The Great Google Review Purge of 2025: Why Your 5-Star Ratings Are Vanishing

If you’ve noticed your review count fluctuating wildly on your Google Business Profile (GBP) lately, you aren’t imagining things. And you certainly aren’t alone.

In 2025, Google isn’t just “moderating” reviews; they are removing them at unprecedented rates.

At One Click SEO, we always preach that reviews are the lifeblood of local search. They drive click-through rates, build trust, and signal authority to search engines. But a recent industry analysis of 60,000 Google Business Profiles reveals a shift in the landscape: reviews are disappearing faster than ever, driven by aggressive AI moderation, industry risk factors, and geography.

Here is what is happening to your reviews, why it’s happening, and what it means for your local SEO strategy.

It’s Not a Glitch—It’s Enforcement

Data collected by GMBapi.com shows a massive spike in review deletions between January and July 2025. This surge accelerated in Q1 and hasn’t slowed down.

The most shocking part? It isn’t just hate speech or spammy 1-star attacks being removed. Legitimate 5-star reviews are now a primary target.

Google is prioritizing “authenticity” over everything else. Their systems are now rigorously flagging:

• Incentivized Reviews: Google is actively asking Local Guides if businesses offered them perks for a rating.
• AI Patterns: If a review looks bot-generated or part of a “review swap” ring, it’s gone.
• Legacy Data: Retroactive enforcement is scrubbing reviews that are years old.

Dig deeper: 7 local SEO wins you get from keyword-rich Google reviews

Not All Industries Are Safe (But Some Are Hit Harder)

The algorithm doesn’t treat a pizza shop the same way it treats a plastic surgeon. The deletion patterns vary significantly based on your industry.

1. Restaurants & Retail: The Retroactive Sweep

If you run a restaurant or a brick-and-mortar store, you are seeing the highest volume of deletions.

• The Pattern: Deletions are happening across the board—1-star to 5-star.
• The Timing: Google is digging deep. Many reviews being deleted in these categories are over two years old.
• The Takeaway: Just because a review has “stuck” for a year doesn’t mean it’s safe. Google is cleaning up historical data as their detection systems improve.

2. Medical & Home Services: The Trust Factor

For doctors, lawyers, HVAC, and beauty services, the stakes are higher. These are often “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) categories, and Google holds them to a stricter standard.

• The Pattern: Removals here are heavily skewed toward 5-star reviews.
• The Timing: Most deletions happen within the first six months.
• The Takeaway: Google’s automated systems are hyper-sensitive to “too good to be true” signals in these industries to prevent consumer harm.

Geography Matters: The “Why” Changes by Location

The reason your review disappeared depends heavily on where your business is located.

• USA, UK, Canada, Australia: In English-speaking markets, AI is the sheriff. The primary driver for deletion here is automated spam detection and the crackdown on incentivized positive feedback. The system is proactively hunting for fake praise.
• Germany: The approach is legal, not algorithmic. Due to strict defamation laws, a higher share of deleted reviews in Germany are negative. Businesses legally challenge them, and platforms are forced to remove them quickly.

The Impact on Your Local SEO

This volatility creates two major problems for business owners:

1. Trust Erosion: When legitimate reviews vanish, it looks suspicious to potential customers monitoring your profile.
2. Data Distortion: Your star rating and total review count are ranking factors. A sudden drop in review volume can impact your local pack rankings and conversion rates.

Dig deeper: Why Google reviews will power up your local SEO

What You Need to Do Now

The days of “set it and forget it” reputation management are over. As Google relies more on AI to police content, sentiment alone won’t guarantee visibility.

Here is the One Click SEO approach to surviving the purge:

• Stop Incentivizing: Do not offer discounts or freebies in exchange for reviews. Google is now asking customers directly if you did this. It’s not worth the risk.
• Monitor Removals: You need to know what is being deleted. Is it old reviews? New ones? Understanding the pattern helps you adjust your strategy.
• Focus on Velocity: Since reviews are being deleted, you need a steady stream of new, authentic feedback to maintain your numbers.
• Context is King: Encourage customers to write detailed reviews (mentioning specific services or products) rather than just leaving a star rating. These are viewed as more authentic by AI filters.