The first step is to consider what you can do to address the common complaints. Although you shouldn't give any importance to rude or abusive reviews, if this problem keeps popping up and continues to be a problem, it could cause more problems for customers than those who complain online. Make sure to address the issues prior to taking any action; listening to your critics and acting in accordance with them is the most effective method to avoid bad reviews on the Internet.

Remove negative reviews

It seems so simple: Ask the website to remove the review! However, removing negative reviews is not as simple as it appears. The problem is that as per Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, websites don't have any responsibility for what users write.

No matter what you do, don't employ anyone who claims to remove content from review sites for you. Businesses that claim to remove content from review sites are probably trying to defraud you. Most people find that after they have paid for deal with negative reviews to disappear but the content continues to come back, which means they must frequently make payments to keep it from happening.

Review sites typically have a set of very strict guidelines (usually stated in their Terms of Service) for removing content. Sites will often agree to remove content if the review is personally offensive or threatening. Also, if you can prove that the person who wrote the content is in fact a competitor of yours, someone you are battling in an action, or is a fraudulent reviewer, the site will probably delete the review.

However, be aware that the decision to take down negative reviews is an individual decision and the website takes the final decision. Therefore, there is no assurance that the site that you are reviewing will be in agreement with you regarding the inaccuracy of the review. Reviews that sound rational and calm are extremely difficult to eliminate regardless of how outrageously incorrect they might be.

You will have to adjust your strategies as well as your expectations for each site you are trying to remove content from. Here are some suggestions for a handful of specific well-known review sites:

Angie's List

Angie's List will not remove any review unless it fulfills the following conditions:

It was posted by a member. The poster asks for it to be removed.

The review's issue is resolved as part of a Complaint Resolution.

Angie's List confirms that the review was fake and published.

Your best option is to reach out to the reviewer who is unhappy and collaborate with them to solve the issue.

Surprisingly, Angie's List users will remove negative reviews for businesses that take steps to correct the problem. This is actually the best method of getting rid of negative reviews on Angie's List. Additionally, making the reviewer happy could win you the customer back who might have been gone for good.

Insider Pages

If you want to remove a negative review from the business's Insider Pages site, you'll be required to confirm that you've registered for the position. You will need to create an account first. Then, browse the site with your company name. Once you have arrived at the page of your company, click on the "Claim Business” link.

Once you've verified your account's details, you can report a bad review by referring to it as "abuse." Simply go to the review in question and select the "Report Abuse" button. Insider Pages employees will look at the content to see if it violates the company's Terms of Service. If it is, Insider Pages will delete the review. If not, the review will be left. You cannot contest the decision of the website. It is for this reason that you look into other ways to address the negative review removal.

Insider Pages offers business owners the ability to respond to reviews. Doing so is a great way to not only resolve the disgruntled customer's issue as well as show prospective customers that you are professional and care about the satisfaction of your customers. Click "View/Update Your Profile" to respond. Then follow the steps to click "Respond To Reviews" at the bottom of the page. When you are done with your response you can click "Update Response." Be aware that the site won't allow you to respond to reviews posted by burybadreviews users.