Sean Walsh
Sean is a Director at Intelligency heading up our digital marketing and client services operations. Sean has 15+ years experiencing working both in-house and agency with brands including Lloyds, Alstom, Hitachi, Lufthansa, Viaplay, DFDS Seaways and Mercedes-Benz.
If you’ve noticed that your Google Business Profile has fewer reviews than usual, you’re not alone. Since Friday, February 7th, businesses have reported missing reviews in Google Search and Google Maps.
At first, it was unclear whether this was a new feature or a technical issue. However, Google has since confirmed that it’s a bug affecting review counts, and they are actively working on a fix. The good news? The reviews themselves haven’t been deleted—it’s just a display error.
Why Google Reviews matter for your business
Google Reviews are critical for building trust, increasing visibility, and driving sales. Here’s why:
✅ Boosts Credibility – A strong collection of reviews helps establish trust with potential customers. 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
✅ Improves Local SEO – More positive reviews can help your business rank higher in local search results, increasing your chances of being discovered.
✅ Drives Conversions – Businesses with higher ratings and more reviews see higher click-through rates and more bookings or sales.
✅ Customer Insights & Feedback – Reviews provide direct feedback, helping businesses improve their services and understand customer expectations.
Missing reviews, even temporarily, can impact your reputation and visibility, so this bug is a major concern for affected businesses.
What’s happening?
- Some businesses have lost a handful of reviews, while others report losing dozens.
- In some cases, the total review count doesn’t match the number of visible reviews.
- Google has now acknowledged the issue and is rolling out a fix.
What should you do?
If your reviews have disappeared, don’t panic—they should be restored soon. Google has reassured businesses that this is temporary and not due to policy violations. However, if you believe a review was removed unfairly, you can check Google’s review policies before taking further action.
Update: A fix is rolling out
As of Tuesday, February 12th, Google has started implementing a fix. If your reviews haven’t reappeared yet, they should soon.
In the meantime, keep encouraging happy customers to leave reviews, as fresh positive feedback is always beneficial!
