Have you heard about reviews disappearing from Google Business Profiles? Know what happened!

Every company (small or large) understands the importance of having a Google My Business page and the ratings and reviews left by their patrons there. Recently, a bug disrupted everyone's peace by deleting reviews. Although it was relevant for a few listings, most others may have encountered the problem of missing reviews because Google has been filtering them out for a few reasons. If you felt the impact and wonder what can be the reason, here are some critical insights.

• Bug bitten

If it was a bug-induced outcome, two scenarios might have rolled out – all your reviews disappeared, and the review link in your Google dashboard or the CID number is not working or has changed. It's not a bug if you don't see these differences. However, affected listings can restore their business information by opting for the 'Action' button and getting away with incorrect edits. Experts like Web20Ranker advise that one should take stock of all the changes before reporting the issue for resolution. And if reviews and CID numbers are missing, you must provide previous and new CID details to Google in the support forum to recover lost reviews.

• Disabled category or listing

The search engine giant can disable any business profile or business category content that hints at abuse. It helps to keep trustworthy, functional, and valid reviews. Earlier, this disabling process was manual but has become automated and time-constrained. So, after a temporary ban, you can find your reviews back.

• Blocking/ stopping solicited reviews

It's common for service businesses, especially new entries, to request reviews from their clients. This trend is familiar with home services, SEO, design, and real estate companies. However, Google doesn't show them on your profile. While some find this slightly confusing and ironic, it's critical to note that customers can still see their comments, but businesses cannot. Some companies said reviews from remote users worked, though.

• Removal of long-standing reviews

Loss of a few months old visible reviews can also be a headache for companies. But Google can apply a new filter to existing feedback and current listings to weed out anything that looks sketchy. So, it's better to watch out for these incidents as well.

• A few critical points:

As a new business, reviews can be precious. It is too much to assume Google can make an exception and keep user reviews safe. The search engine company believes in creating a healthy business environment; for this, it can eliminate comments with objectionable content, abuse, or any such material violating the policy. Maintaining Google Business Profiles takes hard work. The job becomes more taxing when you have to handle plenty of variables. Still, it would help if you did anything necessary for your business's success. Since many unpredictable elements can throw your SEO game out of the window, it's better to find an agency specializing in this area. You can depend on them to increase your profile's visibility. The more you appear in the search engine, the more you draw your audience's attention. For local and small businesses, this is highly recommendable.