Google has provided an explainer detailing how it manages reviews left for local businesses on Google Maps. The article describes the various steps and actions Google takes to review and publish user-generated reviews quickly.
Google outlines five steps to ensure that reviews on Google Maps are both useful and authentic.
Step 1: Strict Content Policies
The foundation of Google’s method for moderating reviews on Google Maps is a well-defined content policy. Every platform accepting user-generated content needs a clear policy to define what is acceptable, helping users understand the limits and guiding moderators on when intervention is necessary.
According to Google:
“We’ve created strict content policies to make sure reviews are based on real-world experiences and to keep irrelevant and offensive comments off of Google Business Profiles.”
Key Points About Google Maps Review Content Policy
Google’s content policy defines the outcomes they aim to encourage: “Contributions must be based on real experiences and information.” Google’s content policy outlines six types of prohibited activities.
Examples of Violations:
- Deliberately fake content
- Copied or stolen photos
- Off-topic reviews
- Defamatory language
- Personal attacks
- Unnecessary or incorrect content
Step 2: Content Policy Integrated Into Google’s Algorithm
The next step is incorporating the content policy into Google’s algorithms by using it as training data for the algorithm and human moderators.
Google explains:
“Once a policy is written, it’s turned into training material — both for our operators and machine learning algorithms — to help our teams catch policy-violating content and ultimately keep Google reviews helpful and authentic.”
Step 3: Reviews are Immediately Moderated
Google states that all reviews are sent to its moderation systems for review once posted. A combination of human and machine review systems is used, and Google’s algorithms can process a review quickly for publication.
Google generally prefers scaling its systems with algorithms instead of human dependency. The algorithm examines several factors to deduce if a review is fake.
Google mentions a few review factors:
- Is the content offensive?
- Is the content off-topic?
- Does the account show suspicious behavior?
- Do spikes in reviews correlate with news or social media driving fake reviews?
Google shares how its automated system works:
“As soon as someone posts a review, we send it to our moderation system to make sure the review doesn’t violate any of our policies. …Given the volume of reviews we regularly receive, we’ve found that we need both the nuanced understanding that humans offer and the scale that machines provide to help us moderate contributed content.”
Step 4: Google Encourages Community Moderation
Google encourages businesses and the public to report fake reviews. This approach, known as Report-a-Post, allows users to feel part of a community and crowd-sources the review, enabling users and businesses to catch bad reviews that might bypass a moderator or algorithm.
Step 5: Google is Proactive and Anticipates Fake Reviews
Google is proactive in anticipating events that might lead to abusive reviews. There is heightened monitoring of reviews of businesses in the areas of such events to ensure only authentic and useful reviews are published.
Google shared:
“For instance, when there’s an upcoming event with a significant following — such as an election — we implement elevated protections to the places associated with the event and other nearby businesses that people might look for on Maps.”
Machine Learning Plus Human Moderation of Google Maps Reviews
Google’s approach uses automated systems to deal with potentially abusive users and events, similar to methods used in forums and blogs. These steps serve as a template for formulating moderation strategies for platforms accepting user content. Failure to moderate can lead to penalties and poor user experience. For Google, safeguarding reviews against spam enhances user trust and experience, benefiting businesses relying on Google Maps.
Citations
Read Google’s Blog Post
How reviews on Google Maps work
Read Google’s Map Reviews Policy
Maps User Contributed Content Policy
Watch Google’s Informative Video on Maps Reviews
How Google Maps Reviews Work
