To comply with Google’s Review Policies and avoid prohibited practices, businesses must ensure that reviews are authentic, unbiased, and based on real customer experiences. Key compliance points include:
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It is permissible to ask customers for reviews, but businesses must not engage in review gating—selectively soliciting only positive reviews or filtering out negative ones.
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Do not buy reviews or incentivize customers to leave reviews, as this violates Google’s policies and can lead to removal of reviews or penalties.
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Reviews must not contain prohibited content such as hate speech, harassment, sexually explicit material, illegal activities, or promotion of regulated or restricted products (e.g., alcohol, tobacco).
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Avoid conflicts of interest, such as business owners reviewing their own business or posting fake reviews to manipulate ratings.
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Reviews should be on-topic, relevant, and free from spam or promotional content unrelated to the customer experience.
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Google prohibits deceptive content, including fake reviews, impersonation, or misinformation.
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Businesses must respond to all feedback openly and avoid practices that manipulate or censor reviews, aligning with FTC guidelines against review gating.
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Google may remove reviews or suspend review histories if policies are violated, so maintaining transparency and authenticity is crucial.
In summary, businesses should encourage honest customer feedback without manipulation, ensure reviews reflect genuine experiences, and strictly avoid any form of incentivization, fake reviews, or prohibited content to stay compliant with Google’s review policies.
