Google Reviews Policy: What You Can and Can't Do

Every business owner who asks for reviews should know Google's rules. Break them, and your reviews can disappear—or worse. The FTC also has rules now. Here's what applies to you, in plain language.

Google's core review rules

Google prohibits four things:

1. Paying for reviews. No cash, discounts, or gift cards in exchange for a review. This includes paying a third party to write reviews for you.
2. Offering incentives. You can't offer a prize drawing, free service, or any reward tied to leaving a review.
3. Gating. You can't ask only happy customers to review publicly while hiding negative feedback. If you ask for reviews at all, you must let all customers—good and bad—post what they think.
4. Fake reviews. You can't post reviews yourself, ask friends to post fake ones, or impersonate customers.

These rules exist because Google wants its review system to reflect real customer experience. When you break them, Google's system flags the violation and removes reviews or suspends your ability to get new ones.

The FTC fake-review rule (October 2024)

The Federal Trade Commission now has an enforceable rule on fake reviews. It bans:

• Posting or paying someone to post a fake review.
• Suppressing honest reviews (telling customers not to post negative feedback, or making it harder for them to do so).
• Misrepresenting who wrote a review (e.g., a paid ghostwriter posing as a real customer).

Violations can result in civil penalties. This rule applies to all platforms—Google, Yelp, Facebook, your own website, anywhere.

What you can do

You can ask for reviews. You can ask in person, by email, by text, or with a QR code. You can make it easy for customers to leave feedback. You can send review requests to your whole customer list, not just the happy ones. You can respond to reviews—both positive and negative—in your own voice.

You can also collect private feedback. If a customer gives you a low rating in a private form first, you can learn what went wrong before they decide whether to post publicly. This is not gating; it's listening.

How to ask for reviews the right way

Send the same review request to all customers, regardless of how you think they'll rate you. Don't cherry-pick. Don't offer anything in return. Don't ask them to post only if they're happy.

If you use a tool like LinkToReview, the system handles this for you. When a customer rates you 4 or 5 stars, they're sent to your Google review form. When they rate you 1, 2, or 3 stars, they see a private feedback form first—and they can still choose to post publicly if they want. You never hide the low ratings; you just give yourself a chance to fix the problem first.

How to respond to reviews

Respond in your own voice. Thank the customer for specifics ("Thanks for mentioning our fast turnaround"). Never argue, even if the review is wrong. Never reveal customer details in your reply (don't quote their phone number or address). If the review is abusive or off-topic, report it to Google instead of engaging.

Responding to reviews—good and bad—shows Google and future customers that you care. It also gives you a chance to turn a bad experience into a good one.

Red flags: what not to do

• Don't ask only happy customers to review. Don't say "If you loved us, please leave a review."
• Don't offer a discount or entry into a drawing for a review.
• Don't write fake reviews yourself or hire someone to do it.
• Don't delete or hide negative reviews (you can't, and trying to suppress them violates FTC rules).
• Don't ask customers to remove a review because it's negative.
• Don't post the same generic response to every review.
• Don't reveal customer information in a public reply.

How LinkToReview keeps you compliant

When you claim your LinkToReview page, you get a review link and QR code to share with all customers. The page itself follows Google's schema and best practices. If you use the private feedback feature, you're collecting honest input without gating—customers always have the option to post publicly.

You can draft replies to reviews using AI (on paid plans), but you review and edit them before posting. You're always in control, and you're always responding as yourself.

This week

Review your current review-request process. Are you asking all customers, or just the ones you think will be happy? If you're cherry-picking, stop. Send the same request to everyone. If you don't have a review link yet, find yours here. Share it with your whole customer list—past and present—and let the ratings fall where they may. Honest feedback is better than a fake five-star average.