> Why Google reviews do not show up or disappear from a Business Profile: checks that delay them, removals for policy, spam filters, and what an owner can do.

- Canonical: https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-reviews-not-showing-up/

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# Why your Google reviews are not showing up

A Google review that does not appear has usually been delayed by Google's checks or removed by them. Google reviews every submission against its policies, which can take a few days, and it removes reviews its systems judge to be spam or inappropriate. Google also says those systems occasionally remove legitimate reviews by mistake.

Updated 6 October 2026

## Reviews are checked before they appear

Google’s help centre says reviews are checked to make sure they follow its policies, and that in some cases the check takes a few days. A review that a customer posted yesterday may simply not be through yet.

## Reviews are removed for breaking policy

Google removes reviews for policy violations such as spam and inappropriate content, and states that removed reviews are not restored. Its spam detection is automated. Google’s own account is that the system occasionally removes legitimate reviews as well.

Google’s policies rule out reviews from people with an interest in the business and reviews left in exchange for something, and a run of reviews arriving together can look like either.

## Other causes Google lists

Three less common causes are on Google’s list.

- Two profiles were merged recently. Reviews from both can take a few days to appear.

- The customer used an old phone or an out-of-date Maps app, and the review never went through.

- Google has temporarily switched off reviews for a profile or a type of business. It says it does this in some situations to protect business owners.

## What an owner can do

An owner cannot restore a review, and can make the next ones less likely to go missing.

1. Ask the customer whether the review still shows on their own Google account. If it does not, it was removed or never posted.

2. Ask for reviews one customer at a time, after the job, and not in a burst.

3. Never offer anything in return. Google prohibits incentives for reviews, and treats them as fake content.

4. Do not ask staff, family or suppliers to review the business.

5. Reply to the reviews that are there. An active profile is a healthier one.

## What does not help

Asking the same customers to post again from the same place repeats whatever pattern the filter caught. Buying reviews breaks Google’s rules and risks the whole profile. Our guides to [getting more Google reviews](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-get-more-google-reviews/) and to a [Business Profile that is not showing up](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-business-profile-not-showing-up/) cover the sound ways forward.

## Questions people ask

### Why did my Google review disappear?

Most often because Google's systems judged that it broke a policy, such as spam or inappropriate content. Google says reviews removed for policy violations are not restored.

### How long does a Google review take to show up?

Google checks each review against its policies before it appears, and says that in some cases this takes a few days.

### Can I get a removed review put back?

Not if it was removed for breaking a policy. If a genuine review has vanished, the customer can check that it is still on their own account and post it again in their own words.

## Free competitor gap report

Reviews are one part of how a local business is judged against its neighbours. Name up to three local competitors and we measure your site against theirs, then send you what gives them the stronger local presence.

1. Speed and technical health, side by side
2. On-page SEO and site structure
3. The content they are found for and you are not
4. Who holds the searches that matter in your market
5. A prioritised list of what to fix first

[Request your free report by email](mailto:contact@hadalmedusa.com?subject=Competitor%20gap%20report%3A%20Guide%3A%20Why%20your%20Google%20reviews%20are%20not%20showing%20up&body=Website%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AWhere%20you%20compete%20(area%2C%20country%20or%20countries)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0ACompetitors%20to%20compare%20against%20(up%20to%20three)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AAnything%20else%20we%20should%20know%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A)
- **Address** — contact@hadalmedusa.com

- **Include** — your site; up to three competitors; where you compete

## More in this series

- [A local SEO checklist for UK businesses](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/local-seo-checklist-uk/)
- [How to optimise a Google Business Profile](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-business-profile-optimisation/)
- [How to rank higher on Google Maps](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-rank-higher-on-google-maps/)
- [How to get more Google reviews for your business](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-get-more-google-reviews/)
- [Local search, Maps and reviews: the whole topic](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/local-search/)
- [All guides](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/)
- [On-site SEO: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/seo/)