Google reviews are changing in Germany, here’s why

A Google Maps update means it is now easier for people in Germany to spot when businesses systematically report bad reviews to manipulate ratings.

Google updates Maps reviews in Germany

The prevalence of Google Maps means being visible on the platform is a matter of boom or bust for businesses. Under pressure, some businesses have resorted to systematically reporting negative reviews to retain a good overall rating.

A recent Google Maps update in Germany now makes it easier for customers to tell whether businesses are systematically reporting bad reviews to Google in the hope they will be deleted. And it's all thanks to Germany’s wide-ranging defamation law.

Until now, businesses that received a bad review in Germany could report the review to Google and claim it was defamatory. For example, if a reviewer complained they had found a hair in their food, the restaurant could fill out a Google form and claim it had no record of the reviewer. Google would temporarily remove the review.

Google would then approach the reviewer and ask for prompt proof of their visit to the restaurant, such as a photo of the hair in the food or their receipt. Unsurprisingly, most of these requests for proof would go unanswered, and the bad review would be deleted.

This process will stay the same. However, going forward, directly below a business’s average rating, Google Maps will now display roughly how many of the business's reviews have been removed due to defamation complaints.

The update means it will be easier for users to discern which businesses are removing bad reviews every so often, and which are systematically removing many bad reviews to manipulate their overall Google rating.

Good reviews do not ensure visibility on Maps

In its notice about the defamation law update, Google assured business owners that changes would not “influence local ranking or where a Business Profile appears in Google Search or Maps results”. 

To what extent do good Google reviews mean more visibility on Maps? The company claims that businesses’ visibility is based on three factors: relevance (how similar the search query is to your business name), distance (whether the person searching is close by), and prominence (how well-known and well-reviewed your business is). 

But according to social data scientist Lauren Leek, there is more to it. In her research, Leek found that Google's “prominence” criterion isn’t based solely on good Google reviews but on an overall data footprint.

While restaurant-goers are looking for good food, friendly service, atmosphere, and affordability, Google is serving up suggestions based on businesses’ “digital presence”. Put simply, the more data there is online, e.g. a good website, lots of information and pictures, the more prominence a business is given on Maps. Of course, businesses can also pay to increase their visibility.