Check your review request
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How it decides
Google bans any reward for a review. The FTC rule bans one only when tied to a positive or negative review, and a knowing violation can cost up to $53,088 per violation (read October 6, 2026). Montrelia's rule is on the SEO page; for agency red flags, see how to choose an agency.
To verify a verdict, search its source for the words after Check.
| What you plan | Yelp | FTC rule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask every recent customer, offer nothing | Allowed. Merchants may ask for reviews of a real experience, with no incentive and no attempt to steer the rating or the words.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "We do allow merchants to" | No line on this. The Yelp page covers Yelp reviews and says not to ask anyone. Do not reuse this message to ask for Yelp reviews.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "ask anyone to review your business" | Allowed. No section bans a plain ask. A general request to your purchasers is exempt from the fake-review sections 465.2(b) and (c).Check: 16 CFR 465.2(d)(1) |
| Ask only customers you think were happy | Not allowed. Merchants may not selectively solicit positive reviews or discourage negative ones. A survey that passes only high scores on to Google does the same, in our reading.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "selectively solicit positive reviews" | No line on this. The Yelp page covers Yelp reviews. It says not to ask anyone, and names asking only happy customers as a source of biased ratings.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "only ask happy customers" | Possible problem. The rule has no specific ban on it. The FTC says the practice could violate the FTC Act.Check: FTC questions and answers, "only from customers whom we think are happy" |
| Ask family, friends or employees | Not allowed. Reviews based on a conflict of interest, including employment and family ties, are not allowed on Maps.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "conflict of interest" | Not allowed. Yelp says not to ask friends or family, or anyone else, to review your business.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "friends, family" | Depends. Allowed under the rule only with a clear disclosure of the relationship. A manager who asks relatives or staff, does not tell them to disclose and gets undisclosed reviews can violate 465.5(c). Insider reviews that lift the average rating can still violate the FTC Act.Check: 16 CFR 465.5(c); FTC questions and answers, "family members" |
| Ask customers to review you on Yelp | No line on this. Google's policy covers reviews on Google Maps.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation | Not allowed. Yelp says not to ask anyone to review your business, including customers, mailing list subscribers, friends and family.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "ask anyone to review your business" | Allowed. No section bans a plain ask. Offering a reward is a separate line.Check: 16 CFR 465.2(d)(1) |
| Give a discount or gift for a review | Not allowed. Payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for a review are not allowed, whatever the rating.Check: Google Maps policy, Fake Engagement, "Offer incentives" | Not allowed. Yelp says not to offer freebies, discounts or payment in exchange for reviews.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "freebies, discounts, or payment" | Possible problem. The rule bans a reward only when it is tied to a sentiment. Failing to disclose an incentive could violate the FTC Act.Check: FTC questions and answers, "give consumers incentives for reviews" |
| Reward only 5-star or positive reviews | Not allowed. The same ban on incentives applies, and Google allows requests only if they do not try to influence the rating.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "influence the rating" | Not allowed. Yelp says not to offer freebies, discounts or payment in exchange for reviews.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "freebies, discounts, or payment" | Not allowed. Section 465.4 bans a reward conditioned, expressly or by implication, on a particular sentiment, such as a positive review. The FTC says a disclosure does not fix it.Check: 16 CFR 465.4; FTC questions and answers, "5-star reviews" |
| Ask for a 5-star or positive review | Possible problem. Google lists what merchants may do: ask, with no incentive and no attempt to influence the rating or the contents. Asking for 5 stars falls outside that list, in our reading.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "attempting to influence the rating" | No line on this. The Yelp page says not to ask for reviews at all.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "ask anyone to review your business" | No line on this. The rule has no line on asking for a rating without a reward. With a reward, see the reward lines.Check: 16 CFR 465.4 |
| Ask for a named technician or wording | Not allowed. Merchants should not request that specific content be included, including content that names a staff member.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "specific content" | No line on this. The Yelp page has no line on wording. It says not to ask at all. | No line on this. The rule has no line on requesting content.Check: 16 CFR 465.2 to 465.8 |
| Pay to change or remove a review | Not allowed. Incentives for revising or removing a negative review are not allowed.Check: Google Maps policy, Fake Engagement, "revision or removal" | Not allowed. Yelp says you cannot offer incentives for users to remove reviews.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "incentives for users to remove reviews" | Possible problem. The rule does not ban it. The FTC says paying to change or remove a truthful negative review may violate the FTC Act.Check: FTC questions and answers, "compensation to a consumer to remove or change a review" |
| Give staff a target number of reviews | Not allowed. Merchants may not ask staff to solicit a certain number of reviews.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "staff solicit a certain number" | Not allowed. Yelp says staff should never compete to collect reviews.Check: Yelp, Don't Ask for Reviews, "compete to collect reviews" | No line on this. No section of 16 CFR 465 covers staff targets.Check: 16 CFR 465.2 to 465.8 |
