Deleting Google reviews and protecting your ‘5 star’ online reputation

Handling online reviews and how to remove Google reviews

Online reviews on Google and other platforms have a growing influence on your reputation. Positive reviews increase the trust people place in your practice; negative reviews do exactly the opposite. This calls for experience and a sure touch. Because it is not only about how to remove Google reviews, but much more about handling these reviews professionally.

Have you ever come across a review that isn't based on a visit to your practice at all? Or could a competitor be writing about your practice? The good news: in an analysis of 1,093 Google reviews of 100 GP and specialist practices, 64% gave four or five stars (Meyer-Hentschel Institut, 2022). The bad news: a negative review carries far more weight than a positive one and cannot be offset by a single good review. We want to help you find the right steps. We show you how to deal with different kinds of Google reviews and how to get Google reviews removed. In this article we cover the following points:

• How do online reviews affect your business?
• How can you respond to a review?
• Is it actually possible to remove a negative review?
• PLUS: How to remove Google reviews and encourage positive feedback.

Let’s get started!

How do online reviews affect your business?

Online reviews of companies, products, service providers, employers and doctors have become hugely influential in how potential consumers make decisions. According to BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey (2020), both positive and negative reviews strongly influence the choice of a service. 92% of respondents are less likely to use a provider after reading negative reviews. Positive reviews, on the other hand, make 94% of respondents more likely to use a service. A Capterra survey (2020) shows the same for Germany: only 5% of German consumers read no reviews at all before buying a product or using a service. Review management is part of your patients’ journey through your practice and a pillar of your reputation and profitability. It therefore also plays a key role in your digital strategy and your practice marketing.

How to respond to a review

Because online reviews now have such a strong influence on people’s decisions, we generally recommend that you respond to every Google review. Whether a review is positive, negative or neutral, showing appreciation and responding is always worthwhile. By replying to Google reviews, you come across as more trustworthy, and future patients can benefit from your answers too.

When dealing with online reviews, however, it is essential to respect data protection law and medical confidentiality. In Germany, doctors are bound by strict professional secrecy (Section 203 of the German Criminal Code, StGB), which prohibits them from disclosing any information that could reveal a doctor-patient relationship without the patient’s explicit consent. This also applies to replying to online reviews. Even simply thanking someone for a review can breach medical confidentiality if the reviewer uses their real name on Google. It is therefore advisable to write general, privacy-compliant replies that contain no specific details about treatments or interactions with patients. Below, we give you a few short pointers on how your practice can respond to Google reviews.

Positive reviews

Say thank you briefly and in general terms, without confirming that the person was treated by you. Do not mention any treatment, appointment or name.

Example:“Thank you very much for your review and your kind words. We appreciate every piece of feedback. Your practice team”

Negative reviews

Negative reviews are usually in the minority, but they can have a strong influence on how your practice is perceived. So don’t underestimate this kind of review, and respond to it skilfully. But here, too, the rule is: you must not disclose anything about the treatment relationship in public!

A good reply to a negative review:

• is calm and neutral, without justifying yourself or hitting back
• expresses regret about the experience described
• clears up misunderstandings in general terms, for example about procedures, waiting times or how to reach the practice
• offers a personal conversation away from Google

Do not admit any mistake and do not confirm that the person was treated by you. Either could breach medical confidentiality and be risky in terms of liability.

Example:“We are sorry to hear that you are dissatisfied. For reasons of confidentiality, we cannot comment on details here. Please feel free to contact our practice manager directly at [phone/email] so that we can resolve your concern personally.”

Make use of the personal conversation: if the conversation reveals that it was a misunderstanding, you may politely ask whether the person would like to update their review, for example from one to three stars. The decision is theirs alone.

If in doubt, seek legal advice so that your replies comply with medical confidentiality and the professional rules for doctors.

Instead of simply responding well to a negative review, you can also consider having it removed. We explain how this can work in the next section.

Removing a negative Google review: is it even possible?

