No, you shouldn't buy Google reviews, because bought reviews can be removed and your profile restricted, and in the UK commissioning fake reviews is illegal. The UK ban has been in force since April 2025. Paying for help sending honest requests to genuine customers is a different thing, and that's fine. For UK businesses on a Google Business Profile, IvI SEO's answer is still a flat no, whatever the package or the price, and that includes paying real customers with a discount or a freebie.

What counts as buying Google reviews?

Buying Google reviews means paying, in money or in kind, for reviews on a Google Business Profile, whether from strangers or real customers. That covers made-up reviews from people who never used the business, review packages and rewarded reviews from genuine customers. Reviews paid for directly or in kind are prohibited on Google Maps, where Google Business Profile reviews appear, so all three are out. Reviews from staff, contractors, a business partner or a relative are a conflict of interest, and can be removed even when nothing is paid. Paying someone to send your review requests isn't buying, as long as every customer is asked, nothing is offered and customers choose their own rating and words.

Buying comes in two shapes. One is the bundle: fifty five-star reviews from accounts that have never been anywhere near your business. The other is quieter: a card by the till offering money off your next visit if you leave a review. One looks dodgy and the other looks friendly, but underneath it's the same deal. Something of value, in return for a review.

"In kind" just means paying with goods or services instead of cash. A free coffee, money off the next job, a bottle of wine at Christmas: all in kind.

Paying for help with the asking is a different question, and three plain checks sort it out:

  • Who is asked? Every genuine customer, not just the ones you expect to be happy.
  • Is anything offered? It shouldn't be. No discount, no freebie, no cash.
  • Who picks the rating and the words? The customer. Any rating, in their own words.

Those checks are just the review policy applied to what a service actually does. They aren't an official stamp on any product, so run them yourself rather than taking a sales page's word for it.

A separate point: conflicts of interest. This one isn't buying, but it catches people out. Reviews from your staff, a contractor, a business partner or a relative can be removed even when nothing is paid. The policy counts current or former employment, a contract or consultancy, and close personal relationships such as family. So if your brother leaves you five stars (heartfelt, I'm sure), that review can come down without a penny changing hands. It doesn't make everyone you know off limits, though. A genuine, unpaid review from someone who happens to know you isn't the same thing. What matters is a relationship that creates a conflict, not simply knowing the person.

So what actually happens to a business that pays for praise anyway?

What happens if you buy Google reviews?

If you buy Google reviews and Google finds out, those reviews can be removed and your Google Business Profile can be restricted. Restrictions on a Google Business Profile can include a block on new reviews and ratings for a set period, your existing reviews and ratings being hidden for a set period, and a warning telling customers that fake reviews were removed. Removing and hiding are different things: the bought reviews can be deleted, while a restriction can also hide your genuine reviews for a while. So a customer deciding whether to call might see missing reviews or a warning instead of the reviews you earned. Google emails the owner if it plans to apply a restriction, and the business can appeal.

Now picture it from the customer's side. Someone finds you, opens your profile, and the first thing they read is a warning that fake reviews were removed. They don't know your side of the story, and they don't have to ring you to find out.

A warning, not a welcome.

Which leaves the question everyone's really asking: will Google actually catch them?

Will Google catch bought reviews?

Google catches some bought reviews, but nobody can promise it will catch every one, or that it won't catch yours. When Google does find a violation, the reviews can be removed and the Google Business Profile restricted, but nobody outside Google can see how often that happens. Treat a confident claim in either direction as a guess, whether it's "Google catches every fake" or a seller swearing its reviews will never be spotted. A business that never buys has nothing to get caught for. IvI SEO says no to buying reviews either way, because the decision was never about the odds.

You'll find plenty of pages explaining exactly how Google spots fakes. Some of it may be right. I can't check any of it, so I don't build advice on it.

Then there's the business down the road with a suspiciously perfect run of five-star reviews that seems to be getting away with it. Maybe it is, for now. But "they seem to get away with it" isn't evidence that buying works, and it's even less evidence that it would work for you. You can't see what's been flagged, removed or appealed on someone else's profile. (Neither can I.)

Can you report them? Yes, you can report a competitor's fake reviews, but it's rarely worth the time. Those hours do more good on your own profile, asking your own customers.

And in the UK, it isn't only Google you'd have to answer to.

Is buying fake Google reviews illegal in the UK?

Yes, buying fake Google reviews is illegal in the UK, because the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans businesses from commissioning fake reviews. That ban has applied since 6 April 2025, and the Competition and Markets Authority's guidance says businesses must not write fake reviews or commission anyone else to write them. Ordering reviews from a supplier or an agency counts as commissioning, so handing the job to someone else doesn't take the responsibility away. The law also bans reviews that hide the fact they were rewarded. On Google, any reward for a review is prohibited, even when it's disclosed.

A quick caveat: I'm an SEO, not a solicitor. This is a plain-English pointer, not legal advice, so if you're worried about something you've already done, talk to someone qualified.

"Concealed incentivised review" sounds like jargon, but it's simple: a review someone was rewarded for, where the reward isn't made clear to the people reading it. The CMA's own example is a review written in exchange for something like a free hotel stay, without saying so.

It's also worth knowing who most of that guidance is written for: businesses that publish reviews, like websites, platforms and review sites. The duties in it, such as risk assessments and published review policies, belong to them. Don't read all of that as homework for a local business eyeing up a review package. For you, the point that matters is the narrow one: don't write fake reviews, and don't pay anyone else to.

