Are GMB reviews limited to people who have only visited my store?

• I'm wondering if it's OK to ask customers to review my Google My Business listing if all they did was order from my website or catalog but did not actually visit my physical store location?

Answer:

Ideally reviews are supposed to be a representation of a customer experience. We see no reason why a customer who ordered online, or by phone from a catalog, wouldn't be eligible to leave a review on your Google My Business listing assuming that the review is genuine and wasn't incentivized or solicited in bulk.

However, you could run into trouble if Google thinks you are actively soliciting your customer list by incentivizing them or by asking for reviews in bulk, as was the case in this example where a law firm offered a reward via-a-contest in exchange for reviews.

By the way, here are a few more useful notes from Independence Digital on that same topic - The New Rule that Changes How You Ask for Google Reviews

In general, Google wants to prevent businesses from soliciting reviews from ONLY happy people. Regardless, we know of no reason why customers who have done business with you can't write a review just because they haven't actually visited your "store" in person.

Here's a great SEN article by Local SEO, Mary Bowling, where she goes into deep detail on the topic: The Make or Break Facts About Reviews & Your Local Business. In it she goes into a deep dive on a strategy she calls a 'Virtuous Cycle of Feedback'.

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