Google Reviews Not Showing Up – 14 Reasons and How to Fix

If you own a local business, having positive Google Reviews should be one of your top priorities. Frequent reviews on your business profile have a lot of benefits, including enhanced SEO, better visibility, and customer engagement. Hence, it can be more than frustrating when you cannot see your Google Reviews.

It is certainly discouraging to put effort into ensuring good reviews only to discover that the review is not visible on your profile. Don’t you want to know why your profile doesn’t show the Google Reviews? 

Below are some of the probable reasons for the same and what you can do to avoid the same. 

What is Google’s review policy?

Google has very simple yet important policies for its review platform Google Reviews. Google wants to ensure that all the reviews posted there are genuine and come from a personal experience. 

For business, Google has made it very clear that incentives should not be offered in exchange for reviews. Brands are allowed to ask customers to leave a review but it does not appreciate them distributing rewards to the ones doing it. 

Violating Google Reviews policy might include brands paying people to leave positive reviews or adding fake reviews. This can result in reviews not being posted on Google or in some cases, removal of your Google Business Profile. 

There are many benefits of Google reviews that are authentic like improvisation in local SEO, increased visibility, and improved brand credibility, etc.

There are several reasons why Google reviews may not show up, and it’s important to address these issues to ensure that your reviews are visible to others. Here are some common reasons:

Inaccurate listing information 

One of the most common mistakes that can lead to Google Reviews not showing up is the Brand providing inaccurate listing information. 

Brands must ensure that the information, such as name, address, phone number, etc. is accurate and up to date. Not updating information makes Google assume that either you are not active or have deliberately put the wrong information. 

How to Fix: Brands must update their brand information as soon as possible via their Google Business Profile. Updating accurate information as per best SEO practices.

Duplicate Business listings 

There have been instances when a business has duplicate listings on Google Business Profile. This makes an impression that the brand has done this to mislead the customers. Hence it results in the removal of reviews from both profiles.

How to Fix: Google allows brands to merge two duplicate profiles. So even if you had created two similar profiles by mistake, you can merge both the profiles and the reviews posted on them. You can find the instructions to do so in your business profile manager.

Inactive listings 

If your profile is inactive, then it leads to Google not showing your reviews. Google assumes a Business Profile is inactive when there has been no activity on it. These activities might include updating profile content or responding to reviews. Brands can see when their profile has been marked as inactive.

How to Fix: The best way to fix this issue is to make your Google Business Profile active again. Google allows brands to reactivate their inactive profile by following certain steps. Once you reactivate your profile, make sure to keep it active by updating it regularly and responding to reviews.

The following steps can be used to re-activate your Business Profile:

Sign in to your Google Business Profile. You can do this by going to google.com/business and clicking the “Sign in” button.

1. Go to your Google Business Profile

2. If your profile is inactive, a reactivate button will appear next to the name of your business in the top left corner of the screen.

3. Enter your business information like name address, contact number, etc.

4. Verify your business. Google will send you a verification code via email or text message. Enter the code to confirm that you own the business.

5. Click the “Reactivate” button again. Your business profile will now be reactivated and will start appearing in Google search results.

Your Business Is Newly Listed on Google 

When you are a new business on Google and have recently created a Google Business Profile, it might take a while to show reviews. Google checks the authenticity of the business by checking if the information provided is correct or not.

How to Fix: If you are new to Google Business Profile, all you need to do is wait. Once Google has verified all your information and found it to be correct, it will show the reviews posted on your profile.

Reviews with links and URLs 

There have been instances when Google has removed reviews containing links and URLs to other websites. Brands often use links or URLs to promote their services while responding to a review. Google finds these reviews misleading and irrelevant and hence considers these reviews as spam, resulting in their removal. 

How to Fix: If you have responded to a review with a link, you can edit your response and remove the URL If getting the link is important for them to resolve the issue they are facing, you can suggest other means. You ask the customers to reach out to you on social media or email where you can send the link.

