Google review policies: questions and answers

No. Price is part of the experience of a business. Off-topic means the review is not about dealing with you at all.

Usually yes. A review that comments on the news and describes no experience of the business is social commentary. Quote the sentence that shows it.

A review of your Dallas site left on your Austin profile is not about an experience at that location. Report it as off-topic and say which site it belongs to.

Not for the name. Google allows the names of doctors and other professionals who do business under their name. If the review adds a home address, a private number or a threat, report that.

Google's examples are a full name or last name. A first name alone is weak. A full name, or a first name with a phone number or a street, is a clear case.

Google's policy text also covers personal information about yourself, including medical information. In practice the strong cases are about other people. Never confirm or deny anything about the patient in your reply.

It can be. Google lists unsubstantiated allegations of unethical behavior or criminal wrongdoing as offensive content. A review that says 'fraud' and describes nothing is a fair case. One that describes a billing dispute and calls it a scam is closer to opinion.

Google removes profanity used to offend or to emphasize criticism, and allows inoffensive uses. A review built on abuse is a good case. A single mild word in a real complaint is a weak one.

Google's overview names defamatory language as a violation, but it does not judge who is right in a dispute. Serious false statements of fact are a legal matter. See our page on illegal content.

No. 'I went to another clinic and preferred it' is an experience. A link, a code, a phone number or a pitch is what breaks the rule.

No. It is promotional content whatever the rating. Report it as you would a 1-star advert. Even treatment across ratings is the honest way to use the tool.

A phone number, email address or social handle in a review breaks the policy by itself, whatever it is for.

No. The policy is aimed at calls to action and offers for the sale of regulated goods. A patient saying what they paid you, in a complaint, is describing an experience, not making an offer.

Google's list names health and medical devices and regulated pharmaceuticals, and says it is not limited to the list. Supplements are not named. For a supplement review with a sales pitch, the advertising policy is the safer one to cite.

Anyone. The usual case is a stranger using your reviews to sell medicine without a prescription.

Google's policy names false or misleading accounts of the quality of a service. In practice Google also says it does not get involved in conflict between businesses and customers. A dispute about what happened is a weak case. A review of a service you do not offer is a strong one.

Report the review for impersonation, and report the user profile from the Google Maps app as well. The doctor can report it too.

Only if it is harmful and deceptive, in Google's words. 'This drug cures diabetes' in a review is a fair case. 'It did not work for me' is an experience.

No. It is an experience, and Google allows general discussion of things that can be harmful. The policy is about promoting or directing harmful use.

That is a fair case. It gives directions for a harmful use of a medicine. Quote the instruction in the appeal.

Google's violence and gore policy covers content intended to be shocking or gratuitous. A photo of a reaction at an injection site is more likely an experience. Report only the clear cases.

It can be, and the law differs by country. In the United States, Section 230 shields platforms from most claims over what users post, so the claim is against the writer. Read can you sue over a bad review and speak to a lawyer before you file anything.

Google gives no time for it. Expect it to be slower, because a legal claim needs checking. Use the report button first when a policy also applies.

No. We are not a law firm and nothing here is legal advice. We identify the reviews that belong on this route and say so in the audit.

No. A patient who describes their care in plain words is sharing an experience. The rule is aimed at content meant to arouse, and at sexual remarks about a person.

Both. Name harassment first, because that is where Google lists this kind of remark. Tell the staff member before you do anything else.

Yes. Google says its policies apply to all Maps user content, including text reviews, ratings, images and videos.

Rarely. It matters when a place is near an attack or is wrongly linked to one online, and its profile fills with extreme comments.

No. That is an insult or an unsupported allegation, which falls under offensive content. This policy is about content that promotes or celebrates terrorism.

If content threatens people or a place, contact the police. A report to Google does not replace that.