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Business owners should think twice before offering customers discounts, freebies, or other rewards for Google reviews
A recent video by content creator @eddie_yiming has reminded business owners that offering rewards in exchange for Google reviews could result in penalties from Google.
The reminder comes as many businesses in Malaysia, particularly food and beverage outlets, commonly offer discounts, complimentary items, vouchers, or other incentives to customers who leave a five-star review on Google.
According to Google's policies, while businesses are allowed to encourage customers to leave reviews, incentivised reviews and other forms of review manipulation are prohibited.
"I'm sharing this because I see a lot of business owners still doing this, so please do share around if you know anymore of them, because I believe a lot of places are just not aware of this and it hurts to see them get penalised," said Eddie Tan, who is also the founder of Cake Tella.
According to Google's Maps User Generated Content Policy, reviews and ratings should reflect genuine customer experiences and must be unbiased
"Google takes 'Fake & Misleading Content' seriously. Contributions to Google Maps should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business, and a review or rating should reflect an actual experience with a business, and be genuine and unbiased," the company states in its policy.
Google explicitly prohibits businesses from offering incentives such as payments, discounts, free goods, or services in exchange for reviews, revisions to reviews, or the removal of negative feedback.
The company also does not allow businesses to selectively solicit positive reviews, discourage negative reviews, or pressure customers into leaving reviews while on the premises.
Reviews that are paid for or influenced by rewards fall under what Google describes as "Rating Manipulation" and may be removed from its platform.
Businesses found violating these policies may face various enforcement actions, including the removal of reviews, temporary restrictions on receiving new reviews, warning notices displayed on their profiles, and other penalties affecting their Google Business Profile.
Business owners are therefore encouraged to request reviews ethically, without offering incentives or attempting to influence the rating or content of a customer's feedback
Google has encouraged members of the public to report businesses that offer incentives for reviews or pressure customers into leaving reviews, as such practices violate its Google Maps policies.
