Should you pay for a review or reputation management service?

Once your business has a Google listing, the offers start arriving. More reviews guaranteed, five star reputation, negative reviews removed. Some of these services are legitimate software. Some are selling things that can get your reviews wiped or worse. The difference is usually easy to spot once you know what to look for.

What a legitimate service does

• Sends review requests to your real customers, by email or SMS, with consent and an unsubscribe.
• Gives you one place to read and reply to reviews across platforms.
• Reports on your review count and ratings over time.

Those are genuinely useful for busy businesses, especially multi location ones. They are also things you can do yourself with a routine and a tap stand. See a simple monthly routine for your Google reviews.

Red flags

• Guaranteed numbers of reviews. Nobody can guarantee what real customers will do. A guarantee usually means the reviews are not real.
• Five star only. Any system that sends happy customers to Google and unhappy customers somewhere private is review gating, which Google bans and the ACCC treats as misleading.
• Negative reviews removed for a fee. Only Google removes reviews, and only for policy breaches. See can you get a Google review removed.
• Incentive programs. Google treats rewards for reviews as fake and misleading content.
• They write the reviews. Fabricated reviews are misleading conduct under Australian Consumer Law, and the exposure sits with your business, not theirs.

Questions to ask before signing up

1. Who writes the reviews? The only acceptable answer is your real customers.
2. Does every customer get the same request, whatever their experience?
3. How do you handle consent and unsubscribes for messages?
4. Can I cancel easily, and do I keep my data?

The simplest version

For most small businesses, a stand at the counter, a card for mobile jobs, and a consistent ask from staff does most of what a paid service does, without a monthly fee. See how to get your first ten Google reviews.

General information, not legal advice.