A healthier review program
Design for authenticity instead of engineering a perfect rating.
✓ Do
Ask genuine customers. Use neutral wording. Make the destination direct. Welcome honest experiences. Verify current platform rules.
× Avoid
Buying sentiment. Inventing reviews. Asking only likely promoters. Rewarding a required rating. Pressuring critics into silence.
1. Ask real customers about real experiences
Google says contributions should reflect genuine experiences. The FTC’s Consumer Review Rule also targets fake and false reviews. Do not create reviews, buy fake reviews, or ask people with no real customer experience to pose as customers.
2. Use the direct Google review link
Google lets Business Profile owners create a link or QR code for requesting reviews. A direct link reduces confusion and avoids asking the customer to search for the business manually. See Google’s instructions.
3. Do not buy positive sentiment
Google prohibits incentives such as free or discounted goods or services in exchange for reviews. The FTC rule prohibits compensation or incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular positive or negative sentiment. Read the FTC Q&A.
4. Be careful with review gating
A common pattern asks customers for a private rating first, then sends only positive respondents to a public review site. The FTC advises marketers not to solicit reviews only from customers they think will leave positive ones. Design requests around neutral access to the review destination rather than a happiness test intended to screen critics out.
5. Do not pressure customers to remove criticism
Resolve legitimate problems, respond professionally, and invite customers to update a review if their experience genuinely changes. Do not use intimidation, baseless legal threats or deceptive suppression tactics.
6. Reply to reviews
Google recommends responding to reviews to show that customer feedback matters. Responses should address the substance without exposing private customer information or escalating conflict.