Tempted to buy reviews on Google? Do this instead

Customers begin their search on Google, and a recent Birdeye study found that 92% of customers read at least two reviews before making a choice. While buying Google reviews might seem like an easy way to boost credibility, it is the most disastrous thing you can do for your local business.

Using third-party providers, bots, or fake profiles to gain the perfect 5-star Google reviews or to portray your business as “the best” might seem like a quick fix. However, Google can easily spot these tactics and penalize your business.

The good news? There’s a better, safer, and more effective way to boost your business’s online reputation and not buy Google reviews.

In this post, we’ll reveal proven strategies for encouraging satisfied customers to leave genuine online reviews: no shady tactics, just authentic organic traffic.

Can you buy reviews on Google?
No. Buying Google reviews is illegal and can lead to Google removing your Google Business Profile (GBP) from their platform. 

Scroll on to know more about ways to build brand presence.

What does it mean to buy Google reviews?

Can you buy Google review? Well, buying Google reviews can mean a business: 

• Offering incentives to its customers for leaving positive 5-star reviews
• Paying third-party service providers to generate fake reviews from non-customers to rank higher on Google Maps 
• Accessing software or bots that auto-generate positive reviews

All these cases generate fake Google reviews and do not reflect the real customer experience with the business. 

Is it legal to buy reviews?

No. Paid Google reviews are misleading endorsements that are illegal to promote as a genuine account of your customer’s experience.

The FTC landmark judgment bans fake reviews and celebrity testimonials

On August 14, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took a major step to combat the growing prevalence of fake reviews and testimonials online.
Key provisions of the rule:

• Fake reviews and customer testimonials: Prohibits businesses from creating, selling, or buying fake reviews, including AI-generated ones or those written by people without experience.

• Incentivized reviews: Bans businesses from offering incentives for online reviews with a particular sentiment.

• Insider reviews: Prohibits businesses from disseminating reviews written by company insiders or their relatives without clear disclosure.

• Review websites: Prevents businesses from misrepresenting the independence of review websites they control.

• Review suppression: Prohibits businesses from using threats or intimidation to suppress negative reviews and requires transparency about review gating practices.

• Fake social media indicators: This law prohibits selling or purchasing fake social media indicators that misrepresent a person's influence.

How can buying Google online reviews hurt my business?

In addition to legal action, when you are buying positive reviews, it can backfire in several ways:

Clear violations of Google guidelines

In their restricted content guidelines, Google clearly states that the online reviews customers leave have to be authentic. When you go for paid Google reviews, you generate inauthentic and disingenuous reviews that misrepresent your business and promote fake engagement in local search results. 

Did you know: A Seattle-based plastic surgeon, Dr. Javad Sajan, and his clinic, Allure Esthetic, was penalized with $5 million for online review manipulation?

To make his brand look perfect and achieve a 5-star reputation, he:
‣ Created fake profiles to post positive reviews
‣ Pressurized the patients to remove negative reviews
‣ Threatened them with illegal NDAs
‣ Offered incentives for leaving positive reviews

Birdeye is against such malpractices and alerts other businesses to follow the ethics of running a brand's online presence honestly.

Heavy fines from regulators

As mentioned before, the FTC can fine businesses nearly $52,000 per violation of its guidelines, so if you get caught buying online reviews, you could be facing steep financial penalties, lawsuits, or even criminal charges.

For your convenience, we’ve compiled a six-minute video covering why buying Google reviews is a big no-no. We’ll address the risks  if you’re discovered with purchased reviews and provide authentic methods to generate more  Google non-drop reviews from satisfied customers. 

Damaged reputation with potential clients 

Customers are savvy, and they know when a business is trying to rip them off. If customers feel that your reviews aren’t genuine, they will lose brand trust and seek out competitors. 

Negative word-of-mouth spreads quickly, and customers lose trust in a company that prioritizes deception over honesty.

Also, your existing customers might mention the incentive in their reviews. Let’s say a customer writes, 

“This place was awesome. They gave me a $5 credit just for leaving a review! Great pizza.” 

Anyone who reads that review won’t be convinced the pizza was great. They might even assume the opposite because the reviewer was incentivized to write it – erasing its authenticity.

Low-quality reviews

When you buy Google reviews, you don’t have control over the quality of their content. Often, businesses receive vague or generic reviews—something like:

“This place is great!”—which won’t help their online reputation in any way.

