The short answer
To remove spam reviews from Google Maps, report each one from your Business Profile: select Read reviews, select the Report icon next to the review, choose the reason that fits and send. Google's policy bans posting the same content multiple times, posts from multiple accounts run by one person, and reviews used for advertising. Screenshot each review first and track every report in the Reviews Management Tool.
What counts as a spam review on Google Maps
- The same words repeated inside one review, or the same review posted again and again.
- The same line on your listing and on unrelated businesses. Tap the reviewer name to see what else they posted.
- A phone number, a website, a discount code or an offer for another business.
- Text that has nothing to do with your business at all.
- A run of near identical reviews from different names in the same few days.
A short, harsh review from a real customer is not spam, however unfair it feels. Those stay, and a calm reply is the answer.
What Google's policy says
Google's review policy names spam patterns directly. Under fake engagement, it bans the same content posted multiple times from one account or several, content posted from multiple accounts by or at the request of one person, and content that is not based on a real experience. Under rating manipulation, it bans unusual volumes or patterns of reviews meant to manipulate a rating.
Its advertising and solicitation rule covers reviews posted to promote something, including contact details and links. Each of these can be pointed to in the words of the review, which is what makes spam the clearest case to report.
See which of your reviews break a rule.
The check reads every low review on your listing and labels it. Free, and nothing is filed until you pick.
How to report spam reviews on Google
- 1
Screenshot each review
Capture the reviewer name, the date, the stars and the text. Copy each review link into one list.
- 2
Open your Business Profile
Select Read reviews, then the Report icon next to the review.
- 3
Choose the reason
Pick the one that matches what you see, then select Send report.
- 4
Or use the Reviews Management Tool
Select your business, select Continue, then Report a new review for removal. Select Report next to the review, choose the reason and select Submit.
Track the reports and appeal
Go back to the Reviews Management Tool and choose Check the status of a review I reported previously and appeal options. Each report shows Decision pending, Report reviewed with no policy violation, or Escalated with an email to follow.
If Google kept a review you are sure is spam, select Appeal eligible reviews. One appeal can cover up to 10 reviews, and each review gets one appeal. Write the reason plainly, for example: "This exact text appears on four other listings from the same account."
Spam bots and fake accounts
Spam waves often come from accounts made for the purpose. Tap the reviewer name in Google Maps. An account with no history, or dozens of reviews on unrelated places in one day, is worth reporting as a profile as well.
In the Google Maps app, tap the reviewer name, tap More and select Report profile on Android, or Report on iPhone. Google can remove, restrict or disable profiles that break its policies.
Let the check sort them
When there are many, sorting by hand takes hours. Paste your Google Maps link into our free check and every low review comes back labelled: Spam for repeated or copied text, Advertising for numbers, links and offers, and the other labels for the rest.
Each labelled review shows the Google policy it falls under, so the list doubles as your own report log. Reviews marked No rule broken are left out of the order, and those are the ones to answer with a short, calm reply.
You tick the ones to file. Each is filed once under the policy it breaks, and you are billed per review only after Google removes it. Several reviews filed in one order cost less each.