Google Adds an Edit & Delete Button to Reviews

Many businesses and consumers view reviews as a one-off event, but Google is aiming to make the process more dynamic. Google has allowed the editing and deletion of reviews for some time, but a recent update makes this capability more prominent, with a new “Edit/Delete” button on the same line as the review’s star rating and date. The objective is to encourage addendums and revisions to reviews, a step that users do not often take but are being increasingly encouraged to do, especially by businesses engaging with those reviews after they are posted.

This feature directly benefits from Google’s new edit button. When a customer has a negative experience, it is crucial to respond to the review. A business should always have the last word, either to clarify any misconceptions the negative review may create or to show that efforts are being made to resolve the issue. A customer’s lifetime value extends beyond a single purchase, and maintaining that relationship is vital to a business’s health. Compensating customers who have had a poor experience or finding other ways to convert detractors into advocates is an essential skill for reputation managers. This means that if a business engages with negative feedback instead of merely accepting the loss, they may be able to turn negative feedback into positive—a shift now made more feasible with Google’s prominently featured review edit functionality.