You may:

• Ask patients in person, by email, or by text message to leave a review.
• Share a direct link to your Google review page.
• Invite all patients to provide feedback, regardless of whether you expect a positive or negative review.

• Bribery such as discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews (and they frown on prize draws).
• Review gating, which means only asking satisfied patients to leave reviews while filtering out unhappy patients.
• Reviews submitted by employees, family members, or vendors on behalf of the practice.

If you notice reviews being removed, don’t panic. Google regularly removes reviews across all industries, including those of your competitors. While it can be frustrating, occasional review removals are a normal part of Google’s review moderation process.

If your practice is consistently collecting reviews, a small number of removals should not significantly impact your overall growth. Focus on maintaining a steady, compliant review strategy and continuing to encourage patient feedback.

If a review is removed:

• You may ask the patient to submit a new review. The review should be written from scratch and, where possible, submitted from a different device, network, or Google account.
• If you have screenshots of the removed review, RevUp may be able to assist with submitting an appeal to Google on your behalf.
• Continue requesting reviews from patients using approved methods and best practices. As long as you’re collecting reviews legitimately and following Google’s guidelines, you’re doing the right thing.

Reviews that are detailed and personal are often viewed as more authentic by Google’s systems. Reviews that reference specific team members, describe a personal experience, or include photos may be less likely to be flagged as suspicious.

This is one reason why asking patients for reviews in person can be effective. Patients are often more likely to share specific details about their experience when the request is made directly by a member of the team.

To help protect your reviews:

• Follow a consistent review request process rather than collecting reviews in bursts followed by long periods of inactivity.
• Ask patients for feedback while their experience is still fresh and top of mind.
• Keep screenshots or records of reviews when possible, as they may be helpful if a review is later removed.
• Encourage patients to submit reviews from their own devices and accounts.

Cutting your marketing budget doesn’t usually hurt right away. That’s what makes it risky. Because by the time the impact shows up, you’re already behind.

The goal isn’t just to generate patients today. It’s to stay competitive tomorrow.

Google allows businesses to request reviews from patients, but it does not guarantee that every review will remain published. Some reviews may be removed automatically by Google’s systems, and those decisions are ultimately outside of a practice’s control.