Fake Reviews

Fake reviews are reviews that do not reflect a genuine experience of a business, product or service. They include bought reviews, reviews written by owners or staff, and fake negative reviews posted against competitors. They break platform rules and, in the UK, consumer protection law.

Written by Paul Hoda, SEO consultant since 2005. Last updated 8 November 2026.

What counts as a fake review

  • Reviews bought from a service or exchanged for payment.
  • Reviews written by the owner, staff, friends or family posing as customers.
  • Reviews given in exchange for discounts, freebies or entry into prize draws, where the platform bans incentives.
  • Negative reviews posted by competitors or people who were never customers.
  • Reviews produced in bulk with AI tools and posted from fake accounts.

Google’s policies also prohibit conflicts of interest and “review gating”, where only satisfied customers are invited to leave a review.

The legal position in the UK

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 added fake reviews to the list of banned unfair commercial practices. From April 2025, it is unlawful to commission, write or publish fake reviews, or to present reviews in a misleading way, such as hiding negative ones. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can now enforce consumer law directly and issue fines. Platforms that host reviews also have duties to take reasonable steps to prevent and remove fake ones.

Why fake reviews are bad for SEO

Google uses automated systems and manual reviewers to detect suspicious review patterns. Consequences can include:

  • Removal of the fake reviews, which can wipe out apparent gains.
  • Restrictions that block new reviews from appearing for a period.
  • A warning shown on the profile telling users that fake reviews were removed.
  • In serious cases, Google Business Profile suspension.

Since reviews are part of prominence in local ranking factors, losing them or the profile can hurt local visibility far more than the fakes ever helped.

How to spot fake reviews

  • Many reviews arriving in a short burst after a quiet period.
  • Reviewer accounts with no photo, few reviews or reviews in unrelated cities.
  • Generic praise with no detail about the service.
  • Similar wording repeated across several reviews.
  • Negative reviews that describe services you do not offer.

What to do if you are targeted

  1. Check your records to confirm the reviewer was not a customer.
  2. Flag the review through your Google Business Profile using the report option, selecting the closest policy reason.
  3. Use Google’s review management tool to track the status and appeal if needed.
  4. Post a short, factual public reply saying you cannot find a record of the customer.
  5. For coordinated attacks or extortion, keep evidence and contact Google support.

The better approach

Genuine review management takes longer but builds a stable reputation. A steady flow of real online reviews, including a few critical ones, looks more trustworthy than a wall of perfect five-star ratings.

Key Takeaways

  • Fake reviews include bought, self-written and competitor-posted reviews.
  • UK law has banned commissioning or publishing fake reviews since April 2025.
  • Google can remove reviews, restrict profiles or suspend them.
  • Report suspicious reviews through official channels and reply factually.
  • A steady flow of genuine reviews is safer and more convincing.

Related Terms

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