How to Respond to Google Reviews: What to Say to the Good, the Bad and the Fake

Most business owners read every review they get. Far fewer reply. A reply is read by more than the person who left the review: everyone weighing you up on Google sees it too, and it tells them whether anyone is looking after the business.

Here is how to reply, what to write for each kind of review, and what to do when a review breaks Google’s rules.

How to reply to a review on Google

You can only reply once your Google Business Profile is verified. After that, it takes a minute:

1. Go to your Business Profile (business.google.com).
2. Select Read reviews.
3. Next to the review, select Reply.
4. Write your reply and select Reply again.

A few things worth knowing before you start:

• Your reply is public. It appears under the review as the business. Your own name isn’t shown.
• The reviewer is told you have replied. They can still change their review after reading it, and a good reply sometimes earns a better rating.
• Google checks replies before they go live. Google says replies usually appear within ten minutes, though a check can take up to 30 days. A reply that breaks its content policies comes back to you to edit.
• You can edit or delete a reply later. Go back to Read reviews and select Edit under your reply.

Replying to positive reviews

A happy customer has done you a favour, so thank them. Then make the reply worth reading for the next person.

Google’s own advice is to avoid sending “the same ‘thank you’ to everyone”. A copied and pasted “Thanks for your kind words!” under every review looks automated. Mention something specific: the job, the product, the member of staff they named.

Example:

Thanks, Sarah. The bathroom was a tricky one with the sloping ceiling, so we’re really pleased it’s come out the way you wanted. Enjoy the new shower. Mark

Three sentences. It shows a real person read the review and tells future customers you handle awkward jobs. Sign off with your first name or initials, as Google suggests.

Keep it short: Google notes that people stop reading a long reply before they reach the point. A star rating with no text needs only a line (“Thanks for the five stars, Tom. Good to see you again.”). Leave out offers and discount codes too: Google asks you to keep replies conversational, and a sales pitch under someone’s kind words reads badly.

Replying to negative reviews

This is the reply that matters most, and the one most owners put off. People reading a one-star review look as closely at your response as at the complaint.

Before you write anything, wait until you are calm. Then:

• Thank them and use their name. It costs nothing and lowers the temperature.
• Acknowledge the specific problem. Show you have read what they said.
• Apologise where you got it wrong. Be honest, but don’t take the blame for things outside your control.
• Say what you’ve done or will do about it.
• Take the detail offline. Give a phone number or email so it can be sorted privately.

Example:

Hi James, thanks for letting us know, and I’m sorry the fitting ran two days over. That’s not the standard we aim for, and you should have heard from us sooner when the parts were delayed. I’d like to put it right, so please call me on 0131 496 0000. Claire

Leave out arguments about who said what, any detail the customer didn’t share themselves, and anything that reads as a dig. Google’s guidance is to never share a reviewer’s private information or engage in personal attacks. A reply that wins the argument still loses the customer reading it.

Fake reviews, spam and reviews that break the rules

You can’t delete a review yourself, even an unfair one. What you can do is report it if it breaks Google’s policies. Those include:

• Fake engagement: reviews not based on a real experience, including reviews from competitors.
• Conflict of interest: reviews from current or former staff, for example.
• Off-topic content: general rants or political commentary unrelated to your business.
• Harassment, hate speech or personal information.

To report one, go to Read reviews, select Report next to the review, choose a reason and send it. Google says the check typically takes several days, and you can follow its progress in its Reviews Management Tool. If Google decides there is no policy breach, you get one chance to appeal.

Google is clear that you shouldn’t report a review just because you disagree with it. A genuine bad experience, described respectfully, will stay up, and then your reply is your best tool.

While a report is being looked at, reply calmly anyway: “We have no record of working with you, but we’d like to look into this. Please contact us on…”. Readers can see you are on it.

Make replying a habit, not a job

Google’s advice is to respond in a timely manner, and that is where most businesses fall down. A review arrives on a busy Tuesday and gets forgotten.

Pick a day each week to check for new reviews, and keep a note of phrases that sound like you so you aren’t starting from a blank box.

Replies are one half of the job. The other half is getting enough reviews in the first place, which our guide on how to get more Google reviews covers. Both feed into how you show up locally, along with the rest of the local SEO checklist.

If you’d rather someone else kept on top of it, our Google Business Profile service includes “a simple way to gather more reviews, and help responding to them”. It is also part of Get Found, which includes “a simple way for happy customers to leave a review, and a reply to every one”.

Frequently asked questions

Should I reply to every Google review?

Ideally, yes. Google’s guidance is to reply and share your perspective, and replies show readers that someone is looking after the business. Start with negative reviews and questions.

How quickly should I respond to a Google review?

As soon as you reasonably can. Within a day or two is a good aim. For a complaint, take just enough time to reply calmly.

Can I delete a bad Google review?

No. If a review breaks Google’s policies, for example it is fake or off-topic, you can report it, and Google removes it only if it finds a breach.

Can I edit my reply to a review?

Yes. In your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Edit under your reply. You can delete it from there too.

Why isn’t my reply showing on Google?

Google checks every reply against its content policies first. Most go live within ten minutes, but a check can take up to 30 days, and Google will ask you to edit any reply it turns down.

Not sure how your reviews and replies look to a new customer? Get in touch and we’ll take a look at your profile and tell you what we’d change first.