Potential clients trust reviews and can easily spot fake Google reviews to better understand your business/products/services. A generic review does not help and may result in falling short of customers’ love. 

Review sites can detect fake reviews

Like Google, other review sites have sophisticated algorithms specifically designed to identify fake reviews. They penalize businesses that manipulate their reviews. This can lead to lower search rankings, making it harder for potential customers to find your business.

When they see a business buy business reviews, some sites generate pop-ups, so every time someone visits that profile, they’re confronted with a flashy warning not to trust that business.

All these may eventually lead to your GBP suspension as well. 

You won’t know what’s working and what’s not

You can’t improve your business without honest feedback. A customer might have been disappointed with some aspect of your business but leave a falsely good review because they’re receiving a reward. Their problem will go undetected and could occur again, deterring customers from returning and possibly resulting in a bad review.

Buying Google reviews might seem like a quick fix for a struggling online reputation, but it’s a risky gamble that often leads to more problems than it solves. 

6 Signs you're being scammed by fake review sellers

- Unrealistic offers: Avoid promises of quick, easy, or guaranteed results.
- No questions asked: Legitimate sellers want to understand your business.
- Excessive secrecy: Be wary of sellers who are secretive about their methods.
- Prepaid payments: Avoid upfront payments.
- Negative reviews: Check for complaints about the seller.
- Promises of fake reviews: This is illegal and unethical.

Why do businesses buy fake Google reviews?

Businesses may be driven to buy Google reviews for the following reasons: 

• Online reviews play an important role in ranking higher for local searches, and the competitor may have a substantially high review count. 
• Their business has not been doing so well, and they wish to get ahead of their competition quickly without investing time and resources in online reputation management. 
• Their GBP is filled with negative comments from angry customers, and they wish to balance the scale with fake positive Google reviews quickly. 
• They do not have a system to ask customers for Google reviews and want to take the easy way out of buying reviews at affordable prices. 

Read this blog that covers 14 tips to help you deal with difficult customers smartly!

However, purchasing fake Google reviews can damage online reputation, harm search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, and lead to penalties from Google. Instead of taking this risky path, let’s explore some reputation-building strategies next.

6 proven strategies to boost Google real reviews without buying

You don’t need to compromise your integrity by purchasing Google customer reviews to boost your business; Google’s algorithm rewards genuine engagement and authentic feedback. There’s a smarter and more effective strategy to find alternatives to the temptation to buy online reviews.

• Provide an excellent customer experience
• Consistently request customers to leave reviews
• Monitor eCommerce review sites to identify negative reviews 

All these accelerate the process and help you maximize the power of positive non drop Google reviews with automated software like Birdeye.
Here are some essential tips to help you get more Google reviews and boost your ratings quickly and, most importantly, authentically:

How many Google reviews do you need to rank higher?

The number of Google reviews needed to rank higher isn't a fixed quantity. It's influenced by various factors, including:
- Your industry's competitiveness 
- Your business's location 
- The quality of your reviews 
 - Other ranking factors like website optimization, social media engagement, and link-building 

While there's no exact number, consistently acquiring positive reviews from satisfied customers is a proven strategy for Google Maps optimization that’ll improve your search rankings.

1. Ask for online reviews immediately

Request your customers’ positive feedback while the experience is still fresh in their minds. Sending an email with a review request days after the customer interacted with your business may be annoying or wholly ignored.

Businesses can automate the review generation process by integrating the generation tool with their CRM systems. This way, as soon as a customer completes a transaction, the system triggers a review request. This chain of events shows customers that you care about their feedback and want to build a strong relationship beyond just transactions. 

Consequently, with such effective consumer alerts, they are likely to leave a detailed Google review about their experience.

2. Respond to all reviews

Whether good or bad, responding to feedback shows you care about what customers write on Google reviews. This displays your accountability to all potential customers reading reviews to choose a business. It also encourages other customers to leave reviews on Google and show their dedicated support. 

Responding to positive reviews shows customers that you value their feedback, allows businesses to turn customers into advocates, and boosts engagement on your Google my Business Profile. Seeing positive reviews’ impact on a business can encourage customers to leave a review, even if they initially did not intend to. 

On the other hand, responding to negative feedback can be a game changer. It allows businesses to show they hold themselves accountable and are willing to hear and act on customer feedback. This would deter potential customers from choosing a competitor and encourage other customers to share constructive feedback instead of reviews.’

