Have Your Google Reviews Gone Missing?

If you woke up to missing a signficant number of reviews from your Google Business Profile, your reviews may not be lost. The built-in counter is currently not accurately counting all of the reviews on many profiles due to a recent bug. 

We've noticed this widespread issue affecting business reviews where Google is reporting fewer reviews than what is actually on each business account. Do not be alarmed while Google works on fixing this glitch. All of your reviews should currently still be showing up despite an incorrect count on the summary itself.

What You Need to Know

• This is not isolated to any specific business or industry.
• Preliminary insights suggest it's a bug linked to new software implementations, and, as such, it may be reversed.
• The issue is still developing. During this time, you may see fluctuations in your active reviews. 
• If you count your reviews, there is likely going to be more than what Google says is there. 

What You Can Do

For now, we have reported the issue to Google, and we must wait as the problem is being sorted out on their end. If you have noticed that you have lost reviews that are actually missing from your profile (not just the summary count), please let us know, and we can submit a support ticket on your behalf. 

• If you've noticed missing reviews, please take screenshots and document specific details (e.g., number of reviews lost). Send this information to us so we can assist in addressing this with Google.
• Respond to both positive and negative reviews actively, as our research indicates that reviews with replies are less likely to be deleted.

General Rules for Google Business Reviews

Beyond this issue, you must follow Google's guidelines for reviews as they continue to crack down on inauthentic reviews. 

• Never purchase reviews or compensate for reviews. Ensure all feedback comes from genuine customers. 
• Do not dissuade unhappy customers from leaving reviews. Instead, encourage satisfied customers to share positive experiences, which can naturally balance out less favourable reviews.

To learn more about how you can increase reviews, talk to our team. 

If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact the Xi Digital team directly.