Your Google Business Profile and its reviews: questions and answers

Not for business owners. Google Business Profile Help has no page about putting your reviews on your own site. The official route is a developer component in Google Maps Platform, which needs a Cloud project, an API key and a billing account. Source: Place Details Elements.

Google's Maps Platform terms give copying and saving user reviews as an example of prohibited scraping. The plain reading is display live, do not store. Source: Google Maps Platform Terms of Service.

If you filter, Google's policies say you must include a clear notice describing how the reviews are ordered and filtered, including any search criteria applied. Filtering in silence is the part that is out. Source: Policies and attributions for Places API.

The official component is billed per call. The Place Details Element sits in the Essentials tier, and the Advanced version that can filter reviews is in the Pro tier and marked preview. Third-party widgets charge a monthly fee instead and use the same API underneath. Source: Place Details Elements.

Yes. Google's Places policies require author attribution on every review, a link for end users to view the review on Google Maps, and the Google Maps attribution on the display itself. The terms add that you must not modify, obscure or delete that attribution. Sources: Places policies and Maps Platform terms.

A screenshot is a copy, which is the thing the terms name. Google's brand guidance is also explicit that you may not screenshot Street View imagery or remove it from embedded sources. There is no carve-out for reviews. Sources: Maps Platform terms and Geo Guidelines.

Not in the way people hope. Review text pulled in by a script is not your content, and marking up reviews you display for someone else is against Google's structured data rules. The reviews that move anything sit on the profile, not on your page.

The suspension page does not say. It points at the guidelines. The reasons sit on Google's policy overview, which names a restricted account, a business Google says does not exist at your address, a P.O. Box, and dormancy. Google says that page is not a complete list.

Google does not say. There is no turnaround time anywhere on its appeal page, not even a vague one. That is worth knowing because Google does publish a rough figure elsewhere: it says a reported review typically takes several days to assess. Source: Fix suspended or disabled profiles.

Google names official business registration, a business license, tax certificates and utility bills such as electricity, phone, water or internet. Have them ready before you open the form: Google says you must submit it within 60 minutes or it will not be attached. Source: Fix suspended or disabled profiles.

No. Google's page says it directly: do not create a new Business Profile for the same business while your appeal is under review. A duplicate is itself a guideline problem, and it can turn one suspended profile into two. Source: Fix suspended or disabled profiles.

Google never says. The two words appear together throughout its page and are never distinguished. In practice both mean the profile is out of your hands and off the map until an appeal succeeds.

Google does not publish an answer. Its page on missing reviews notes that reviews might sometimes be removed after a Business Profile is reinstated, which is the closest it comes. Source: About missing or delayed reviews.

Google says that only if your reinstatement request is denied, it may be able to do an additional review. It does not say the additional review is final, and it publishes no cap on appeals. Source: Fix suspended or disabled profiles.

Google says the review takes up to 5 business days once you have completed the steps, and that on rare occasions it may take longer. A postcard adds to that: Google says most codes arrive within 14 days, and the code expires after 30. Source: Verify your business on Google.

Google decides. Its page says verification methods are automatically determined by Google and cannot be changed, and that what you are offered depends on your business type, public information, region or hours. It publishes no criteria and no way to request a different method. Source: Verify your business on Google.

Sometimes. Google names two cases: verifying your website in Google Search Console, and bulk verification for businesses with many locations. Neither is something you can trigger on request. Source: Verify your business on Google.

Google says that when the Get verified button appears on your profile again, it means Google could not completely verify your business. It is not a rejection with an appeal attached. You start the process again. Source: Verify your business on Google.

Record another one. Google says a not successful result means the video did not meet all the requirements. You can record a new one, and Google says it will share the reasons the first was not accepted. It publishes no cap on attempts. Source: Verify your business with a video recording.

Reporting a review as the business, and replying to one in public, both happen inside the Business Profile. An unverified profile is one you do not control yet, so verification comes first. Anyone, verified or not, can report a review as a member of the public, which carries less weight.

It makes them yours to manage. It does not change what Google will remove. Google removes reviews that break one of its content policies and keeps the rest, whether the profile is verified or not.

The name covers two different things. Google's own Reviews management tool is free and sits inside your Business Profile, where you report reviews, check report statuses and appeal. Third-party review software is a paid product that helps you request, collect, monitor and reply to reviews across sites. Source: Report inappropriate reviews.

Not in the sense the phrase implies. Google's tool submits your report and shows its status. Google assesses the review against its content policies and decides. Any product sold as a removal tool is selling a faster way to file, not a decision. Source: Report inappropriate reviews.

Mostly by helping you ask more customers for reviews, not by taking any down. Google's review score is the average of all ratings published for the place, so new genuine reviews move it. Source: Understand review scores.

Because we have no primary source for any vendor's claims, and every claim would need one. We describe what the category does and leave the shortlist to you. Our editorial policy explains the rule.

No. Google's automated systems take down content they read as spam, and Google says the system may sometimes remove legitimate reviews by mistake. Our guide to Google reviews that disappeared covers what to check. Source: Report inappropriate reviews.

One location, usually not. The free tools inside your Business Profile cover reporting, replying and a review link you can send out. Software starts to pay off across several locations or several review sites, where the copying and pasting gets expensive.

Open your Business Profile, select Read Reviews, then select Get more reviews. Google says you can create and share a link or QR code from there. Google does not publish a URL format for it, so the dashboard is the route to trust. Source: Create a link or QR code.

No. Google says reviews QR codes can only be generated on a computer browser, not on mobile devices. Make the code on a laptop, save the image, then print it wherever you like. Source: Create a link or QR code.