So buying fails twice: once on Google, once in law. Here's the proper way instead.

How can you get Google reviews without buying them?

To get Google reviews without buying them, send every genuine customer an honest request with your review link or QR code, and offer nothing in return. Get the review link or QR code from your Google Business Profile, then send it the same way to every customer straight after the job and let them write whatever they like. If you pay a tool or a person to send the requests for you, that's fine, as long as every customer is asked, nothing is offered and nobody steers the rating or the wording. Customers need to be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review. Honest requests bring honest ratings, criticism included.

  • Ask straight after the job. A Google review request is easiest for a customer to act on while the job is still fresh, so send it to every genuine customer as soon as the work is done.
  • Send the link by text or email. A text or email carrying your Google review link can go out automatically after every job, whether you send it yourself or pay a tool that asks everyone, offers nothing and leaves the rating to the customer.
  • Use the QR code in person. The Google review QR code from your Google Business Profile can go on receipts, business cards or a sign by the till, for customers to scan when it suits them. Here's how to create a QR code to collect Google reviews.

Here's a request you can adapt. Add your review link after it:

Thanks for choosing us. If you've got a minute, we'd really value an honest Google review, whatever you thought. It helps other people decide, and tells us what to keep doing and what to fix.

It's the same wording as my guide to asking customers for Google reviews, and that's deliberate: one honest ask, wherever you read it. Notice what's missing. No stars, no keywords, no discount and no "if you were happy".

Paying for software or a person to send it? Fine, as long as what they send passes the same three checks. Applied to a tool, they look like this:

  • Does it send to everyone? Or does it ask customers to score you first and only pass the high scorers through to Google? That's asking only the happy ones, however slick the dashboard looks.
  • Is any reward attached? A discount code in the follow-up message, or a freebie on the next visit. Either one and it's out.
  • Does it suggest stars or wording? Pre-filled review text, a nudge towards five stars, a list of words to "mention". All out.

That's the rules applied to what a tool does, not a recommendation of any tool. If it passes all three, it's just a postman for your request. If it fails one, you're paying for a problem.

Sitting on a poor rating? I get why a bundle of five-star reviews looks tempting. Don't. Keep the honest requests going to every customer. Read your bad reviews for patterns, because the same complaint coming up again and again is telling you something, and fix the cause, not just the reply. (The guide covers how to reply to them.) Will that get you to five stars? I can't promise it, and nobody else honestly can either. What it does get you is a rating that's genuinely yours.

One mistake catches out owners who'd never dream of buying a fake review: offering money off for one.

Can you offer customers a discount for a Google review?

No, you can't offer customers a discount for a Google review, because a discount is a reward and rewarded reviews can be removed. That applies even to an honest review, and whether or not the reward is disclosed. The same goes for rewarding someone to change or remove a negative review. Asking only happy customers, asking for five stars, telling people what to write, pressuring them to review on the spot and setting staff review targets are all off limits too. An ordinary request that leaves the rating and the words to the customer is fine. Ask everyone, offer nothing and let them say what they think.

For exactly what counts as a reward, prize draws and refunds included, see can you offer incentives for Google reviews? Here are the slip-ups I'd watch for, bad version first (all made up).

The money-off card.

  • Bad: "Leave us five stars on Google and get 10% off your next visit."
  • Better: "We'd really value an honest Google review, whatever you thought," with your QR code underneath.
  • Why it fails: it's a reward for a review, and it asks for a particular rating. Two problems in one sentence.

The five-star ask.

  • Bad: "Please leave us a five-star review on Google."
  • Better: "If you've got a minute, we'd really value an honest Google review."
  • Why it fails: it asks for a rating. The better one asks for a review and leaves the stars to the customer.

The "loved it?" message.

  • Bad: "Loved your visit? Leave us a review."
  • Better: the same honest ask, sent the same way to every customer.
  • Why it fails: it only invites the happy ones. It's sneaky, because it sounds harmless.

The name-drop.

  • Bad: "Please mention who did your job by name in your review."
  • Better: ask for an honest review and leave what to mention up to them. Inviting detail in general is fine; telling them who or what to name isn't.
  • Why it fails: it asks for specific content, and naming a staff member is called out as off limits.

The staff bonus.

  • Bad: "A bonus for every review you bring in this month."
  • Better: everyone hands every customer the same card, and nobody's counting.
  • Why it fails: it turns reviews into a staff target with cash on top, and staff review targets aren't allowed.

Already bought some? Stop now. Don't try to cover them up or drown them out with a fresh batch of fake or rewarded reviews, because that's just the same problem twice. Get honest requests going to every genuine customer instead, and keep them going. Nobody can honestly promise that the bought reviews will be deleted, that the profile will recover, or how long any of it takes. Stopping is still the right call.

Want a hand with honest review requests?

You can get a hand with honest review requests, or run them yourself with your Google review link and one fair message to every customer. Setting up those requests, and keeping them going after every job, is part of IvI SEO's local SEO service. The rules are the same whoever does the sending: every genuine customer is asked, nothing is offered and the rating and the words stay with the customer. Neither route can promise five stars or a set number of reviews.

The free route covers the lot. Your review link or QR code comes straight from your Google Business Profile, the message above is yours to copy, and the only real cost is remembering to send it after every job. (Yes, I'm talking myself out of work again.) Getting help means I set up the link and get the requests going to every customer, alongside the rest of your local SEO. Same honest ask, same rules, one less thing for you to remember.

See how I can help, or crack on with it yourself.

Your call.