In short: you cannot remove negative reviews from your Google profile yourself. You can, however, report reviews to Google. Google removes them if they violate its policies. Google does not settle disagreements between a practice and a patient: the only thing that counts is whether a policy has been violated.

The main violations of Google’s user-contributed content policy that you can report are:

• Deceptive content: reviews without any real contact with the practice, fake reviews, misrepresentation, misinformation
• Conflict of interest: reviews from competitors and from current or former employees
• Inappropriate content: harassment, hate speech, racist or discriminatory statements, insults, threats, personal information
• Obscene and explicit content: vulgar language, sexually explicit content, depictions of violence
• Restricted, dangerous and illegal content: including child safety and terrorist content
• Advertising, spam and off-topic content: advertising, unclear or repetitive posts, posts unrelated to the practice

This list shows that not every piece of negative criticism or bad review of your practice will be “worth removing” in Google’s eyes. So you cannot simply have every bad patient review taken down, especially if transparency and honesty matter to your practice. At the same time, you need to protect yourself from damaging your reputation through unintended miscommunication or fake reviews. Even when you want to remove Google reviews, it is important to keep medical confidentiality in mind at all times. Make sure that your efforts to get reviews removed do not inadvertently reveal confidential details.

Removing Google reviews and encouraging positive feedback

People who search for your practice on Google see every review published there. Your reviews are therefore an integral part of your online visibility. This means there is a high chance that potential patients will choose a competitor for treatment if your Google practice profile contains negative reviews. The better your reviews, the better for your practice and its good name. To protect the integrity of reviews overall, however, Google does not simply let you remove Google reviews. The most important way to get rid of a review that breaks the rules is therefore to report it directly to Google.

How to report a review to Google

As the owner of a Business Profile, proceed as follows:

Check the status and appeal: in the Reviews Management Tool you can see whether Google has already assessed your report. If Google declines to remove the review, you can appeal there and give objective reasons for the violation, for example that there was no treatment contact. Report each review only once and only if there is a genuine violation. The process can be draining. We are happy to take it off your hands.

What you should never do

• Offer incentives to have a review changed or removed, such as vouchers, discounts or money. Google removes such reviews, and you risk formal warning letters (Abmahnungen) under the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG).
• Report reviews repeatedly or without good reason, or ask other people to report them as well. Reporting only makes sense if there is a genuine violation.
• Put pressure on the reviewer or contact them outside Google without their consent.
• Ask only satisfied patients for a review.

Stand out with positive reviews

The best way to counter negative reviews is to score with as many positive reviews as possible. Step things up and, for example, encourage your patients to share their experience with your practice on Google.. Put out small reminder cards or a QR code stand in the waiting room or at reception, and actively tell your patients about this option. Ask all patients equally and offer nothing in return, because Google prohibits asking selectively for positive reviews only. Authentic, attentive communication lays the foundation, because people who feel well looked after are happy to give something back. You can find out how to build genuine trust through empathetic communication in our article “Improving patient communication: how genuine trust is built”.

Calling in a lawyer as a last resort?

If a review makes false factual claims and Google still does not remove it because it does not violate its own policies, you still have legal recourse. This is not about acting against the right to freedom of expression, but about statements that clearly spread untruths about your practice, about abusive criticism (Schmähkritik) or about reviews with no genuine treatment contact. In addition to the normal reporting route, Google offers a separate form to report content for legal reasons. If you dispute that any treatment took place, case law from Germany’s Federal Court of Justice requires a review platform to examine the case more closely (BGH, judgment of 1 March 2016, VI ZR 34/15). Legal removal requests belong in the hands of a law firm, for example one specialising in copyright and media law or medical law.

Possible costs

Google does not charge you anything for the process of removing negative reviews. However, it is often a very lengthy undertaking. We support you with reporting and appealing. For legal action, we recommend a specialist law firm, whose fees depend on the individual case.

Conclusion

Professional complaint management is the best way to protect your business from unfair criticism on Google and to safeguard your online reputation. Would you like to know how well your current review management is set up? Let’s carry out an initial needs analysis together: individual, discreet and practical.