Reviews for
small business.

The ACCC's guidance (updated July 2026): don't create fake reviews, disclose any link with reviewers such as staff or family, make any incentive apply whether the review is positive or negative and disclose it, and don't hide or edit genuine negative reviews.

Google's policy is stricter on its own platform: no incentives at all, no conflict-of-interest reviews, no asking only happy customers (it calls this review gating), and no discouraging negative ones. If it finds fake reviews, it may block new reviews and show a warning on your profile.

In March 2026, PhotobookShop paid $39,600 in penalties after telling influencers on 107 occasions not to say products were free, and editing criticism out of an influencer's video without saying so. It paid two infringement notices, which the ACCC notes isn't an admission of a breach.

Small businesses aren't exempt. The safest habit is simple: ask everyone, offer nothing for reviews on Google, and never touch a genuine review except to reply.

BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers found 97% read reviews, 41% always do, and 74% want reviews from the last three months. It's US data, but the pattern is familiar: a business with plenty of old reviews and nothing recent looks quiet, or worse.

So pick one moment to ask, such as the day after the job or the receipt email, and ask every time. Reply to each review briefly and in your own words.

Reply to every review, briefly and in your own words. For good ones, thank them and mention something specific. For bad ones, acknowledge it, don't argue in public, and offer a way to sort it out offline. A calm reply to a bad review often reassures the next reader more than another five-star review.

Keep personal details out of replies: no names of staff involved, no order details, nothing the reviewer didn't say themselves. And never offer something in exchange for changing or removing a review, which Google's policy rules out.