An email lands in your inbox promising 50 five-star reviews by Friday. The shop down the road has 200 reviews and you have 14, so you read it twice.
Here’s the short answer. Buying google reviews written by strangers who never used your business isn’t safe, because it breaks Google’s rules and can breach Australian law. Paying for help to get Google reviews from your own real customers is safe, and it’s the only kind of “buying” we’d ever recommend.
The difference is who writes the review. At BuyReviews we work on the real-customer side, so this article explains where the line sits and how to stay on the right side of it.
Is it safe to buy Google reviews?
It depends on what you’re paying for, because two very different services use the same words.
The first kind sells you a number. You pick a package, pay, and reviews appear from accounts that have never set foot in your business. Google calls this fake engagement, and that’s the risky kind.
The second kind sells you the work of asking. A service contacts people who really bought from you, sends them your review link, and follows up. Each customer decides whether to write anything and what to say. That’s allowed, because the review reflects a real experience.
What happens if Google finds fake reviews on your profile?
Google removes them, and it can go further than that. Under its fake engagement policy, Google can stop your Business Profile from receiving new reviews for a set period, unpublish your existing reviews for a set period, and show a public warning that fake reviews were removed.
Google says it emails the business owner before applying a restriction, and you can appeal. In our view the warning label does the most damage, because every person who finds you on Google sees it before they see anything else.
Think about who carries that risk. The seller keeps your money and moves on. The penalty lands on your profile.
Is buying Google reviews legal in Australia?
Google’s policy is only half of it. For Google reviews, Australia has its own rules on top, and they’re enforced by the ACCC.
The ACCC says businesses must not create fake or misleading reviews, and must not arrange for others to create them. It treats fake online reviews as a breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
This has been tested in court. In ACCC v P & N Pty Ltd, the Federal Court found that solar panel suppliers who published testimonials from people who weren’t real customers had broken sections 18 and 29 of the law.
How can you tell a safe review service from a risky one?
You can usually tell within a minute of looking at a provider’s website. Run through this checklist before you pay anyone:
- They ask for your customer list, not how many reviews you want.
- They never promise a star rating.
- They don’t sell fixed packages like “100 reviews”.
- They tell you reviews will arrive over weeks, as customers respond.
- They mention Google’s policies and the Australian Consumer Law openly.
If a provider fails even one of these, we’d walk away. A promised rating means someone other than your customer is deciding what gets written.
How do you get more Google reviews without the risk?
You do it by asking real customers and making it easy for them. Here’s the process we use for clients, and you can run it yourself.
- On a computer, sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile and search your business name.
- Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, then Copy to grab your review link. Google makes this link for you, so you don’t need a separate Google review link generator.
- Ask each customer on the day the job finishes or the order arrives.
- Send a short message with the link. A simple review request email template is enough: “Thanks for choosing us. If you have a minute, would you leave us a review on Google? Here’s the link.”
- Send one reminder after about a week, then leave it.
- Reply to every review you receive, good or bad.
Don’t offer a discount or gift in return. Google treats any reward for a review as fake engagement, even when the customer is real.
In our experience, the timing in step 3 matters more than the wording in step 4. Businesses that get Google reviews every month are the ones that ask on the day, every time.
Can you remove fake Google reviews from your profile?
Sometimes the fake reviews aren’t ones you bought. A competitor or a stranger can leave them too, and you’re allowed to report those.
- Open your Business Profile and select Read reviews.
- Select the three dots next to the review, then Report review.
- Pick the reason that fits, such as spam.
- Track the report in Google’s Reviews Management Tool.
- If Google refuses and you have evidence, select Appeal eligible reviews in the same tool.
Google only removes reviews that break its policies. An honest complaint will stay, so the right move there is to respond. When you respond to negative Google reviews, keep it short, apologise if you got something wrong, and offer a phone number to fix it.
How does BuyReviews keep it safe?
We only contact your real customers. You share your list, we send the requests and reminders, and your customers write whatever they honestly think. We don’t promise a rating and we don’t sell packages.
That’s what online reputation management in Australia should look like for a small business. It’s slower than a fake package, and it’s the way to improve Google reviews that still works a year from now.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to buy Google reviews?
It depends what you’re paying for. Buying reviews written by people who never used your business breaks Google’s fake engagement policy and can breach the Australian Consumer Law. Paying a service to contact your own customers and ask for honest reviews is safe, because every review comes from a real experience.
Can Google tell if reviews are fake?
Google runs automated spam detection that removes reviews it thinks are fake, and it can act on reports from other users. No one outside Google knows exactly what it checks. We wouldn’t bet a business on getting past it, because the penalty lands on your profile, not on the seller.
What should I do if I already bought fake reviews?
Stop the service straight away and don’t order more. You can report the fake reviews on your own profile through Read reviews, then the three dots, then Report review. After that, start asking real customers every week. Fresh, honest reviews are the best way to rebuild a profile people can trust.
Can I pay a company to ask my customers for reviews?
Yes, as long as the company only contacts people who really bought from you, and nobody is rewarded for posting. The customer decides whether to write anything and what to say. A service that promises a star rating or a fixed number of reviews isn’t doing this, so walk away.
Do a few negative reviews make my business look bad?
Not as much as you’d think. Google itself says a mix of positive and negative reviews often feels more trustworthy to customers. What people notice is how you answer. In our experience, a polite reply that offers to fix the problem often does more good than the bad review does harm.
What should you do next?
Before you pay anyone, ask them one question: who will write the reviews? If the answer isn’t “your own customers”, keep your money.
If you’d like help to get Google reviews from the people you’ve already served, send BuyReviews your customer list and we’ll handle the asking.
