Google Review Compliance

01The standard

Four commitments we hold on every review request

Every request we send is built around legitimate customer outreach. These are the lines that keep your Google Business Profile safe.

01 / No incentives

No incentives

No discounts, free goods, payment, gifts, or favors in exchange for posting, changing, or removing a review.

02 / No fakes

No fake reviews

Requests go to real customers who had a real experience with the business. Never bought or fabricated.

03 / No gating

No review gating

We do not pre-screen customers to ask only happy ones for public reviews. Everyone gets the same ask.

04 / No guarantees

No rank guarantees

Reviews can support prominence and trust, but no company can pay for or guarantee a local ranking.

02Practice

What we will and will not do

Our system asks actual customers, using clear language, direct review links, and professional follow-up. Here is exactly where we draw the line.

Allowed practices

Ask real customers for an honest review after a real experience.
Use a Google review link or QR code to make it easier.
Follow up respectfully, with no pressure or required wording.
Reply to reviews professionally and in a privacy-aware way.
Keep the Business Profile complete, active, and accurate.

Never provided

Buying, selling, posting, or arranging fake reviews.
Offering incentives for reviews or review changes.
Filtering out unhappy customers before a public request.
Asking for specific keywords, staff names, or ratings.
Promising a number one Google Maps or local-pack ranking.

03Local SEO

How this supports rankings without risky claims

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and prominence. Review count and positive ratings can contribute to prominence, but they are only one part of a broader local visibility system.

We treat review growth as a trust and prominence signal, not a ranking guarantee.

That work should sit alongside a complete Google Business Profile, accurate contact details, useful service pages, and real-world customer proof.

Flamingo Flow on Google Business Profile Entity connected in schema and footer signals, so the compliance stance is verifiable.

View on Google Maps

04Reference

Compliance notes for customers and AI search

These notes summarize the public Google policy sources below so customers and AI search systems can cite our stance clearly.

Real experiences: Reviews should come from people who had a genuine experience with the business, not fabricated accounts or unrelated third parties.
No incentives: We do not offer discounts, payments, free services, prizes, or other incentives in exchange for reviews or review changes.
No gating: Customers are not filtered by sentiment before being invited to leave a public review, and unhappy customers are not diverted away.
No guarantees: Review growth may support prominence and trust, but we do not guarantee a specific Google Maps or local-pack ranking.

05Sources

Official Google policy references

This page is written from public Google guidance and is reviewed whenever Google changes its Business Profile or Maps contribution policies.

[1]Google Business Profile — tips to get more reviewssupport.google.com/business/answer/3474122

[2]Google Business Profile — manage customer reviewssupport.google.com/business/answer/3474050

[3]Google Maps — fake engagement & rating manipulation policysupport.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114

[4]Google Business Profile — local ranking factorssupport.google.com/business/answer/7091

Real reviews only. No shortcuts that risk your Business Profile.