What does old wording in reviews mean?
It means customers described the business as they knew it: a former trading name, a street you have left, or a suburb that is no longer the public address.
Those sentences stay on the profile unless Google removes a policy-violating review. They are not proof that the listing is a duplicate or that the move failed. They are historic user text sitting beside current profile fields.
Can you change the review text?
No. Businesses cannot edit a customer’s Google review.
Google’s consumer help is about adding, editing or deleting your own review as the signed-in author, not rewriting someone else’s. Asking a customer to change a review in exchange for a discount is an incentive, which Maps policy prohibits. Sources: Add, edit, or delete Google Maps reviews and ratings and Prohibited and restricted content.
Identity
Is this still the same business? Use Google’s rebrand and move guidance before creating a second profile.Edit
Can I change their review? No. Customer text stays unless Google removes a policy violation.Reply
Clarify without arguing Current name, current address, invite a private question.Yes
Update the profile fields you control Name, address and website must match the real business.Next
Do not incentivise a revised review Asking someone to change a review in exchange for a discount is prohibited.
How is this different from a rebrand or move?
Rebrand and move guidance is about keeping or replacing the Business Profile. This page is about customer sentences that still mention the old identity after you have updated the fields you control.
If Google’s rebrand path applies, edit the existing listing so reviews stay with it. Opening a replacement profile to hide old review wording discards history Google would otherwise keep. The profile-level sequence is in how to rebrand a business without losing Local SEO visibility and how to move a business without losing Local SEO visibility. Reviews stay on the profile you keep; they do not get a wording rewrite.
How should you reply?
Reply with current name, address and how to reach you, without arguing about the customer’s memory of the old details.
A short clarification is enough: the business now trades under the current name at the current address, and they can message you using the profile contact details. Do not stuff both brands into the profile name. Google’s reply tips still apply: professional, not promotional, no personal information. Source: Tips to get more reviews.
When does Google’s review-move help apply?
When Google’s documented cases apply — such as relocation or duplicate profiles of the same business — not as a way to rewrite historic sentences.
Moving reviews does not change what customers already wrote. If two listings represent the same shop, follow duplicate and move-review help rather than creating a third profile. Sources: Move reviews from one Business Profile to another and duplicate Google Business Profile.
Old-wording decision table
| What you see | What it usually means | Decision | What not to assume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews say the old trading name; profile name is updated | Historic customer text | Keep the eligible profile; reply with the current name | That you can edit their sentences |
| Reviews mention the old street; address field is new | Same: historic text after a move | Keep the updated profile; reply with the current address | That a new listing will clean the wording |
| You opened a second profile to “start fresh” | Likely duplicate / discarded history | Follow duplicate and rebrand help; do not collect reviews on both | That hiding old wording is worth losing the history |
| Plan to email customers: delete and repost for a gift | Incentivised revision | Do not. Reply publicly instead | That a rewritten review is a policy-safe cleanup |
What should I not do?
Action checklist
- Confirm the live Business Profile is the one Google’s rebrand or move rules say you should keep.
- Update name, address, pin, website and hours on that profile. Match the website and signage.
- Reply to reviews that mention old details with current NAP and an offer to continue privately.
- Do not ask authors to change their text for a benefit.
- If a second listing exists, treat it as a duplicate or closure problem, not as a wording reset.
- If reviews vanish after a move or merge, use the missing-review checks.
When professional help makes sense
Help is useful when a rebrand or move left two listings, or when you cannot tell whether Google expects the existing profile to continue. It cannot rewrite customer reviews, and it cannot promise that old sentences will disappear.
Sources and further reading
- Google Maps Help: Add, edit, or delete Google Maps reviews and ratings
- Maps User Generated Content Policy: Prohibited and restricted content
- Google Business Profile Help: Move reviews from one Business Profile to another
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews
Reviews still describing a former name or address?
Otepsphere can check whether the Business Profile you kept is the eligible one and how to reply with current facts — not an edit of customer text.
Contact OtepsphereWho writes this
This page is published by Otepsphere, a specialist Local SEO consultancy. A named founder biography, photograph and professional profiles will be added here only when they have been verified. Until then, treat Otepsphere as the responsible organisation rather than a fictional expert.