Because online reviews have a big impact on local search rankings and people’s decisions, it’s a good idea to get as many online reviews as you can.
Unfortunately, some organizations have knowingly or unknowingly violating Google, Facebook, or Yelp’s terms of service regarding reviews and had their reviews removed.
Ouch!
I even saw one very popular church tech blogger with thousands of followers (who will remain nameless) promote a strategy for getting online reviews that is specifically prohibited by Google. So, you’ve got to be careful about who you’re getting advice from.
Note #1: Every online review site has different rules
Just because it’s ok do something for one review site doesn’t mean it’s ok for others. Therefore, we took the time to scrutinize the terms of service agreement for the biggest sites – Google, Facebook and Yelp. (Note that the ratings and reviews in Bing Maps are from Yelp)
Note #2: Rules change frequently
We have been writing about the rules for online reviews since 2018. We review the information every year or two, and every time we have done this review, we have found some changes to the rules, and needed to update our information.
We believe the information in this article is accurate as of 9/18/24, but it could be inaccurate as you read it. We have included links to our sources. We strongly suggest you click them and check the rules for yourself.
Enough disclaimers. Let’s get to it…
Google Business Profile Rules for Online Reviews
Google encourages organizations to “Remind customers to leave reviews” However, offering incentives like gifts or discounts on future services are not allowed:
Business owners shouldn’t offer incentives to customers to leave reviews.
It goes on to state:
Contributions must be based on real experiences and information.
This means you shouldn’t ask friends and family who have had no past experience with your organization to post a review about your products/services. That would be second hand hearsay. However, it should be ok for friends and family to post a review that speaks to your character if you lead the origination.
In earlier versions of the Prohibited and Restricted Content document, it stated the following practices are conflicts of interest and not allowed:
- Reviewing your own business.
- Reviews from employees.
These specific restrictions are no longer listed, however, Google has never stated these reviews are ok, so we recommend you steer clear of reviewing your own organization or asking employees to do so.
It’s also worth noting that Google will not remove a review just because its negative. However, Google will remove a review if it violates their guidelines, for example if it contains explicit language, inappropriate images, or is not based on personal experience.
Sources: here, here, and here.
Facebook Rules for Online Reviews
Facebook does not explicitly encourage organizations to ask for online reviews like Google does, but there is also no place in its reviews guidelines or community standards that prohibit or discourage asking for reviews. Furthermore, Facebook has “Invite friends” functionality built into its platform, which you can use to invite some or all of your friends to like a page. So, we think it’s safe to assume asking for reviews is ok.
Facebook’s Community Feedback Policies specifically state:
Incentivization: Feedback must not be directly or indirectly incentivized, unless otherwise disclosed compliant with Meta’s policies on Branded Content. We define incentivization as a business partner or seller providing something of value, such as a monetary payment, free gift, or refund, in exchange for Community Feedback ratings, reviews, or answers.
Irrelevance: Feedback must be based on a reviewer’s direct experience with a product, business, or seller. Additionally, the feedback must be related to the intended use of the product and/or business.
Sources: here, here, here and here.
Yelp Rules for Online Reviews
For years Yelp was the only major review site that had policies against soliciting reviews. However, that language has been removed from the current version of its Content Guidelines.
The Content Guidelines have some helpful rules about posting reviews which are good to know:
Personal experience: We want to hear about your firsthand experience, not what you heard from your partner or co-worker, or what you saw in the news. Tell your own story without resorting to broad generalizations and conclusory allegations.
Accuracy: Make sure your review is factually correct. Feel free to air your opinions, but don’t exaggerate or misrepresent your experience. We don’t take sides when it comes to factual disputes, so we expect you to stand behind your review.
Review updates: Review updates should reflect a new experience or interaction with the business. Don’t keep posting about the same old story you’ve already told. If you’d like to add new insight to an old experience, you can edit your review within 30 days of posting it.
Conflicts of interest: Your contributions to Yelp should be unbiased and objective. For example, you shouldn’t write reviews of your own business or employer, your friends’ or relatives’ business, your peers or competitors in your industry, or businesses in your networking group. Businesses should never ask customers to write reviews.
Source: here
US Law: No Incentives for Reviews
Regardless of what is included in terms of service documents for the individual review, U.S. Federal Law prohibits offering incentives for reviews. An organization can be fined up to $16,000 per violation.
The law prohibits not just offering incentives for positive reviews but for any reviews. And it prohibits not only direct monetary compensation but discounts, free products, entries into a drawing, or anything else of value. There’s an excellent article about all of this on here.
If you made it this far through the article, congrats! Reading about rules and policies is never fun but the alternative is even less fun.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. –Thomas Jefferson
Getting online reviews is an part of a comprehensive SEO strategy. If your Christian church, school, ministry or business would like a trusted partner to help with website design, search engine optimization or online reviews, complete the consultation request form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop).
Comment & Discuss:
- What are your thoughts and questions about the rules for online reviews?
For more info about online reviews read our free guide: The Ultimate Guide to Online Reviews
Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com
Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.
An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.
Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.