Want to know more about responding to reviews to build a good impression? Read our ultimate guide to responding to reviews for more information and templates. 

Pro Tip: If you want to improve the quality of your responses or need assistance in saying the right thing, work with Birdeye, the only AI-powered review software. With a single click, you can craft responses, check grammar/spelling, improve the tone, and translate non-English reviews. 

3. Add a Google review link on your best website and social media

Add a direct link to your Google review page on your website, social media profiles, and email signature. The easier it is for target audience to find your review page, the more likely they are to leave a review.

Did you know: All you need is 1 Google review link to turn happy customers into loyal supporters? 

Leverage SMS channels to send a review content request

The easier it is for customers to write a review, the more likely they will do so. With the rise in mobile usage, it’s crucial for businesses to adapt. Enhance the convenience of leaving Google reviews by sending review requests via SMS or email. 

A recent Birdeye study highlighted the effectiveness of SMS for authentic review requests, showing that customers open 98% of them, with 95% responding within the first three minutes. As a result, more businesses are shifting from email to SMS to send customers review requests.

Building a strong SMS campaign that can offer delivery worldwide is crucial. It can help you reach your customers immediately and secure their Google reviews. 

5. Make it super easy

Transitioning from a text message to a review site should involve minimal effort so the customer doesn’t have to think twice about continuing. Birdeye integrates with Google’s private API to route your target audience directly from text messages to Google reviews.

Our customers, their stories: 

“I switched to Birdeye because it integrates with my practice management system and automatically sends review requests to all the patients who come in for an appointment. It's simple, easy, and automated, with no staff involvement. This has allowed me to double my Google reviews in a few months."

- Dr. Peterson Pierre, Pierre Skin Care Institute

6. Automate review generation for your business

Review management is not simple; it’s a game changer. It involves sending review requests, monitoring each location for new Google reviews, responding to them, handling negative comments, and marketing positive reviews. 

Effective review management allows businesses to build a solid online reputation and a competitive edge. Such a factor is essential to generate a higher volume of Google reviews. The stronger your business seems online, the easier it is to convince customers to write a review. 

Switching to automated review management software like Birdeye can help businesses save time, money, and resources while gaining more customers. 

Birdeye integrate with your CRM tools, alert you when a new review drops, and consolidate all Google reviews for you to respond, action, and market from a single dashboard. This takes human error out of the equation and keeps those Google reviews coming for your business.

Additional tips to generate Google real reviews

Purchasing Google fake reviews can result in legal issues, damage your reputation, and attract a slew of poor-quality reviews. 

Therefore, businesses must improve customer experience, enhance brand presence, simplify the process of leaving Google reviews, and automate the process for better results.  

Get more Google reviews: Ethical and effective strategies

Rather than taking shortcuts to buy positive Google reviews, businesses should prioritize ethical and effective strategies to encourage real customer feedback. Also, when shortcuts are taken, customers may also be misled about the likelihood that they will actually get paid for Google reviews.

Authentic reviews build credibility, improve local search rankings, and foster long-term customer trust. Below are several proven methods to get more Google reviews the right way and create good impression:

1. Deliver outstanding customer service

The foundation of gaining more Google good reviews starts with exceptional customer service. When customers have a positive experience, they are naturally more inclined to leave good reviews. Businesses should focus on:

• Personalized customer interactions: Addressing more customers by name, remembering their preferences, and making them feel valued can leave a lasting impression.
• Timely and efficient service: Prompt responses to inquiries, fast resolution of issues, and streamlined services create a seamless experience that customers appreciate.
• Going the extra mile: A small unexpected gesture, such as a complimentary product or an exclusive discount for loyal customers, can encourage them to share their satisfaction online.

When businesses consistently exceed customer expectations, they build a loyal base of customers who willingly leave good reviews without any prompting.

2. Request to buy online reviews from real users

Many satisfied customers may not leave a real review simply because they were never asked. A simple, polite request at the right moment can significantly increase the chances of receiving positive Google reviews. Consider the following best practices:

• Ask immediately after a positive experience: The best time to request a review is right after a customer expresses satisfaction, whether in person, via email, or over the phone.
• Make it effortless: Provide a direct link to your Google review page in follow-up emails, receipts, or text messages so customers can leave a review with just one click.
• Train staff to encourage reviews: Employees interacting with customers daily should be trained to recognize happy customers and gently encourage them to share their experiences online.

