Guidelines for Local Business Reviews Get Tweaked


Google has updated their Policy Guidelines on reviews for your local business, specifically in the Conflict of Interest section. They explicitly discourage you from requesting reviews from customers on site and they also state that you should not review a company that is your own or one that you currently work for. The new paragraph reads like this:

Conflict of interest: Reviews are only valuable when they are honest and unbiased. For instance, as a business owner or employee you should not review your own business or current place of work. Don't offer money or product to others to write reviews for your business or write negative reviews about a competitor.

We also discourage specialized review stations or kiosks set up at your place of business for the sole purpose of soliciting reviews. As a reviewer, you should not accept money or product from a business to write a review about them. Additionally, don't feel compelled to review a certain way just because an employee of that business asked you to do so. Finally, don't post reviews on behalf of others or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with the place you are reviewing.
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