4 Reasons Why Buying Google Reviews Is a Bad Idea

Buying Google reviews is a tempting but misguided shortcut for businesses seeking to boost their online reputation. While it may provide a brief moment of artificially inflated credibility, it carries significant risks and long-term consequences. From violating Google’s terms of service to eroding trust with customers, this practice can ultimately harm a business more than it helps.

1. Buying Google Reviews Could Cost You Even More

First and foremost, buying Google reviews violates FTC guidelines and could put your company at risk of fines and legal action. Google could suspend your account as well. 

Google, like many other review platforms, explicitly prohibits the posting of fake or misleading reviews and works to identify and remove them. Businesses caught buying reviews may face penalties. According to Mara Solutions, these efforts have proven effective as Google has removed more than 4 million fake business reviews and 75 million policy-violating reviews.

So buying these reviews could ultimately be a waste of money if they’re identified and removed — resulting in a poor investment. 

Overall, violating these terms can result in the removal of your business listing, a drop in search rankings, or legal fines. Which means you could end up paying even more for nothing in return. 

2. Buying Google Reviews Is Unethical and Deceptive

Buying reviews is unethical because it misrepresents the true quality of your business. Potential customers rely on reviews to make informed decisions, and fake reviews can mislead them. There’s no way you can guarantee that a review is going to accurately reflect your products or services. And good luck getting a Google removed that doesn’t. 

3. Buying Google Reviews Ruins Trust and Credibility

Trust is crucial in the online marketplace. When customers discover that a business has purchased fake reviews, it can seriously damage their trust in that business. Because let’s be honest, it’s usually pretty easy to spot a fake review. We see them all the time on marketplaces like Amazon. 

4. The Benefit of Buying Google Reviews Is Short-Lived

Buying reviews only provides short-term gains, with long-term consequences. While buying reviews may provide a temporary boost, the long-term consequences can be severe. It’s better to focus on improving your products, services, and customer experience to earn genuine positive reviews.

So How Should You Get Google Reviews?

Use a reputation management platform! 

Instead of buying reviews, it’s advisable to encourage satisfied customers to leave honest, authentic reviews on your Google Business Profile listing. There are a lot of ways you can ask customers for a Google review, but a reputation management platform can help you do this without a lot of effort. Building a positive reputation through genuine customer feedback is a more sustainable and ethical approach to improving your online presence and attracting new customers.

And though it can require a bit more investment of time, it can be a more affordable option than buying Google reviews in the long run.

For example, one of the most popular sites to buy reviews offers you a Google review for $7.50. For reference, you could buy 13 reviews every month for $99 dollars — or for the same price you could use GatherUp and get more, legitimate reviews and access to a wide variety of features that help you get and understand real customer feedback on an ongoing basis.