Proactively requesting online reviews helps businesses generate a steady stream of authentic feedback, improving their online reputation over time.

3. Leverage Email and SMS Campaigns

Email and SMS marketing are powerful tools for gathering more Google real reviews while maintaining direct engagement with customers. A well-crafted follow-up message can serve as a reminder for customers to leave genuine feedback at the best site. Here’s how to optimize these campaigns:

• Keep messages concise and personal: Avoid lengthy messages. A simple, friendly note thanking them for their business and asking for a review works best.
• Use automation: Set up an automated email or SMS trigger that sends review requests after a completed purchase or service.
• Incorporate personalization: Include the customer’s name and details of their recent interaction. This makes the request feel more genuine in search results.
• Offer assistance: If a customer had an issue, acknowledge it and invite them to provide feedback, ensuring they feel heard.

With automation and personalized support, businesses can scale their online review acquisition efforts while maintaining a personal touch.

4. Use QR Codes and NFC Technology

With the rise of contactless technology, businesses can streamline the review process using QR codes and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. These tools allow customers to leave a review instantly with minimal effort.

• QR Codes: Generate and print a QR code that links directly to your Google review page. Place it on receipts, business cards, invoices, and posters at checkout points.
• NFC Technology: Implement NFC-enabled devices in-store, allowing customers to tap their smartphones and be directed to the online review submission page instantly.
• Table Tents & Menus: Restaurants, cafes, and service businesses can integrate QR codes into table tents or menus. These consumer alerts will encourage customers to leave a review on the business page while waiting for their order and billing.

By removing friction from the review process, businesses can increase customer participation and collect more reviews organically.

5. Engage Customers on Social Media

Social media platforms offer an excellent opportunity to encourage high-quality reviews by interacting with customers and fostering community engagement. Here’s how businesses can leverage their social media presence for their target audience:

• Create engaging posts: Share customer testimonials, highlight reviews, and encourage customers to leave feedback.
• Run contests and giveaways: While directly incentivizing reviews violates Google’s policies, businesses can host contests that encourage general engagement. As part of the interaction, they can remind participants to share their genuine experiences.
• Use Stories and Polls: Instagram and Facebook stories allow businesses to engage customers with interactive elements while reminding them to leave an authentic review.
• Showcase user-generated content: Feature customer photos, videos, or testimonials on your profile to encourage more people to share their experiences.

A strong social media presence helps businesses nurture relationships with customers, making them more likely to leave positive review content.

6. Offer Incentives Ethically

Businesses can ethically encourage feedback by offering non-monetary incentives that comply with Google’s policies. Some ethical ways to encourage good reviews and gain a strong online reputation include:

• Loyalty program points: Customers can earn reward points for engaging with the brand, which includes leaving reviews as part of their interaction.
• Exclusive access to content: Provide access to an exclusive webinar, eBook, or early product launch for customers who leave a review.
• Charitable donations: Consider donating a small amount to a charity for every review received, emphasizing that reviews help the business give back to the community and showcase a personalized support.

When offering incentives, businesses must ensure transparency and never condition reviews on positive feedback. The goal should be to encourage honest and unbiased customer opinions.

By implementing these strategies businesses can build a strong and credible online presence without violating any guidelines. Remember, trust and authenticity are the cornerstones of a successful review strategy. They always win new customers and brand’s online presence in the long run.

Frequently asked questions about buying Google reviews

Want more Google reviews? Do it legally with Birdeye

Are you looking to manage multiple Google my Business Profiles across locations, generate Google reviews, and manage them all from a single dashboard? Birdeye has you covered. 

With Birdeye Reviews, businesses can:

• Connect with CRM to automate review requests 
• Send review requests via SMS and email channels 
• Display QR codes that lead straight to the reviews page to improve review generation from offline channels like retail outlets, events, and trade shows 
• Monitor, view, respond, and manage all Google reviews from a single dashboard across locations 
• Leverage AI to improve review responses, translate non-English reviews, and generate review summaries 
• Market reviews on social media channels with a single click. 

Birdeye Reviews is built for large multi-location/local businesses to simplify their online reputation management efforts and build a more substantial presence with permanent Google reviews. Watch the free demo to learn more.