Google Just Did A Huge Update For Reviews

Sean Everett

13d • Google Business Profile

Google Just Dropped a Big Update on Reviews (GBP) — Here’s What Actually Matters

Google quietly updated their review guidelines… and yeah, this one’s going to affect a lot of agents and businesses.

Here’s the simple breakdown:

What you can NOT do anymore:

• No incentives for reviews(no gift cards, discounts, “we’ll send you something if you leave a review” — all out)

• No cherry-picking happy clients(you have to ask everyone, not just the ones you know will leave a 5-star)

• No asking for specific wording(can’t say “mention this” or “talk about this service”)

• No asking for reviews in-person at the moment(don’t stand there and have them leave it on the spot)

• No pushing staff names in reviews(even asking them to mention you specifically can be an issue now)

What Google IS cracking down on:

Google is watching for patterns.

Things like:• Sudden spikes in reviews• All 5-star reviews with similar wording• Reviews that look “guided” or scripted• Anything that looks like you’re controlling the outcome

If it looks manipulated, they’ll remove them. Simple as that.

What you SHOULD be doing instead (this is the play):

• Ask every client for a review — good or bad• Send the request AFTER the transaction, not during• Keep it neutral and open-ended• Let them write whatever they want

Example:

“Hey [Name], if you have a minute, I’d really appreciate you sharing your experience here.”

That’s it. No pressure. No scripting.

My take (important):

This actually helps people doing things the right way.

If you’ve been building your Google Business Profile legit:• real clients• real experiences• consistent asks

You’re going to win even more now.

If someone’s been gaming reviews… they’re about to get wiped.

I’ll break this down more in a video, but if you’re running Google reviews right now, it’s worth tightening this up immediately.

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