Google Updates Reviews Policy To Restrict Staff Mentions & Solicitations

Apr 17, 2026 - 7:21 am 1 by
Filed Under Google Maps

Google Awards

Google has updated its reviews policy to add two items; (1) do not have your staff solicit a certain number of reviews and (2) the content of the review should not mention the staff member's name and information.

This update was added to this section of the user generated review policy. Here are the lines added:

  • Merchants requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews
  • Merchants requesting that staff solicit reviews that include specific content, including content that identifies a staff member.

Amy Toman spotted this change and posted about it on LinkedIn - she wrote, "I expect they've seen too many review contests or requirements." Sounds like it. "Be sure to update your staff on this; don't want your reviews being filtered even more than they are currently," she added.

Google Review Policy Update

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 15, 2026

Jul 15, 2026 - 10:00 am
Google

Google Image Search Home Page Goes From Simple Search Box To Gallery

Jul 15, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google

AI Image Generation Now Within Google AI Overviews

Jul 15, 2026 - 7:41 am
ChatGPT Ads

ChatGPT Ads Get Location & Audience Exclusion Controls

Jul 15, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Ads

Google Confirms Testing Hide Sponsored Products In Shopping Results

Jul 15, 2026 - 7:21 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Significant Differences With A/B Tests Can Show In Search Results

Jul 15, 2026 - 7:11 am
 
Previous Story: Google Local Service Ads To Pull Rich Content Through Your URLs