What to do about a fake Google review hurting your business rating

By Bantam Growth Studio  ·  4 September 2026

A one-star review from someone who has never set foot in your salon, clinic or workshop can sting more than any genuine complaint. It happens to small businesses across the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast: a fake Google review lands, the star rating drops, and phone enquiries slow down within days. At Bantam Growth Studio we run visibility audits for trades, clinics, salons and hospitality operators, and reviews are one of the first things we check because they directly affect whether Google shows your business to people searching nearby. This article covers what actually counts as fake, how to get it removed, and what to do while you wait.

Spotting the signs that a review isn't genuine

Not every harsh review is fake, and treating every suspicious review the same way wastes your energy. Genuine unhappy customers usually reference something specific, a booking time, a staff member, a price. Fake review patterns tend to look different. Watch for accounts with no profile photo and a review history limited to one-off negative posts across unrelated industries, reviews posted in a cluster within hours of each other, reviewers who name a service you don't offer, or language that reads like it was copied from a competitor's dispute. We've also seen a spike in fake review activity tied to local rivalry, where a competing tradie or clinic either posts directly or pays for reviews through a third-party group. If you run a hospitality venue, check for reviews mentioning a visit date when you were closed, that's an easy one to flag.

Reporting it the right way so it actually gets removed

Google won't remove a review just because it's unfair, it needs to breach their policies on fake engagement, conflict of interest, or off-topic content. From the Business Profile, open the review, click the three dots and select "Report review." Choose the category that fits, most fake Google reviews fall under "off topic" or "fake engagement." Removal isn't instant and Google doesn't always explain its decision, so keep a screenshot of the review and the date you reported it. If a batch of fake Google reviews arrives at once, report them individually rather than as a group complaint, Google's moderation system processes single reports more reliably. For reviews tied to clear defamation or a coordinated attack, escalate through the Google Business Profile support form and reference specific policy violations rather than general unfairness. A detailed report can clear within a week or drag past a month, so build that timeline into how you communicate with your team and customers.

Responding publicly while removal is pending

Don't leave a suspicious review unanswered while you wait for Google to act. A calm, factual public reply protects how future customers read your profile, even if the review itself stays up for weeks. Avoid accusing the reviewer outright, instead note that you have no record of the transaction and invite them to contact you directly. This shows prospective customers that fake reviews on Google don't reflect how you actually treat clients, and it signals to Google that the review may warrant a second look. For clinics and salons where trust is central to booking decisions, a thoughtful response often does more to protect conversions than the removal itself.

Building a review profile strong enough to absorb the occasional hit

The businesses least affected by a single fake Google review are the ones with fifty or a hundred genuine reviews sitting around a four-point-eight average. One bad rating barely moves that needle. If your profile only has a dozen reviews, every fake one carries disproportionate weight. Part of the visibility audits we run for owner-operators looks at review volume and velocity compared to local competitors, because Google's local ranking factors weigh both the quantity and recency of reviews, not just the average. Practical fixes include a simple post-service text or email asking for a review, a QR code at reception or on the invoice, and training staff to mention it at the point of a good outcome, not weeks later when the memory has faded.

Deciding when to bring in outside help

Some situations go beyond a single flagged review, a competitor running a sustained campaign, a disgruntled ex-employee posting under multiple accounts, or a review bombing incident tied to a social media dispute. These cases often need a documented pattern of reports, sometimes legal correspondence, and closer monitoring of your Business Profile than most owner-operators have time for. This is where we get involved directly, we monitor review activity as part of ongoing SEO work, flag suspicious patterns early, and handle the reporting process so trades, clinics and hospitality businesses can stay focused on the day-to-day. Unlike agencies that lock clients into long contracts, our retainer is month to month, so if review monitoring and the broader visibility work aren't delivering, you're not stuck.

Next steps

Start by auditing your existing reviews for the warning signs above, report anything that clearly breaches policy, and reply publicly to anything still pending. If you're finding fake reviews keep appearing or you're simply not confident your Google Business Profile is set up to rank well against nearby competitors, a visibility audit will show exactly where you're losing ground and what to prioritise first. Get in touch with Bantam Growth Studio and we'll walk you through what we'd check for your business, no lock-in required.