No names, no accusations and no customer details.

Agree who posts replies before the attack spreads. One person replying for every branch keeps the tone the same, and it means each reply goes up only after the review is in the log with a screenshot. Branch managers can send that person any new review they spot.

Paste each location's Google Maps link into our free check. Every low review on that listing comes back labelled: Off topic for brand and news complaints, Spam for copied lines, Abusive language for threats, and No rule broken for real visits. Add the labels to your log.

You tick the reviews to file. Each is filed once under the policy it breaks, and you are billed per review only after Google removes it. Several reviews in one order cost less each.