Why reviews matter, and the rules you can't break

Picture a small salon. The owner prints a little card for the counter: “Leave us 5 stars and get 10 percent off your next visit!” It feels harmless. Friendly, even.

But that one sentence breaks two of Google’s rules. It offers a reward, and it tells people what rating to give.

In this lesson, you’ll learn the rules, so you know exactly where the lines are before you ask anyone.

Welcome to Module 3, on reviews. First, why reviews matter so much. Then Google’s rules for asking, and what the law says in the US, the UK and Australia.

Let’s start with Google. On its help page about local ranking, Google says: “More reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking.” Google also says that replying to reviews shows you value your customers' feedback. We’ll come to replies in Lesson 3.3.

Now, your customers. In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of about a thousand US adults, 97 percent said they read reviews for local businesses. 47 percent said they won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews. And 74 percent look for reviews written in the last three months.

That last number matters most. A great rating from two years ago isn’t enough. Customers want to see what people are saying now. So you don’t need one big push. You need a steady flow of honest reviews, every month.

But there are rules for how you get that flow. Break them, and Google can remove the reviews you worked for.

Here’s the good news first. Google lets you ask for reviews. Its policy says businesses can encourage reviews of genuine experiences, as long as they don’t offer anything for them, or try to influence the rating or what people write. So asking every customer for an honest review is exactly right.

What you can’t do comes down to seven rules.

One: no rewards. No discounts, no free coffee, no prize draw, no money. Not even for an honest review, and not even if you never mention stars. Google bans payment, discounts, and free goods or services in exchange for any review. Offering something to get a bad review changed or removed is banned too.

Two: don’t pick who you ask. You can’t ask only the customers you think are happy, and you can’t discourage anyone from leaving a negative review. That includes sending a short survey first, and only giving the Google link to people who score you highly. People call that review gating. Google calls it selectively asking for positive reviews, and it isn’t allowed.

Three: no pressure on the premises. A QR code on the counter is fine. Handing someone your tablet and waiting while they type is not. Google says businesses shouldn’t require or pressure people to review while they’re on the premises.

Four: don’t tell people what to write. No “please give us 5 stars”, and no “please mention our fast service”. Google doesn’t allow requests for specific content.

Five: don’t ask people to name your staff. “Please mention Jess, who did your hair today” is out. Google added this one in April 2026, along with rule six.

Six: no review targets for staff. You can’t give your team a number of reviews to collect, like 20 each a month. Google lists that as rating manipulation.

Seven: only real customers. No reviews from staff, ex-staff, family, or competitors. Google calls these a conflict of interest. And nothing that isn’t based on a real experience. That means no paying a service to write reviews, and no posting from several accounts.

A quick rules check, in Google’s own words, from its content policy for Maps. Rewards: “such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services”. Picking who you ask: “selectively solicit positive reviews”. Telling people what to write: “request that specific content be included”. And staff targets: “staff solicit a certain number of reviews”. The link is in the sources on this page, with the date we last checked it.

Google’s rules aren’t the only ones. The law agrees, in all three countries.

In the US, the FTC’s rule on reviews has been in force since the 21st of October 2024. It bans fake reviews, and rewards that depend on a review being positive or negative. The FTC also says that asking only the customers you expect to be happy could break the law.

In the UK, fake reviews, and reviews that hide a reward, have been banned since the 6th of April 2025. The regulator, the CMA, can fine a business up to 10 percent of its global turnover. Its guidance also warns against encouraging only satisfied customers to leave reviews.

In Australia, the ACCC says it’s against the law to create fake reviews, or to have someone else do it. Hiding or removing genuine negative reviews can mislead customers too. And the ACCC has called out review services that send happy customers to post in public, but steer unhappy ones straight to the business.

Here’s the simple part. The law in all three countries targets fake reviews, hidden rewards and rewards that depend on a good review. Google goes further, and bans every reward, even an open one. So follow Google’s rule.

And other review sites have rules of their own. Yelp, for example, asks businesses not to ask for reviews at all. So check a site’s rules before you send customers there.

Clinics, dental practices and law firms have extra rules on top of these. The biggest one is privacy: never confirm in a reply that someone is your patient or client. We’ll cover safe replies in Lesson 3.3. And if you’re a registered health practitioner in Australia, Ahpra says testimonials about clinical aspects, like symptoms, treatment or outcomes, can’t be used to advertise. Reviews about things like customer service can be shared, but only complete and unedited. Check Ahpra’s guidance before you share patient reviews on your own website or social media.

Now let’s test it. There’s a free quiz with ten everyday situations, linked in the task on this page. Here’s the first one: “You text every customer a link to your Google review page the day after their visit.” Allowed, or not? It’s allowed. You’re asking everyone, with no reward and no suggested words. Now try the other nine. It only takes a few minutes.

Let’s recap. One: reviews help customers choose you, and Google says they can help your local ranking. Two: ask every customer, with no rewards, no picking, no pressure, no suggested words, no staff names and no staff targets. Three: only real customers, never staff, family or competitors. And the law in all three countries backs Google up.

Your task: take the quiz, then look honestly at how you ask for reviews today. Any rewards? Any staff targets or contests? A survey before the Google link? A script that tells people what to say? If you find one, fix it this week. In the next lesson, we’ll build a review habit that follows every one of these rules.