TECH NEWS – The Alphabet service is trying to crack down on misleading and false reviews of businesses and services that appear on Google Maps…

Google has begun cracking down on business sites that use fake reviews.

Users will be notified of this suspicious activity. The search engine has developed a comprehensive set of rules to combat fake reviews.They will temporarily remove reviews, disallow new reviews and comments, and display a warning on profiles that have been removed from reviews.

This restriction on business profiles was introduced earlier this year in the UK, but according to a report from Search Engine Roundtable, Google updated its support page in mid-September, revealing that this policy is now in place everywhere, not just in one country, but that we currently only see the warnings in the UK (an example can be seen on Twitter).The warning states that suspicious fake reviews have been removed from the page in question.According to Google’s restricted content policy, a listing on Google Maps must reflect an authentic experience or business.

In the UK suspected review abuse can lead to a 30 day review ban pic.twitter.com/m2eMY5hFrp

— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) September 16, 2024

Business pages may not include content that does not accurately represent the location or product in question, or that incentivizes reviewers through payments, discounts, or free perks. Google Maps will also look for reviews that attempt to manipulate reviews by posting from multiple accounts or using emulators, modified operating systems, or other methods that mimic real engagement.

It’s not yet clear how Google will determine exactly which reviews violate these rules, but the threat of public shaming may be enough to deter some businesses from trying to artificially inflate their ratings. The warning could also help users avoid visiting sites that Google deems untrustworthy, rather than just letting suspicious reviews disappear without explanation.

So we can slowly say goodbye to reviews written by employees, because they can be considered as such…

Source: The Verge, Google, Search Engine Roundtable