Can Google Identify and Penalize Using Their Own Reviews on Your Site?
Hello, readers!
I’m currently in the process of developing a local business directory aimed at showcasing customer feedback over time. My goal is to enhance the visibility of these listings in search results by displaying an AggregateRating, which I believe could significantly boost SEO performance.
One idea I have is to leverage reviews from Google Maps. There are quite a few positive reviews available, and I think that if I present them in a structured format on each business profile, it could be incredibly beneficial for my site.
However, I took a moment to review Google’s policies and found some critical guidelines that raise concerns:
- Aggregating reviews or ratings from external sites is prohibited.
- All ratings must originate from the users themselves.
This leads me to my main question: Has anyone in this community attempted to incorporate Google Maps reviews in this manner? Is there a risk that Google would impose penalties on my website for displaying their reviews this way, or is it possible that they don’t monitor these practices closely?
I would greatly appreciate any insights or experiences you might have on this topic! Thank you for your help!