Restaurants Seized By 1-Star Attacks – Local SEO Services UK To The Rescue In 2023

Restaurants relying on local SEO services are under attack with one-star reviews. The good news is that Google is aware of the issue and is advising business owners to flag the reviews or contact Google support to have them effectively removed.

This is the latest scam that has people leaving one-star reviews for restaurants, emailing them, and staying they must send a gift card and they will then remove the review. Anyone focusing on their local SEO campaign knows how important reviews are to help them reach their local audience and drive quality visitors to their establishment.

Google has recently announced that they are aware of the scam targeting businesses advertising on Google threatening them with a one-star review unless they receive money or a gift card. Google policies state reviews must be based on real experiences and the Google team is working to fight these attacks and remove fraudulent reviews. They are putting protections in place on business profiles that have been impacted by this latest scam.

This latest scam is now impacting restaurants' local SEO campaigns, resulting in them losing customers and dropping in rankings as a result. Genie Crawl, a boutique digital marketing agency in the UK, offers local SEO services and announced that they are currently going through their client's reviews and dealing with scam messages, helping clients fight the impact of these one-star reviews.

Tony Andrews, the Manager of Genie Crawl, said “We are asking our clients to please not pay the stammers if they contact your business threatening you with a one-star review. We can assist in flagging the review or contacting Google directly. This means the Google team is aware of the issue and can review and remove the content. Negative reviews impact on our local SEO efforts and we are doing what we can to assist clients in having these false negative reviews removed effectively.”

This attack is holding restaurants at ransom and it's unacceptable. Some restaurants have received a high number of one-star reviews within twenty hours. Negative reviews are not something new, but they need to be honest from a person with first-hand experience.

About Us:

Genie Crawl is a leading digital marketing agency that is results-driven and passionate about providing clients with the best results and first-class services. This established boutique agency is backed by more than five years of industry knowledge and experience with a small and dedicated team that provides digital craftsmanship and a no-contract service. Genie Crawl offers an extensive range of quality services from the United Kingdom base with more than five hundred completed projects, 96% customer satisfaction, and a free site analysis. To find out more, visit https://www.geniecrawl.com/.