Your Business Has Changed Locations 

If you have changed the location of your business and have updated the new address, Google takes time to verify the new address. Till the time Google attempts to completely verify the new address, the reviews posted are kept hidden.

How to Fix: The reviews are bound to be hidden as per the Google Policy, if the location is changed. The most a brand can do in such a situation is to ensure that they request for location change as soon as possible. This will minimize the time for which the reviews will be hidden.

Fake Google Reviews 

Google has repeatedly cleared its policies around fake reviews. Having fake reviews or paid reviews is not only bad for your reputation but also leads to the permanent removal of your Google Business Profile. 

How to Fix: There is only one way to ensure this situation does not arise and it is to completely avoid having fake reviews. The brands must reward the customers for leaving a good review as this also counts as this too is not accepted by Google.

The user deleted the Google review 

Likely, you are not able to see a review because it does not exist anymore. Customers have the option to delete reviews and they are free to use it. There can be various reasons for them to delete the reviews they posted. They might not be satisfied with the services of the brand anymore or might have their issue resolved. 

How to Fix: A brand has no option to choose if the customer has decided to delete their review. The most they can do is to ensure that they provide consistent services to their customers.

There could be a bug with Google.

Even after being the IT giant, Google is also prone to small bugs and errors. One of these bugs can also result in you not being able to read your reviews. In most cases, Google resolves the issue almost immediately. But when it fails to do so, you might face issues in seeing your reviews. 

How to Fix: You can wait for Google to fix the glitch that has occurred or can reach out to Google Customer Care as well.

Your business isn’t open to the public yet 

The first thing you should check if you are not able to see your reviews is to ensure that your Business Profile is open for the public to see. If it is not open then people won’t be able to leave reviews. The reviews already added will not be displayed as well. 

How to Fix: Steps to make your business account public are very easy. You can simply follow them and make your reviews visible to the public.

Older operating systems might be causing issues leaving a review 

If you are using older operating systems that are outdated then the reviews might not be visible on your business profile. Even if the reviews are visible, there have been instances when the brands are not able to access the review to respond. 

How to Fix: You must upgrade your operating system to ensure that you can see as well as access the reviews posted on your page. Updating your operating system will also provide you with new options to manage your profile.

Your Google Profiles have recently merged 

If you had a duplicate profile in the past that you have merged recently, then Google hides your reviews for a certain time. Google takes this time to verify the authenticity of both the profiles that are merged. Once the profiles are found authentic, the reviews are displayed back.

How to Fix: Avoiding having a duplicate profile is the best way to avoid this issue. Apart from that, the reviews are bound to be hidden when 2 profiles merge. Hence, brands must wait out the time Google takes for verification.

Google Review Marked as Spam 

There are various reasons why Google marks a review as spam. These reasons include finding the review to be fake/ paid, the review containing links or URLs, profanity found in the review, etc.  If a review is marked spam by Google, it won’t be visible on your business profile. 

How to Fix: Hiding spam reviews is good for your own profile as it makes your profile look more real. The best thing to do is to ensure that you are also flagging the reviews that are found to be offensive, spam, or fake so that Google can consider them spam as well.

The Reviewer’s Account Is Inactive 

If the review is uploaded from a Google account that no longer exists, then it will not be visible anymore. The user might have deleted their account or it could’ve been removed by Google itself. In both cases, their review will not be visible.

How to Fix: There is nothing that can be done if the user has deleted their account.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding the details of Google Reviews visibility is crucial for managing your online reputation. With the insights gained from this guide and the array of effective solutions provided, you now have the solutions to navigate and resolve issues when your reviews go astray.

By implementing these strategies, you can not only ensure the visibility of your valuable feedback but also strengthen your online credibility, fostering trust among potential customers. Stay proactive, stay informed, and let your business shine with the positive impact of genuine Google Reviews.