The Guardian: I was paid to write fake Google reviews – then my ‘bosses’ tried to scam me I was paid to write fake Google reviews – then my ‘bosses’ tried to scam me Google has updated its tips to get more reviews help documentation with a new section on tips to write better review replies. This section includes how to make your replies positive and relevant and a ... Additionally, please avoid profanity.

Understanding the Context

Write with style: Check your spelling and grammar, and avoid excessive capitalization and punctuation. In general, a paragraph is a great length for a review. Avoid personal and professional information: Do not include the phone numbers or URLs of other businesses in your reviews. Important: Reviews and other user contributions to Google Maps must reflect a genuine experience.

Key Insights

Offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for customers to post reviews, change reviews, or remove negative reviews is considered fake & misleading content and is strictly prohibited. Learn more about Business Profile restrictions for policy violations. If a customer leaves a written review, their selection will show in the review. Learn more about reviews for service businesses. Reviews from third-party sources: To give customers a more complete view of your business, your profile may show customer reviews from trusted, non-Google sources, such as travel or local review sites.

Final Thoughts

I Googled how to do this. Seys log into your Google account and search for the business you want to review. When I do this, nothing happens. I’m trying to review a huge company (Costco) and it can’t find it? ©2026 Google Privacy Policy Terms of Service Community Policy Community Overview Enable Dark Mode This help content & information General Help Center experience