Why Isn't a Customer's Google Review Showing Up?

A customer tells you they left a Google review, and you can't find it. Or your listing had 47 reviews last month and has 44 today. Google's own help gives the usual reason: "Usually, reviews are removed for policy violations like spam or inappropriate content." Google checks every review against its rules, and it can take one down even after it has gone live.

Some missing reviews only need a few days. Some were never posted, or went to the wrong listing. And some are gone for good: "Reviews removed for policy violations won't be restored." Here's how to tell which one you have, what you can and can't fix, and what to say to the customer.

First, work out which kind of missing you have

Two different things get called a missing review, and they have different fixes. One is a review a customer says they left that never showed up. The other is a review that was on your Google listing, the map one with your reviews and the Call button (Google calls it a Business Profile), and now isn't. Find yours in the table, then jump to that part.

What you see	The likely reason	What to do
A review from the last few days isn't there yet	Google is still checking it, which "might take a few days"	Wait a few days
A customer says they left one, and days later it still isn't there	It was never posted, it went to another listing, or Google didn't accept it	Ask the customer to check its status in their Google Maps profile
Your review count went down	Google removed reviews, a reviewer deleted theirs, or your listing has a review restriction	Check for an email from Google, then read "Reviews that were there" below
A new review shows, but your star rating didn't move	The score can take "up to 2 weeks" to update	Wait
Reviews went missing after you merged two listings	Reviews from both "might take a few days" to show	Wait a few days
Reviews went missing after a suspension was lifted	Google says reviews "might be removed" after a listing is reinstated	Contact Google support

Google checks every review before it posts

Every review goes through Google's checks before anyone else sees it. Google's help says reviews "are checked to ensure they comply with our policies. In some cases, this process might take a few days, which can delay a review's appearance on your profile." When nothing looks wrong, it's quick: Google's Maps team wrote in 2022 that a review "can post within a matter of seconds."

The same post says what the checks look at. There's the review itself, and the Google account that wrote it ("any history of suspicious behavior"). And there's your listing, where Google watches for "an abundance of reviews over a short period of time." And the checks don't stop once a review is up. In Google's words, "our job doesn't stop once a review goes live." That's how a review that showed up last month can be gone this month.

What happens after a customer taps Post

They post itsigned in to a Google AccountGoogle checks itthe review, the account, your listingPosted, or notcan take a few daysStill checkedeven after it goes live

A review that never showed up

It was never posted

Google says "Customers must be signed into a Google Account to leave a review," and that customers "who use older phones or software might have trouble when they try to leave reviews." Its fix for that is updating the Google Maps app. And some customers mean to leave one and never press the button. Don't say so to them. The status check below settles it without anyone being accused.

It went to another listing

Google allows "only one Business Profile for each business," and "If a profile is considered a duplicate, it won't show on Google Search or Maps." A review left on a duplicate listing isn't on the one people see. Here's why your business might not be showing up on Google, duplicates included. If you just merged two listings, Google says "it might take a few days for reviews from both profiles to display on Search and Maps."

If another company has a name like yours, the customer may have reviewed them by mistake. Their Maps profile lists every place they've reviewed, so the same status check shows it.

Google decided it broke a rule

Some rules catch honest reviews from real customers. One of them: Google doesn't allow "phone numbers, social media links, or links to other websites" in a review. So the customer who writes "Call Mike, he's the best" and adds Mike's cell number has broken a rule, meaning well.

Reviews from anyone with a stake in your business go too. Google calls it a conflict of interest, and its examples include "current or former employment, a contractual or consultory relationship" and "familial relationships." That's your crew, your family, and a supplier or another contractor you'd trade reviews with. A review "posted due to an incentive offered by a business" goes as well, a discount for the review included.

Google also admits its checks get it wrong sometimes: "Occasionally, the system may also mistakenly remove legitimate reviews." Here's the full list of what can cost you the reviews you have.

