A: If, prior to my estimated date, you had reviews that had been left by profiles marked “A Google User,” and these reviews are now gone, that’s the diagnostic of why your total review count has dropped. These could include: Having paid for or incentivized reviews, either directly or via an unethical marketer Reviews stemming from a review station/kiosk at your business Getting too many reviews at once URLs, prohibited language, or other objectionable content in the body of reviews Reviewing yourself, or having employees (past or present) do so Reviews were left on your same IP (as in the case of free on-site Wi-Fi) The use of review strategies/software that prohibit negative reviews or selectively solicit positive reviews A Google bug, in which case, check the GMB forum for reports of similar review loss, and wait a few days to see if your reviews return; if not, you can take the time to post about your issue in the GMB forum, but chances are not good that removed reviews will be reinstated Q: Is anonymous review removal a bug or a test? A: Never say “never” with Google. What’s Google trying to do here? A: Whether this action has worked out well or poorly for you likely depends on the quality of the reviews you’ve lost. As to Google’s intent with this action, my assumption is that it’s a step toward increasing transparency. I see actions like this as important signals to all local businesses to remember that you don’t own your Google reviews, you don’t own your Google My Business listing/Knowledge Panel. You see, the trouble with Google’s local product is that it was never opt-in. Improve algorithmic detection of suspicious signals, like profiles with one-off reviews, the sudden influx of negative reviews and text-less ratings, global reviews within a single profile, and companies or profiles with a history of guideline violations. Let’s look at Google’s removal of “A Google User” reviews as a first step in the right direction.
Did you recently notice a minor or major drop in your Google review count, and then realize that some of your actual reviews had gone missing, too? Read on to see if your experience of removal review was part of the action Google took in late May surrounding anonymous reviews.
Q: What happened?
A: As nearly as I can pinpoint it, Google began discounting reviews left by “A Google User” from total review counts around May 23, 2018. For a brief period, these anonymous reviews were still visible, but were then removed from display. I haven’t seen any official announcement about this, to date, and it remains unclear as to whether all reviews designated as being from “A Google User” have been removed, or whether some still remain. I haven’t been able to discover a single one since the update.
Q: How do I know if I was affected by this action?
A: If, prior to my estimated date, you had reviews that had been left by profiles marked “A Google User,” and these reviews are now gone, that’s the diagnostic of why your total review count has dropped.
Q: The reviews I’ve lost weren’t from “A Google User” profiles. What happened?
A: If you’ve lost reviews from non-anonymous profiles, it’s time to investigate other causes of removal. These could include:
- Having paid for or incentivized reviews, either directly or via an unethical marketer
- Reviews stemming from a review station/kiosk at your business
- Getting too many reviews at once
- URLs, prohibited language, or other objectionable content in the body of reviews
- Reviewing yourself, or having employees (past or present) do so
- Reviews were left on your same IP (as in the case of free on-site Wi-Fi)
- The use of review strategies/software that prohibit negative reviews or selectively solicit positive reviews
- A Google bug, in which case, check the GMB forum for reports of similar review loss, and wait a few days to see if your reviews return; if not, you can take the time to post about your issue in the GMB forum, but chances are not good that removed reviews will be reinstated
Q: Is anonymous review removal a bug or a test?
A: One month later, these reviews remain absent. This is not a bug, and seems unlikely to be a test.
Q: Could my missing anonymous reviews come back?
A: Never say “never” with Google. From their inception, Google review counts have been wonky, and have been afflicted by various bugs. There have been cases in which reviews have vanished and reappeared. But, in this case, I don’t believe these types of reviews will return. This is most likely an action on Google’s part with the intention of improving their review corpus, which is, unfortunately, plagued with spam.
Q: What were the origins of “A Google User” reviews?
A: Reviews designated by this language came from a variety of scenarios, but are chiefly fallout from Google’s rollout of Google+ and then its subsequent detachment from local. As Mike Blumenthal explains:
As recently as 2016, Google required users to log in as G+ users to leave a review. When they transitioned away from + they allowed users several choices as to whether to delete their reviews or to create a name. Many users did not make that transition. For the users that chose not to give their name and make that transition Google identified them as ” A Google User”…. also certain devices like the old Blackberry’s could leave a review but not a name. Also users left + and may have changed profiles at Google abandoning their old profiles. Needless to say there were many ways that these reviews became from “A Google User.”
Q: Is the removal of anonymous reviews a positive or negative thing? What’s Google trying to do here?
A: Whether this action has worked out well or poorly for you likely depends on the quality of the reviews you’ve lost. In some cases, the loss may have suddenly put you behind competitors, in terms of review count or rating. In others, the loss of anonymous negative reviews may have just resulted in your star rating improving — which would be great news!
As to Google’s intent with this action, my assumption is that it’s a…
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