I hope this is a sign they are getting better at identifying SPAM reviews. They appear to have gone awry in this area.

However, a few months back I noticed one of my past client’s reviews drop significantly. When I was working with him I told him to solicit reviews from his best clients, but like many, he took the easy route and supposedly submitted them on behalf of his clients. They all took at first, and jumped him way up on the map, but then after a few months many of them went away. I noticed this with several other businesses around this time to.

Anybody else noticing TripAdvisor reviews are gone? A few hotels in Boston no longer show them aggregated, but the total number of reviews has stayed. TripAdvisor? Really?

Also, having problems with reviews listed that do not belong to my client’s event venue. They have 2 very negative reviews about past events, but Google is listing them for the venue.

Honestly, I cant imagine how an algo would detect a real review from a spammed one. Many people who have been asked by their vendor take the time to write a review will most likely write a very detailed and flattering review. I would imagine that such a review could and would be flagged as spam in this landscape, but would not be. Now the review will be considered guilty if it is eloquent and detailed. In my opinion I think Google should pay less attention to this, and let the intelligence of the individuals determine that for themselves. I see many third party review sites that have very detailed reviews that are written by honest people looking to lend a helping hand, but yet there is nothing to be gained by virtue of internet visibility. Those same well written reviews will mostly likely now be flagged by Google, but will most likely be allowed as a third pary review. There is no way that an algo can detect the intent of the reviewer, without hurting innocent bystanders along the way, and thus ruin the process in the meantime. I think that Google goes too far on many fronts while trying to protect the so called integrity of the search, and they are soon going to make it impossible for the any small business to excel in this internet marketplace, and just like in all facets of life, the rich will get richer. It is the concept that even the little guy or girl with a little hard work enhancing their relevancy on the internet will lead to increase exposure, that drives people’s interest in Google in the first place. They need us as much as we need them. I think sometimes they lose sight of that. It is my view that if you take the fucntion away from the average person, then eventually there will be less interest by people, which could open the door to ther other search engines. Just one mans opinion. I really enjoy your insight and look to your blog everyday to see what is new and exciting in the world of local SEO. Thank-you for doing what you do.

I know that I have seen posts relative to this subject, but I am perplexed as to why G has decided to remove the identity of “Reviews by Google users”. Prior to the removal, it was quite easy to identify review spam. For example, A car dealership review in Maine and a hotel review in Las Vegas on the same day, just to name a few…Now it is nearly impossible. Why would G do this. Did they not like users reporting review spam on the forums and elsewhere? Very odd. Any theories???

I’ve noticed my review was removed, and I’d really like to know why.
This was my review of a local tree service I had used:
“Good, but not great. The price was very good; much less than the competition. They removed a maple in my backyard for $475; the cheapest quote from others was $700, but price isn’t everything. They did the job while I was at work, removed the tree, and left what looked like a large mound of wood chips and top soil (grindings), but when I dug through the grindings I discovered that only half of the root stock had been removed (the tree had a large amount of roots above ground and Rich had guaranteed a complete removal of them). They had left a huge 4 ft circular ring of root stock, most of it was a foot above grade (above ground level), and some of the roots where 3-5inches in diameter. I called Rich on his cell, he sounded surprised that I had dug out the grindings (“you dug it up?”), he explained that usually he does the final grinding himself, but this time he left two new guys to do the final grinding. After almost 2 weeks and 3 calls from me, Rich sent his guys to finish the job.
If they had finished the job right the first time I would have given them a perfect score, because their price is very reasonable and all I wanted was the tree removed. If you are planning on using them I would definitely recommend being there while the work is done, or at the very least inspect the work before they leave. During the almost 2 weeks that I waited for them to return and finish the job there were 7 days with nice weather (no rain & not too cold), but obviously I was no longer a priority.”
I felt the review was more than fair (I gave 3 stars & he deserved much less). People really needed to be warned about this company. After my review the owner “Rich” of the tree service called me repeatably leaving obscene & threatening messages. Demanding I remove the above review. When I didn’t respond, he then came to my house pounding the door & screaming obscenities. I had to have the police remove him from my property. I have the officer’s name & case number of the indecent. If I had included this information in my review would that have made it more acceptable? I assume he was able to get you to remove the review which I feel is shame after I went through to have it posted.
Any advice, or insight into this situation? Thanks.

Thank you for your prompt reply. Yes, the review is visible on my account with the following message:
“This review doesn’t adhere to our content policies and is visible only to you. Please check out this link for additional information on our policies.”
I read the policies under the link, but I still do not understand why the review was removed, unless I was disregarded as a shill, or something. I could attach pictures, & a receipt if that is possible. The receipt would prove I was a customer & had the aforementioned work done. Also, the pictures (which I always take for any project I have undertaken) would substantiate my assessment of the work performed.

Do you think resubmitting the review with pictures & receipt would make it acceptable, or would it be a waste of effort?

i can’t resubmit mine… no matter what i do… even if i just leave one star with no comment at all… google reviews are a joke… i honestly think it is a way for businesses to censor bad reviews that are just honest… i said nothing inappropriate in them at all… just that i had a bad experience there… i have tried to review one particular hospital with over 6 different google accounts of mine… all were taken down… something doesn’t add up here… i just don’t trust google reviews… I KNOW I DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING INAPPROPRIATE… i also did not do all the reviews at one time so it was not like i was trying to make it look like more than one person was reviewing the place… they were all taken down with that message above individually………………. i usually love google but there reviews are not honest………………. you can’t be honest with google reviews it is impossible….