Reviews that were there, and now aren't

If your count went from 47 to 44, those three reviews didn't fall off on their own. Google's checks keep running after a review is up. Its Maps team says they watch for patterns like "a business or place receiving an unusually high number of 1 or 5-star reviews over a short period of time." Google removing a review is the usual reason one that was there is gone. The others:

• The customer deleted it. Only the person who wrote a review, or Google, can take it down.
• The customer edited it. Google shows "the date of when the last edit was made" as its post date, so an old review can look new and seem to have gone from where it was.
• Google restricted the reviewer's account. Google says "other content posted by the Google Account may also be removed," and that can include the review on your listing, through nothing you did.
• Your listing has a review restriction. If Google decides a business broke its rules on fake reviews, it can block new ones or unpublish existing ones "for set period of time." Google says "We will notify business owners via email," and you can appeal. Here's what to do when it's your reviews, not your whole listing.
• A suspension was lifted. Google says "Sometimes reviews might be removed after a Business Profile is reinstated. If this happens, contact support for assistance."
• Reviews were turned off. Google "might temporarily disable user-created content, including reviews, for certain Business Profiles or business categories." Its examples of places with long-term limits are ones like police stations, prisons and schools.

What you can do, and what you can't

Biggest thing: the person with the most say over a missing review is the customer who wrote it. Google shows them the review's status in their own Google Maps profile, marked "Not posted," "Private," "Not Accepted," or similar if it didn't go up, and "In most cases" tells them why. For most removals, they can appeal it once from that same page. An appeal asks Google to look again, and if Google finds it "was removed in error," it puts it back. You can't do that for them.

What you can do:

1. Give a new review a few days. Google says its checks "might take a few days" in some cases.
2. Ask the customer to check its status. The text is in the next section.
3. Contact Google support when Google's help says to, such as real reviews removed by mistake, or reviews gone after a suspension was lifted.
4. Appeal a review restriction on your listing, if Google emailed you about one.
5. Fix what you control: one listing, nothing offered for reviews, nobody with a stake reviewing you.

What you can't do:

• Bring back a review removed for breaking a rule. "Reviews removed for policy violations won't be restored." Nobody can, whatever they charge.
• Use Google's Reviews Management Tool to get one back. That's Google's page for following up on reviews you reported, and its one-time appeal is for reviews you reported that Google left up: "If a flagged review doesn't qualify for removal, submit a one-time appeal." That's a different problem: how to remove a bad Google review.
• Appeal for your customer. The appeal for a removed review runs from the writer's own Maps profile.

What to tell the customer

If a customer tells you they left a review and you can't see it, one short text covers it. Write it for a business that works at the customer's house, and swap in your names:

Hi [first name], thanks again for leaving us a Google review. It isn't showing on our listing yet. Google checks every review before it posts, and says that can take a few days. If you'd like to check on it, open Google Maps, tap Contribute, then View your profile. If it says it wasn't posted, Google usually tells you why. [Your name], [Business name]

The steps are the ones in Google's own Maps help, the same on Android and iPhone.

The note for a customer who says they left one

[Business name]1Thanks again for leaving us a Google review. It isn't showing on our listing yet.2Google checks every review before it posts, and says that can take a few days.3To check: Google Maps, Contribute, View your profile.4

Who it's fromYour business name, so it isn't mistaken for spam.A thank-youNot a second ask, and no stars mentioned.Google's reasonIn Google's words, so nobody is blamed.Where to checkTheir own Maps profile shows whether it posted.

We'd send it to every customer who says they left one, the same way, whatever you expect the review says. You can't see what they wrote anyway. Leave out three things:

1. Any offer. Google strictly prohibits incentives for reviews, discounts included.
2. Any suggestion of what to write. Google says businesses shouldn't "request that specific content be included."
3. Any request to post it again. If Google didn't post it, its own notice tells them what they can do next, and editing a review after an appeal cancels that appeal.

Send one note. If they don't check, we'd leave it there. And never ask the crew or family to make up the missing ones: that's the conflict of interest above.

Keep the next ones from going missing

The part you control is how reviews are asked for. Send every customer the same link as each job finishes, offer nothing for it, and keep the crew and family off your listing. Our guide to getting more Google reviews has the link, the QR code and the wording.