I have slowly turned into that frustrating person who won’t go somewhere before checking its reviews on Google Maps. However, I also get suspicious when the reviews are too good — there’s no pleasing me, apparently — so I’m relieved to hear that Google is making it easier to spot fake ones. Google is now issuing a warning for applicable businesses, stating, “Suspected fake reviews were recently removed from this place.”
Google has previously come under fire with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which opened an investigation into their handling of fake reviews in 2021. A user on X (formerly Twitter) first spotted the change in review handling on a Maps page for a company in the UK (possibly a coincidence).
Google has yet to confirm the feature or where it will be available, but Search Engine Roundtable reports Google recently updated its relevant support page to apply globally.
Google outlines possible restrictions that can be placed on businesses violating its Fake Engagement policy. One point is that the “business profile will display a warning to let consumers know that fake reviews were removed.” Other temporary restrictions include not receiving new ratings or reviews, or having existing ones unpublished. If any of these actions occur, business owners will receive an email from Google and can appeal the decision.
While fake reviews can come from businesses in an attempt to boost their ratings, they can also derive from people hoping to tank them. If a business reports these fake reviews, it’s unclear whether the same warning will come up (as the wording certainly makes the business seem at fault).