Update: I posted an update to this story below from Google, which means this story is pretty wrong. "The review disclaimer is only for Local Services Ads in the legal vertical. This disclaimer, launched in 2020 when we launched our legal vertical, helps consumers understand that an individual user's review can not guarantee the outcome of another person's legal matter," a Google spokesperson told us.
Google has added a label on the Google Guaranteed Local Service Ads reviews to say the reviews are not guaranteed. This I guess comes as no surprise with all the Google Local Service Ads spam and junk we have been noticing recently.
Curtis Boyd spotted this new disclaimer that reads "Reviews do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction on the outcome of your legal matter." Here is the screenshot he posted on Twitter:
So what are you paying for?
Here is some of the commentary from the local search marketing community on this topic:
#LSA "Google Guaranteed" listings now warn users that the reviews don't "guarantee" anything.
— Len 🌴 (@lenraleigh) August 11, 2022
(Not that users scroll this far.)
Google should also clarify that the law firm names, attorney affiliation, locations are also not vetted by them. https://t.co/5piC4FZnSF
Wow, that solves everything Google. Just slap this warning in personal injury LSAs. @lenraleigh @rustybrick pic.twitter.com/GgauPDnZEG
— Big Beautiful Safe Jason Brown 🇺🇦 (@keyserholiday) August 11, 2022
I suspect like "not verified" this is a new disclaimer.
— Greg Sterling 🇺🇦 (@gsterling) August 11, 2022
Forum discussion at Twitter.
Update: Google has told me that this disclaimer is not new, it is from 2020. "The review disclaimer is only for Local Services Ads in the legal vertical. This disclaimer, launched in 2020 when we launched our legal vertical, helps consumers understand that an individual user's review can not guarantee the outcome of another person's legal matter," a Google spokesperson told us.
Update 2: Another variation of this:
Google disclaimer added to reviews!
— ClaudiaT (@ClaudiaTomina) January 24, 2023
@mblumenthal @keyserholiday @rustybrick pic.twitter.com/bodvNsPZBn
