Google reviews for a business in Sweden: getting them, answering them, and what can be removed

Ask every real customer for a review with the link or QR code from your Business Profile, and give nothing in return. Reply from "Read reviews" once the profile is verified. Google removes only reviews that break its policies, not reviews you disagree with. Evaluating a report typically takes several days.

Google facts come from Google's Business Profile Help in English. Swedish legal points come from the Riksdag and the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket), in Swedish. Everything was checked on 9 November 2026.

What is different when your customers are Swedish

If you run a business in Sweden but grew up elsewhere, a few things are worth knowing:

• Two words, one thing. Swedes say both "recensioner" and "omdömen". Google's Swedish pages use "recensioner".
• Write back in the reviewer's language. A review in Swedish gets a reply in Swedish, even a short one. If your Swedish is not there yet, keep it simple and have someone check it.
• Fake reviews are also a legal matter. Beyond Google's rules, Swedish marketing law covers them. More on that below.

You can reply only after the business is verified. If the business has no profile yet, start with how to add your business to Google Maps in Sweden. If someone else still holds the profile, you need access to it first.

Getting reviews without breaking the rules

Every review has to reflect a real experience, and the customer needs to be signed in to a Google Account. They can create one with an email address that is not Gmail.

To get your link:

1. Open your Business Profile at business.google.com.
2. Select "Read reviews", then "Get more reviews", then the share icon.
3. Select "Copy".

The QR code is in the same place, but it can only be generated in a computer browser, not on a phone. Right-click it and select "Save image as..." to download it. Print it for the counter, and add the link to receipts, thank-you emails and the end of chat conversations. You can also send the request by email, WhatsApp message or Facebook post.

What you must not do: offer incentives, such as free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for reviews. Google calls this strictly prohibited. The same applies to rewarding a customer for changing a review or removing a negative one.

Fake reviews under Swedish law

Konsumentverket puts it in one line: companies may not post fake reviews. Under section 4 of the Swedish Marketing Act (Marknadsföringslagen), Annex I to the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive applies as Swedish law. That annex lists posting fake consumer reviews, or commissioning someone else to post them, among practices that are unfair in all circumstances (point 23c).

If you display customer reviews on your own website, section 12 c of the Marketing Act requires you to say whether you check that they come from consumers who used or bought the product, and if so, how. This has applied since 1 September 2022.

Replying: a routine that works for a small team

1. Open the Business Profile and select "Read reviews".
2. Select "Reply" next to the review.
3. Write the reply in the dialog box and select "Reply".

To change a reply, select "Edit" and then "Update". To remove it, select "Delete" and confirm with "Delete".

Replies are checked before they appear. That usually takes up to 10 minutes, sometimes up to 30 days. The reply shows as coming from the business, not from you personally, and the reviewer is notified and may edit the review afterwards.

Google's own tips for replies, short version:

• Keep it short, clear and polite, and do not use the reply to offer deals or promotions.
• Never share the customer's private details or make personal attacks.
• Move complicated cases to phone or email.
• Admit real mistakes and apologise where it is deserved. Do not take the blame for things outside your control.
• Address the reviewer by name, sign with your name or initials, and reply promptly.

A simple routine for a team of two or three: one person reads new reviews twice a week, replies to the easy ones and passes the hard ones to the owner. Keep a short log: date, review, reply, and whether you reported it.

What Google will remove

Only reviews that violate Google's policies qualify. The help page says plainly that you should not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it, and that Google does not get involved in conflicts between businesses and customers.

Report from the profile: select "Read reviews", then the Report icon next to the review, choose a reason such as "Spam" or "Profanity", and select "Send report".

Report in the Reviews Management Tool: confirm your account ("Confirm" or "Switch account"), select the business, then "Continue", "Report a new review for removal" and "Continue". Select "Report" next to the review, choose a reason and select "Submit".

The tool shows one of three statuses: "Decision pending", "Report reviewed - no policy violation" or "Escalated - check your email for updates".

Appeal once. If the status says no violation was found, you can appeal: choose "Check the status of a review I reported previously and appeal options", then "Continue" and "Appeal eligible reviews". Select up to ten reviews, then "Continue" and "Submit an appeal", fill in the form and select "Submit". Reviews removed for policy violations will not be restored.

Extortion: a wave of one-star reviews and a demand for money

Sometimes a sudden increase in one- and two-star reviews is followed by a demand for money, goods or services to remove them. Google's advice: do not engage with or pay the people behind it, and do not try to resolve it yourself. Paying can encourage further attempts and does not guarantee removal. Take clear screenshots of the demands showing the date, time and sender details, save direct links to the reviews, note when you first noticed the spike, and send it all through the help page link "Go to the merchant extortion report form".

Your business in our directory

Reviews live on your Google Business Profile. You can also list your business in SverigesForetagsGuide for free through Add a Business to the Directory. After you send the form, we will contact you about the details and publication. To see how other businesses in Gothenburg appear, look at Coffee Shops & Espresso Bars Gothenburg or Hair Salons & Haircare Gothenburg.

If you are unsure what to do next

You can ask for honest reviews, answer criticism and document a suspected policy violation yourself. If you want to see how Madloba Consult works on local visibility in Google Maps, read Google Maps SEO for local business.

For how the map and local search work in general, see Local SEO in Sweden: how your business shows up on Google.

Sources

All sources were checked on 9 November 2026.

• Google Business Profile Help: Manage customer reviews
• Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews
• Google Business Profile Help: Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews
• Google Business Profile Help: Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile
• Google Business Profile Help: Report negative review extortion scams on your Business Profile
• Google Business Profile Help: About missing or delayed reviews
• Konsumentverket: Marknadsföringslagen - vad lagen innebär för dig som konsument, reviewed 23 March 2026 (in Swedish)
• Sveriges riksdag: Marknadsföringslag (2008:486), sections 4 and 12 c, in force from 1 September 2022 under SFS 2022:656 (in Swedish)
• Sveriges riksdag: Tillkännagivande (2022:658) enligt marknadsföringslagen (2008:486), point 23c (in Swedish)

Last checked: 9 November 2026.

Written by: SverigesForetagsGuide editorial team (business guides). Fact-checked against Google's help pages on 9 November 2026.