A new guideline from Google prohibits fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews in review snippet structured data. Publishers must now ensure all reviews are genuine and transparently disclosed to remain eligible for rich results.
Google has updated its review snippet structured data documentation, introducing a clear prohibition against including fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews in both on-page content and structured data markup. The new guideline states: “Don’t include fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews on your page or in your structured data markup.”
Review snippets are brief excerpts or ratings from review websites, often reflecting an average score from multiple reviewers. These snippets can appear in Google’s rich results and Knowledge Panels, making them a valuable feature for publishers and businesses seeking visibility in search.
The latest update clarifies that reviews must be based on genuine experiences. Google specifically warns against two types of prohibited content: reviews not grounded in real product or service use, and reviews written in exchange for benefits-such as money, discounts, vouchers, or free products-without clear and prominent disclosure of the incentive.
For publishers and site owners, compliance is essential. Google’s documentation update signals increased scrutiny, likely in response to ongoing misuse of review snippets for artificial ranking boosts. To maintain eligibility for review snippets in Google Search, publishers should audit their content and structured data, removing any reviews that violate these new or existing guidelines.
This move follows a series of recent changes to Google’s search features and policies. For example, the company recently made Local Inventory Ads the default setting in Shopping campaigns, requiring advertisers to adjust their configurations to keep budgets for online and in-store products separate. Details on that shift can be found in this coverage of Google’s Local Inventory Ads update.
