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Buying Google reviews: why it’s a very bad idea

Digital Marketing 5 min read 23 septembre 2025

It is illegal (deceptive commercial practice) and penalized by law (heavy fines).

Google is detecting them better and better. Its algorithms identify suspicious review flows (new accounts, a flurry of reviews in 24 hours).

Google penalty: removal of ALL reviews (even the genuine ones), demotion of the listing, and even account deletion. It’s digital death.

Customers aren’t naive. A sheet with 500 five-star reviews without any text or with approximate French seems suspicious.

It’s better to have a 4.7/5 rating with genuine, nuanced reviews than a 5/5 rating with fake ones. Perfection doesn’t inspire confidence.

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