By Clint Sanchez · Published · Updated · 6 min read
Quick answer
You should not leave a review for your own business on Google. Google's review policies prohibit reviews of a business you own or work for, and a flagged fake review puts your other reviews and your entire profile at risk of being marked untrusted or removed. The same applies to friends, family, paid reviews, and fake reviews of competitors. Earn reviews from real customers by asking at checkout and following up by email.
Key takeaways
- Google's review policies say writing reviews for a business you own or work for is not permitted, and those reviews are eligible for removal.
- One review flagged as fake puts the rest of the profile's reviews at risk, and the whole profile can be labeled untrusted.
- Reviews from friends and family are biased, and people notice; a Scottish football club official was caught reviewing his own business on Google.
- Never offer, accept, or pay money for positive or negative reviews, and never leave fake reviews for a competitor.
- If a competitor leaves fake reviews on your profile, report them through Google Maps and let Google investigate.
- Ask customers for a review at checkout or in a follow-up email, and reply to every review, good or bad.
- A Google Business Profile with no reviews is unlikely to be found on Google Maps, because reviews are a major local SEO factor.
In Denham Springs and the rest of Livingston Parish, everyone's cousin owns a business, and Google's conflict-of-interest rule covers family and employees just as much as the owner. A profile propped up by six reviews from relatives is easy to spot in a small market, and losing the real reviews it sits beside hurts a local business more than having none.
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Considering leaving a review for your own business on Google?
Don’t do it.
If you’re like me, you’ve made the mistake of doing this before (and let’s be honest – who hasn’t?).
The problem is that when you leave a review for your own business, Google will flag it as spam. And if they think just one of your reviews is fake, then your other reviews are at risk of being flagged as well!
The next thing you know, you’re entire profile could be labeled “untrusted,” and you won’t show up in a potential customer’s Google search. And then your business will die a slow death, one that you can’t come back from.
Why reviewing your own business is a Google no-no.
Writing reviews for a business that you own or work for is not permitted as per the review policies and are eligible to be removed: Google Business Profile Help -> Review policies:
Want this handled for you? We build and market websites for Louisiana businesses, and we will tell you honestly if you do not need us.
Why?
Because Google doesn’t want their search results cluttered with biased reviews, I mean, seriously, do you think you’re going to be as critical of your own business as a stranger would be?
It’s a conflict of interest, and Google knows it.
It looks like you’re going to have to put that ego of yours back in the box and let the impartial stranger do the review for you. And I’m sorry to say, but your Mom is probably not unbiased (sorry, lady).
There are a lot of gray areas when it comes to conflict of interest. The most valuable reviews are those that are honest and unbiased.
Please don’t review your own company or work for this reason. Do not offer, accept, or take money in exchange for writing positive or negative reviews about you (or your competitor).
So don’t leave a review for yourself – no matter how badly you want to. And don’t even ask your friends and family members to do it either! That’s just as bad because they will most likely be biased towards you.
Plus, if you do, people will notice.
Sneaky Ken Ferguson would never tell a lie 🤥 Here’s our Ken reviewing his own business on google to effectively mislead the public. @BrechinCityFC @RangersFC @spfl pic.twitter.com/A4oleedPqa
UnionOfRangers (@UnionOfRangers) May 11, 2020
You should let someone else do it for you. Someone who has no ties with your business will be honest in their review (because they don’t want to hurt your feelings like a family member or friend would).
How to Review Your Own Business on Google
But hey, if you’re going to leave a fake review for yourself on Google, then at least do it right:
- Don’t provide any additional information about your business.
- Don’t leave too many reviews for your business at once.
- Don’t use the same IP address in all of your reviews.
- Don’t provide contact details in your review (like a phone number or email).
- Keep it short and straightforward, so it isn’t obvious that it’s fake.
And most importantly…
Don’t do it! I can’t stress this enough, don’t do it! Google will eventually find it out, and both your business profile and your Google account could be labeled as untrusted, or worse – deleted!
What about leaving fake bad reviews for your competition?
Don’t even think about it!
Don’t ever leave fake or biased reviews for your competition under any circumstance. It’s against Google policies, and if they find out – you could lose all of your positive reviews in an instant. And let me tell you, that really will kill your business (and no one wants that to happen).
It’s better not to leave any reviews at all on Google than to lose your account!
What if the competition leaves fake reviews for your business?
If you see that your competitor has left you bad reviews, the thing to do is to report it. Google will investigate and take them down if they were fake (and yes, they will be able to tell).
You may report the review that your competitor has written by following the instructions here: Google Maps Help -> Write reviews and add ratings of places.
Not that any of our reviews are fake, but we’ll use our own Google Business Profile to show you where to do it.
Then, just move on with your business, let the customers decide who is better, not some falsely manipulated review system. Otherwise, they will eventually catch you out, and that’s when things get ugly.
Google's review policies say writing reviews for a business you own or work for is not permitted, and those reviews are eligible for removal.
So, if you don’t want to do it for yourself, who should write the review?
Friends and family are probably not impartial; leave the reviewing to the strangers!
The best way to get good reviews is by providing good service, marketing your business well, and treating your customers right.
Ask customers to leave you a review at the checkout, or send a follow-up email to remind them.
Explain how easy it is for them to hop in the Google Maps App (or other review sites) and leave you a note to let you (and everyone else) know about their experience.
Be sure to answer every review, both good and bad. Take the time to thank the customer for their feedback (positive or not), and let them know that you appreciate their input.
And if they were unhappy with your service, be sure to apologize for the inconvenience and ask what you could have done differently, so it doesn’t happen again. It will show customers that you care about their experience, which could help you earn trust from potential customers.
A happy customer is the best mouthpiece that a business owner can have.
But how will customers find your business on Google Maps without reviews?
That’s just it; they probably won’t.
It’s no secret that reviews are a huge factor in local SEO. As a result, if your Google Business Profile has no reviews at all – it’s unlikely that customers will find you on Google.
Local SEO is a must for any local business!
So how do you get more reviews?
We’re glad you asked!
Read our recent article to learn our foolproof method to get more reviews.
Bear in mind, while it was written for painting contractors, the same principles will work for any business.
“We have used Black Sheep Creative for all of website and SEO needs and have been absolutely blown away with their response and dedication to creating high quality products and helping translate that into a strong ROI for us. Thank you to Blacksheep Creative”
Conclusion
I hope you see how leaving reviews for your business on Google is a bad idea now. It’s really not worth the risk of losing all your great reviews, or worse yet – completely removing your Google review profile!
Do yourself a favor and let an impartial stranger leave the review for you. You’ll be thankful that you didn’t make this mistake in the future.
Thanks for reading my article! I hope you found it helpful. Leave me a comment if you have any questions or feedback! I would love to hear your thoughts.
And take a look at our reviews below. You’ll see that we must be doing something right!
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About the author
Founder & Lead Developer · Denham Springs, LA
Clint has built and marketed websites for 26 years, since founding BlakSheep Creative in 2000. He is also a 29-year firefighter and a 23-year member of IAFF Local 557, which is where the bias toward plain answers over sales copy comes from.
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Common questions about seo
What happens if Google catches you reviewing your own business?
Can employees or family members review a business on Google?
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How do you report a fake review from a competitor?
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