Nine times in ten they are not signed in. Google says a reviewer has to be signed in to a Google Account. Old software and a recently merged profile can also get in the way. Sources: Tips to get more reviews and About missing or delayed reviews.

They tap your link or scan your code, sign in to a Google Account, choose a star rating and write a line or two. Without a link, they can find the company in Google Maps and select Write a review. Google says a reviewer has to be signed in. Source: Tips to get more reviews.

No. Google says offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for reviews is considered fake engagement and is strictly prohibited. That covers posting, changing and removing reviews. Source: Create a link or QR code.

No. Google's content policy says a merchant may not discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers. Send the same message to everyone. Source: Prohibited and restricted content.

Not one that Google publishes. Its help page points to the Help Center, a signed-in Contact us flow, the Community forum and its YouTube channel. There is no phone number, no email address and no stated hours. Numbers on other sites do not come from Google. Source: Get help with Google Business Profile.

For a review, the report flow is the door, not support. Report it from your Business Profile, then check the status in the Reviews management tool. Support does not decide review cases. Sources: Report inappropriate reviews and Manage your Google Business reviews.

Google says review evaluation typically takes several days. It publishes nothing else: no deadline, no appeal turnaround, no cap on how many reviews you may report, and no age limit on the reviews you can report. Source: Report inappropriate reviews.

No. Google says the Google Workspace team doesn't provide support for Google Business Profile accounts. It tells you to contact the Business Profile support team instead. Source: Get help with Google Business Profile.

When the problem is the profile rather than a review. No access, a suspended profile, a merged or duplicate listing, or a dispute about who owns the profile. Those need a person. A review decision does not. Source: Get help with Google Business Profile.

You get one appeal, and Google says you can select up to 10 reviews in it. Google also says content removals can only be appealed once. Asking again through another channel does not buy a second look. Sources: Report inappropriate reviews and Appeal policy enforcement actions.

This page covers five: Reputation.com, NiceJob, REVIEWS.io, Yotpo and Trustpilot's own business plans. The first two are closest to Birdeye, with reviews, listings and replies for local businesses. The other three lean toward online stores. We do not rank them. Source: Birdeye reviews page.

No. As of September 2026, its pricing page asks how many locations you have, in brackets from 1 to 3 up to 1,000 or more. Then it asks for a phone number. It says it is one platform on one contract. Source: Birdeye pricing.

As of September 2026, Reputation.com, NiceJob, REVIEWS.io and Trustpilot all print starting prices. Reputation.com charges per location. NiceJob charges a flat monthly fee. REVIEWS.io and Trustpilot charge per domain, billed annually. Yotpo publishes no price and asks you to book a demo. Source: NiceJob pricing.

No. Software can help you ask for reviews, reply and file reports. The platform that hosts the review decides. Google says you can report any review, but only those that break its policies are eligible for removal. Source: Report inappropriate reviews.

It depends on where your reviews live. Birdeye prices by location and its healthcare page is aimed at practices. Google does not allow online-only businesses on the map, so a DTC brand may have no Google profile to manage. Source: Business and place eligibility.

They are the stars that can show under a Google ad. Google now calls them store ratings. Its Ads help page says they can show on text ads, rich results and free product listings, with a rating out of 5 and a count of ratings. Source: About store ratings.

Google says most merchants get a rating after collecting 100 or more eligible reviews within the last 24 months. It also says a composite rating of 3.5 stars or more is needed for text ads. The count is per country, so reviews from one country do not add to another. Source: About store ratings.

They can. Trustpilot is on Google's list of review partners for store ratings. Trustpilot says reviews collected through its automated invitations can count, and that reviews do not reach Google in real time. Google decides what counts. Sources: About store ratings and Driving store ratings for Trustpilot merchants.

No. Business Profile reviews sit on your listing in Maps and Search. Store ratings are built from Google Customer Reviews and partner review sites, and they show with your ads and listings. Many online-only brands cannot have a Business Profile at all. Source: Business and place eligibility.

Google points merchants elsewhere. Its Merchant Center page says that if you find ratings you think are wrong, you need to contact the site that hosts the reviews. So the fix sits with Trustpilot or whichever partner holds the review. Source: Google store ratings overview.

Yes. Seller ratings are an account level automated asset in Google Ads, and Google gives steps to turn them off under advanced settings. Google also says there is no charge for clicks on the seller ratings themselves. Source: About account level automated assets.

This page covers five: NiceJob, Weave, REVIEWS.io, Trustpilot's business plans and Yotpo. NiceJob and Weave are closest to Podium, with review requests sent to local customers. The other three lean toward online stores. We do not rank them, and we are not paid by any of them. Source: Podium pricing.

As of September 2026, Podium's pricing page lists three plans. Core is $399 a month and Pro is $599 a month. Signature has custom pricing. HVAC businesses are told to contact sales. An AI Employee add-on is offered for any plan. Get the full quote and the contract length in writing before you compare it with anything else. Source: Podium pricing.

As of September 2026, NiceJob, REVIEWS.io, Trustpilot and Podium print prices for their plans. Podium prices two of its three plans. Weave prints only a starting point of $199 a month and hides the plan prices behind a form. Yotpo publishes no price and asks you to book a demo. Source: NiceJob pricing.

No. Review software can ask for reviews, alert you to new ones and help you reply. Only the platform that hosts a review can remove it, under its own rules. On Google, only reviews that break a content policy are eligible for removal. Source: Report inappropriate reviews.

It carries real risk. Google bars selectively asking happy customers for reviews. The FTC says its review rule has no specific ban on this, but the practice could violate the FTC Act. Ask every customer the same way instead. Source: FTC rule questions and answers.