To go public with a review

[I-am-Q]

I have seen lots of posts here from LG regarding this topic. I have also read lots of posts from Google moderators and other Google champions about how to go public with pictures and reviews.

I feel that I have something more to say. Here are some,

1- platform for writing a review matters (ios, androis, pc, etc)

2- the version of software and the version of app matters (ios version 17.12 , Google Maps version 6.95.0.28521)

3- connection type matter (wifi, 4G/5G, cable)

4- how your setting is configured (loading photos allowed over wifi or not)

5- other unknown parameters like geographical place …

I am sure that many of local guides, including me, have very little understanding of how all these parameters should be set in order to make a review visible and public if other things like that the content doesn’t violate google policies.

So, I am asking all intelligent people in Google a very simple question; please make it easy. Once up on the time mobile phone users were really annoyed by setting all parameters themselves when moving from one country to another. Today we don’t even think of it.

The number of documents and rules to publishing a review publicly is becoming as complicated as the rules for importing strawberries to EU.

please make it simple

all the best

[I-am-Q]

I have removed several reviews and associated images that have not been published. I notice that it is even “impossible” to go public just by review (also no pictures). This is an example of a review not being published for public:

Place: Central park mall Jakarta

A beautiful and well designed mall in several floor. Many well-known global brands have store in this mall. The interior is light and spacious and welcoming. There is a nice outdoor garden that has been decorated with different plants and lighting. There is a bridge on the second floor that leads to the nearby mall. This shopping mall has to be one of the nicest shopping mall in Jakarta.

[I-am-Q]

I have an other strange example. My review of

Hero Supermarket Pondok Indah Mall 1, has no pending pictures. All pictures have been viewed publicly and I can see the number of views for each picture.

But when I go incognito, I cannot see this review.

Bellow you can see that the picture is not pending,

Here bellow you can see that all pictures have viewed and the number for each picture is visible.

But I can’t see this review of my own when I see my reviews incognito.

The same happens for shopping mall: Kota Kasablanka in Jakarta.

Any idea why?

[I-am-Q]

I am getting some results that I would like to share.

I start just by sending my review without adding any pictures.

I click on my review and look at the number of reviews showing on the top, beside my profile name. If the number has increased by one then, I am sure my review is published publicly.

If the number has not increased, I edit or delete and write again until the number of reviews increase.

Then I go to the place, choose “Updates” , and then click on “By Visitors”. Now I add all my pictures of the place.

So far it has worked, even though it is really time consuming.

[ErmesT]

Hi @I-am-Q

Yes, we know why. Myself and @MortenCopenhagen tried to explain it a lot of times, and you said that you read our replies.

There are filters in places to prevent inappropriate reviews, and it may happen that a legitimate review is caught by the filter.

This has nothing to do with OS, connection, device used.

And the filter is working on a very elaborate way, a combination of factors that includes (but it is not limited to) the text, the similarities with other reviews, the association with the photos/videos posted, the place itself, and more. On addition our media contents, especially the videos, are moderated too and, if attached to a review, may delay the publication for hours, and sometimes even days.

I see that in the last 4 hours you published 4 reviews, so there’s not an issue with your account, but I also see that you have 60 reviews filtered.

As we said, for Google blocking inappropriate reviews is extremely important, but on the same time they know that the filter can make some mistakes.

For this reason they also give us the possibility of appealing, as we mentioned several times.

The form for the appeal can be found in An update on how we moderate Google Maps reviews

I had to appeal several times too, and in five weeks my blocked reviews were released

[I-am-Q]

Thanks for your reply @ErmesT

You might also have seen that I have deleted many reviews since yesterday. And that I have deleted and rewrote same review several times until I succeeded to make them public.

Now latest, I have tried to publish a review on Istiqlal Mosque at least five times but I have failed.

You see there are tons of counter examples to the sake of the argument, and I just keen of learning how to get my reviews public. They are not rejected as I see, they are not public.

Can you see my review of Kota Kasablanka?

I haven’t the possibility of appealing for the review I mentioned. It is not pending and it is not rejected. Therefore I am wondering if you can see it.

[MortenCopenhagen]

@I-am-Q

Please use Incognito mode to check if your individual reviews are public or not.

All the best

Morten

[I-am-Q]

Well I don’t know how to put it @MortenCopenhagen .

Some of my reviews as the one I mentioned in previous post, is not rejected and not pending. Lots of views on pictures. So, I assume it is public, cuz others can see the pictures, right? But when brows to it incognito, I can’t see the review. I am totally puzzled so to say.

Another easy question, how can I see (incognito), all my reviews that are not public? Should I literally visit all places one by one to see if my review is public?

all the best

PS

found how I can view incognito all my reviews

[ErmesT]

@I-am-Q

Open this link in incognito mode on a browser to see your public profile: https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/116716439397231022285

What is not visible in that way is private (not published). We are informed about reviews and photos “not posted” only within the EU, while in the rest of the world you will have to search by yourself.

We have no way to see that you deleted several reviews, we only see what is published. Deleting a review and writing it again will probably not change the result, you can edit them if you think that the review violated some rule, otherwise the best thing to do is to appeal, for an operator to check and release what is not against the rules.

Your review of [Kota Kasablanka](http://Check out this review of Kota Kasablanka on Google Maps Google Maps) is public

As I told you already “our media contents, especially the videos, are moderated too and, if attached to a review, may delay the publication for hours, and sometimes even days.”

[I-am-Q]

Thanks a lot for your reply and advices @ErmesT

Unfortunately I do not have the option for appealing those reviews that are not public.

However, I edit my reviews that I find not to be public. I don’t know why, but some are pretty much the same after my edit and get public, and some are refined by reforming some sentences.

As I mentioned, we learn from our mistakes. The very first step is to know what is the mistake and then find out what is the cause of the mistake. It seems that these two steps are getting more and more complicated and challenging for LG.

all the best

[I-am-Q]

Hello @ErmesT

I edited the place Kota Kazablanka more than 5 times before it became public. I also edited several others and they were published too. I was pretty proud to get some of my reviews public. The total number of public reviews was 1138.

I came back home to Stockholm today and added three new reviews from Istanbul. I was really annoyed to see that the total number of public review was down to 1131 (after added these three today). Kota Kazablanka is not public anymore as I see incognito.

All numbers are captured incognito.

all the best

[I-am-Q]

Today I got suggestion from Google Maps to review PAGSS

The fact is that my review from PAGSS is public since many days after many times editing

Whatever it is with the filter or the content analysis method, it seems very much like mambo jumbo… I am speechless at this amount of stupidity…

[I-am-Q]

My review from these places have been public but now they are not. I get no information why they were got unoublic….

5M Migros

Bornova Belediyesi Merkez Pazar Yeri

Market Market

Gentle Monster Manila Shangri-La

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial

Bonifacio High Street - Central Square

Grand Indonesia East Mall

Istiglal mosque

The Foodhall Grand Indonesia

Island Mall Talipapa Wet Market

Katrini Statue

SM Supermarket Aura

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport

Subway

GraPari Telekomsel

National Monument

Kota Kasablanka

Polo

Central park

Pondok mall 2

[ErmesT]

What I suggest you, @I-am-Q , is to ask for a complete review of your profile.

For personal experience what I can say is that once you are flagged by the AI the filter become harsh. In my case everything was flagged as “Fake engagement”. I had to use the form twice to have that flag lifted.

[I-am-Q]

Thanks for your reply and advice @ErmesT