A few days ago, my wife mentioned that a new client left us a review on Google. She asked if I'd seen it. I checked. Four days later—still stuck at 41 reviews.
Since we use Review Navigator, I knew for sure the review was submitted. It was captured. The customer followed the link and wrote something thoughtful. But on Google? Nothing.
If you've had this happen, you know how frustrating it is. You earned that review. Where did it go?
I started digging. Here's what I found out:
Worst part? Google doesn’t notify you or your customer. The review just quietly vanishes.
Here's a video I found that breaks this down even more clearly. It's worth a watch if you want a better understanding of how Google’s review filtering really works:
Even after reading articles like this one, this one, and this one, I still felt uneasy. We, as business owners, have almost no control.
Honestly? Not a whole lot.
You can try contacting Google. You can ask your customer to edit and repost. But results are hit or miss. And if you're running a small business, who has time for that?
We don't have Google's global reach—but we're building something just for small businesses.
The local review space is still young. There's massive opportunity here. And we're working to give you more tools, more visibility, and more control as we grow.
You deserve to see every bit of feedback your business earns. Review Navigator helps make sure you do.
Check out how it works and join other early adopters shaping the future of local business reviews.
