Google ‘resolving’ review glitch

UK garages affected by the recent disappearance of Google reviews are beginning to see their feedback restored as the tech giant works to resolve the issue. Independent workshops were among thousands of businesses globally that reported legitimate customer reviews being unexpectedly removed from their Google Business Profiles.

Garage Services Online (GSO), an online lead generating service for garages, suggests the issue was likely caused by two separate problems at Google.

“Two key issues seem to have been at play here,” said Jim Lang, Managing Director at Garage Services Online. “First, a bug affecting the review count on Google Business Profiles. While the count might show a specific number of reviews, there could actually be more on the system.

“The second issue appears to be related to a recent update in Google's algorithm, which seems to have affected both first-party and third-party reviews for some businesses."

GSO believes that Google's latest algorithm, designed to detect and remove fraudulent reviews, may have inadvertently deleted genuine feedback. This has left garages vulnerable, potentially damaging their online reputation and affecting their visibility in search results.

"From what we’ve seen so far, the original review totals appear to have been restored for a number of garages," said Jim. "It’s a positive sign that Google is addressing the problem. Online reviews play a critical role in establishing credibility and trust with customers, so we’ll be keeping our clients updated as more information becomes available.”