How To Update A Google Review

Why Updating a Google Review Matters

You left a one-star review for a local restaurant after a bad meal. Three months later, they reached out, made it right, and your experience genuinely changed. Or maybe you are a business owner who just watched a competitor leapfrog you in the map pack and you are wondering whether stale or inaccurate reviews are part of the problem. Either way, knowing how to update a Google review is a practical skill that affects real businesses and real purchasing decisions every day.

Google reviews influence local search rankings, customer trust, and foot traffic. According to the BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey, the vast majority of consumers read online reviews before choosing a local business. A single outdated or unfair review sitting at the top of a listing can skew perception long after the underlying issue has been resolved. Keeping reviews accurate is good for everyone.

If you are a business owner who wants to understand how your overall review profile fits into your local SEO strategy, you can run a free Google Maps rank scan of your business right now to see exactly where you stand before diving into the steps below.

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What "Updating" a Google Review Actually Means

Before walking through the steps, it helps to clarify the terminology because the top search results use it differently.

• Editing your own review: You wrote a review and want to change the star rating, the text, or both.
• Responding to a review: You are a business owner replying publicly to a review someone else left.
• Removing a review: You want to delete a review entirely, either as the reviewer or as the business owner flagging a policy violation.

This article focuses primarily on editing a review you personally wrote, but it also covers what business owners can do to manage the reviews left on their profiles.

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How To Edit a Google Review You Wrote (Mobile)

Most people write and edit reviews from their phones. Here are the exact steps for Android and iOS using the Google Maps app.

On Android or iPhone

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
3. Select "Your contributions" from the menu.
4. Tap "Reviews" to see every review you have ever written.
5. Find the review you want to update and tap the three-dot menu (the vertical ellipsis) next to it.
6. Select "Edit review".
7. Adjust your star rating, update your written comments, or both.
8. Tap "Post" to save your changes.

Your updated review will replace the old one immediately. Google does not retain a visible history of your edits, so readers see only the current version.

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How To Edit a Google Review You Wrote (Desktop)

If you prefer a larger screen, the desktop process is equally straightforward.

1. Go to maps.google.com and sign in to your Google account.
2. Click the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top-left corner.
3. Select "Your contributions".
4. Click the "Reviews" tab.
5. Find the review, click the three-dot menu, and choose "Edit review".
6. Make your changes and click "Post".

Alternatively, you can search directly for the business, find your existing review on its listing, and click the pencil icon to edit in place.

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How To Delete a Google Review You Wrote

If you want to remove your review entirely rather than update it, the steps are almost identical.

1. Follow the same path: Google Maps > Profile picture > Your contributions > Reviews.
2. Tap or click the three-dot menu next to the review.
3. Select "Delete review" and confirm.

Deletion is permanent. If you change your mind later, you would need to write a brand-new review from scratch.

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What Business Owners Can Do About Reviews

Business owners cannot edit reviews that customers have written. That boundary is important because it protects the integrity of the review system. What you can do:

Respond Publicly

A thoughtful, professional response to a negative review often matters more to future customers than the review itself. Reply directly from your Google Business Profile dashboard. Keep responses factual, polite, and solution-oriented.

Flag Policy Violations

If a review violates Google's review policies -- for example, it is spam, fake, or contains prohibited content -- you can flag it for removal. Go to the review in your Business Profile, click the three-dot menu, and select "Report review." Google will evaluate it, though this process can take time and removal is not guaranteed.

Request a Review Update Directly

You can reach out to the customer who left the review and ask them to update it if the situation has genuinely changed. Keep this communication professional and avoid anything that could be perceived as pressuring or incentivizing the reviewer, which violates Google's policies.

Build a Stronger Review Profile Over Time

The most reliable antidote to a few bad reviews is a steady stream of genuine positive ones. Businesses that consistently ask satisfied customers for feedback develop a review profile that is both more accurate and more resilient.

If managing all of this manually sounds like a lot of work, that is precisely the problem Local SEO Bot was built to solve. It is a done-for-you AI Local SEO agent that handles AI review replies and weekly Google Business Profile posts automatically, so your listing stays active and responsive without you spending hours in a dashboard. It also runs daily rank tracking with alerts when a competitor climbs, hand-places citations across 40+ platforms, and runs a free Google Business Profile audit so you know exactly what needs attention.

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How Google Reviews Connect to Your Local Rankings

Reviews are not just social proof -- they are a local ranking signal. Google's own documentation on how to improve your local ranking explicitly lists review quantity and quality as factors in map pack placement. A business with a higher volume of recent, positive reviews tends to outperform one with older or fewer reviews, all else being equal.

Keeping your reviews current and accurate matters for two reasons:

1. Algorithmic signal: Fresh, relevant reviews signal to Google that your business is active and trustworthy.
2. User trust: A review written two years ago carries less weight with a modern shopper than one from last month.

If you want to see how your current ranking stacks up across your whole service area, run a free Google Maps rank scan to get a live Google Maps rank grid showing where you appear -- and where you are losing ground to competitors.

For businesses serious about Local SEO, Moz's Local SEO guide is a solid educational resource that explains how citations, reviews, and profile completeness all interact.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the star rating when I edit my Google review? Yes. When you edit your review, you can adjust the star rating as well as the written text. Both changes take effect immediately after you tap "Post."

Will the business know that I edited my review? Google does not send businesses a notification specifically about edits. However, the business owner may notice a change in your review if they are monitoring their profile closely. The updated review replaces the old one, so only the current version is visible publicly.

Can a business owner edit or delete a review that a customer left? No. Business owners cannot modify reviews written by customers. They can respond publicly, flag reviews that violate Google's policies for potential removal, or contact the reviewer directly and politely request an update if the situation has changed.

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Key Takeaways

• To update a Google review you wrote, go to Google Maps > Your profile > Your contributions > Reviews, then use the three-dot menu to edit or delete.
• The process is the same on Android, iPhone, and desktop -- just the interface varies slightly.
• Editing replaces your old review immediately; Google does not display a public edit history.
• Business owners cannot edit customer reviews but can respond publicly, flag policy violations, and encourage satisfied customers to share feedback.
• Reviews are a confirmed local ranking factor -- keeping your profile's review stream active and genuine helps you rank higher in the map pack.
• Local SEO Bot handles the full stack -- review replies, GBP posts, citations, rank tracking, and profile audits -- at $0 today, $99/mo after your 3-day free trial, cancel anytime. See the pricing page to compare plans.
• Local SEO Bot backs its service with a 30-day money-back ranking guarantee: if you are not ranking higher within 30 days, every dollar back, no questions asked.
• Start by seeing exactly where you stand today -- get my free scan and find out where you are winning and where competitors are beating you in the map pack.

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