Google Investigates Missing Reviews, Pauses New Submissions

Google confirmed this week that it is investigating widespread reports of reviews disappearing from Google Local listings and has temporarily paused the ability for Google Business Profile listings to receive new reviews. The company stated that when its systems detect suspicious reviews, actions are taken, including removing reviews and pausing submissions to prevent further abuse. A Google spokesperson assured that the company is investigating the issue and will restore any reviews that were incorrectly removed.

Numerous businesses and local SEO professionals have reported in Google Business Profile forums that reviews have mysteriously vanished from their listings. In addition to the missing reviews, many businesses are unable to receive new reviews on their local profiles. It appears that Google's review spam detection algorithms may be overly aggressive, either due to spammers abusing certain profiles or a recent tweak to the algorithms causing them to be too sensitive.

Amy Toman, a volunteer Google Product Expert for Google Business Profiles, shared on LinkedIn that Google is aware of the situation and is actively working on a resolution, though no timeline has been provided. She also noted a new issue where, after reporting fake or spam reviews, listings are experiencing a review block, with all existing reviews being hidden and, in at least one instance, the listing's rating reduced to zero. Google has acknowledged these reports and is working to resolve the missing review problem.

Businesses that have noticed a significant loss of reviews or a cessation of new review submissions this week may be affected by this ongoing issue. The investigation by Google aims to address the integrity of the review system and restore functionality for affected local listings.