| Pressure reviews on your premises | Not allowed. Merchants should not require or pressure customers to review while on the premises. A link or QR code with no requirement is not pressure, in our reading.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "on the premises" | No line on this. The Yelp page has no line on pressure. It says not to ask at all. | No line on this. The rule has no line on where or when you ask.Check: 16 CFR 465.2 to 465.8 |
| Threaten or publicly accuse a reviewer | Possible problem. Merchants may not discourage or prohibit negative reviews. A threat meant to stop or remove one fits that line, in our reading.Check: Google Maps policy, Rating Manipulation, "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews" | No line on this. The Yelp page we read has no line on this. | Depends. Section 465.7(a) bans using a groundless legal threat, intimidation, or a public accusation known to be false (or made with reckless disregard for the truth) to stop or remove a review. A threat with a legitimate legal basis is not banned.Check: 16 CFR 465.7(a); FTC questions and answers, "threatening to take legal action" |
| Pay for reviews or write them yourself | Not allowed. Reviews paid for, directly or in kind, and reviews not based on a real experience are not allowed and will be removed.Check: Google Maps policy, Fake Engagement, "paid for, directly or in kind" | No line on this. The Yelp page we read has no line on fake reviews. | Not allowed. Section 465.2 bans writing, creating or selling a review that misrepresents the reviewer or their experience, and buying one the business knew or should have known did.Check: 16 CFR 465.2(a) and (b) |
| Result | When it shows |
|---|---|
| Not allowed on Google, and the FTC rule bans it | A ticked line is banned by the FTC rule. The $53,088 penalty card shows only for this result. |
| Not allowed on Google | A ticked line is not allowed on Google and none is banned by the FTC rule. |
| No clear ban, but there is a risk | No ticked line is not allowed on Google or banned by the FTC rule, and one is marked possible problem or depends. |
| Nothing here is banned on Google. Yelp's policy is against it | Only Yelp has a problem with what you ticked. |
| Check the words in your message | No ticked line is a problem and the message holds a flagged word. |
| Allowed on Google and under the FTC rule | Only the plain ask is ticked and the message has no flagged word. |
| Points to the line | Words and phrases it flags |
|---|---|
| Ask for a 5-star or positive review | 5 star, 5-star, five star, five-star, glowing, positive review, good review, great review |
| Give a discount or gift for a review | discount, coupon, gift card, free, a dollar sign, % off, giveaway, raffle, prize, reward. Ignored: feel free, free to, hassle-free, risk-free, worry-free |
| Ask only customers you think were happy | if you were happy, if you are satisfied, if you loved, if you enjoyed, if you had a great experience |
| Ask for a named technician or wording | mention, in your review |
| Pressure reviews on your premises | before you leave, before you go, while you are here, on the spot |
What it cannot tell you
- Whether anyone would act, or your intent. It shows only the written rules.
- Facebook, Angi or other sites. Only Google, Yelp and the FTC rule were read.
- Virginia or DC law, which we have not read. This is not legal advice.
- Whether your business may have a Google profile: use the eligibility checker.
Sources
| Source | What we used | Date read | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Maps user-generated content policy | The Google column. The page prints no date. The same text is in Business Profile Help. | October 6, 2026 | Google. Google sells Google Ads. The policy page sells nothing. |
| Yelp Support Center, Don't Ask for Reviews | The Yelp column. The page prints no date. | October 6, 2026 | Yelp. Yelp sells advertising to businesses. The policy page sells nothing. |
| 16 CFR Part 465, eCFR | The FTC rule column. The rule took effect October 21, 2024. eCFR showed Title 16 up to date as of October 5, 2026. | October 6, 2026 | US government. Sells nothing. |
| FTC, Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: questions and answers | How the FTC reads incentives, asking happy customers, family reviews, replies and legal threats. The page shows a November 2024 date. | October 6, 2026 | US Federal Trade Commission. Sells nothing. |
| 16 CFR 1.98(d), eCFR and FTC notice, September 15, 2026 | The $53,088 ceiling per violation. The notice says 2026 penalty amounts stay at the 2025 levels. | October 6, 2026 | US government. Sells nothing. |
| Federal Register, final rule, August 22, 2024 | Civil penalties need actual or fairly implied knowledge, and courts may set much lower amounts than the ceiling. | October 6, 2026 | US government. Sells nothing. |
Questions people ask
Can I send a satisfaction survey before the Google link?
Google's policy bans selectively soliciting positive reviews and does not mention surveys. In our reading, a survey is safe when every respondent, whatever the score, gets the same Google link. A survey that passes only high scores to Google is selective. Yelp's page says not to ask for reviews after a survey.
What happens if I break Google's rule?
Google's policy says incentivized or biased reviews are not allowed and will be removed from Maps. It also says harmful behavior can lead to actions from suspended account privileges to account termination, and it does not say what happens to a business profile. For a knowing FTC rule violation, a court can set a civil penalty up to $53,088 per violation.
Can I reply to a bad review or ask the customer to update it?
Yes, under the FTC rule. Its questions and answers say you can respond publicly, contact the customer to resolve the problem, and ask a satisfied customer to update a review. You may not make a knowingly false accusation or an unfounded legal threat. Google and Yelp both ban a discount or payment for changing or removing a review.
Does Virginia or DC law add other rules?
We have not read Virginia or DC law, so this page states nothing about it. The other two sources, Google's policy and the federal FTC rule, are not specific to a state. Ask a lawyer licensed in your state about anything beyond them.
How does Montrelia ask for reviews?
Review management means asking your real customers for reviews and replying to them. We ask all recent customers, not only the happy ones, and we never buy, write or filter reviews. It is part of the SEO + GEO plan: $2,000 per month plus a one-time $1,000 setup fee, 3-month minimum, then month-to-month.
Last updated October 6, 2026