Incentivised Google reviews and prize draws

Online reviews influence which lawyer, advocate, accountant, tradesperson or other service provider a consumer chooses. That only works if the reviews are genuine. Offering a prize, discount, payment or other benefit in exchange for a review creates an obvious integrity problem and can also create platform and consumer-law risk.

Google treats incentivised reviews as fake engagement

Google's Maps user-contributed content policy prohibits fake engagement. Its current guidance expressly includes reviews or ratings that have been paid for directly or in kind, and its specific guidance on incentivised or biased reviews identifies payments, discounts, free goods or services and other benefits as incentives that undermine review integrity.

The practical distinction is straightforward: asking a real client for an honest review is one thing; offering something of value in return for the review is another. Businesses should also avoid pressuring customers to give a particular star rating or wording.

Google can restrict a Business Profile

Google says businesses that violate its fake-engagement policy may face Business Profile restrictions. Depending on the circumstances, Google may remove reviews or ratings and can impose restrictions designed to protect the integrity of the profile. That makes incentivised review campaigns a poor long-term marketing strategy even before considering New Zealand consumer law.

New Zealand Fair Trading Act risk

Section 9 of the Fair Trading Act 1986 prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct in trade, or conduct likely to mislead or deceive. Whether a particular review campaign breaches the Act depends on the facts and the overall impression created for consumers.

A business should therefore be cautious about presenting a star rating or body of reviews as spontaneous customer feedback if the review activity was materially influenced by rewards. The safest approach is simple: seek genuine feedback, do not buy it, do not condition a benefit on a positive rating, and do not create a misleading impression about how the reviews were obtained.

Good review-collection practice

• Ask actual clients or customers for an honest review.
• Do not offer cash, discounts, free services, prize-draw entries or other benefits in exchange for reviews.
• Do not require a five-star rating or suggested wording.
• Do not discourage genuine negative feedback while soliciting positive feedback from selected customers.
• Keep review requests separate from any settlement, refund, discount or other commercial benefit.

What consumers can do

1. Treat unusually uniform review patterns with caution. Read the substance of reviews rather than relying only on the aggregate star rating.
2. Report reviews or review practices to Google where they appear to breach Google's contribution policies.
3. Keep evidence such as screenshots or messages if a business has offered an incentive for a review.
4. Consider reporting potentially misleading conduct to the Commerce Commission where the issue is material and systemic.

Primary sources

• Google Maps user-contributed content policy
• Google: Incentivised or Biased Reviews
• Google Business Profile restrictions for policy violations
• Fair Trading Act 1986
• Commerce Commission: making accurate claims

General information only. Whether particular conduct breaches platform rules or New Zealand law depends on the facts and the representations made to consumers.