Offering a discount for a review can get your reviews removed and trigger FTC penalties.
"Leave us a review and get 10% off" sounds harmless, and plenty of businesses run some version of it. It is also a fast way to get your reviews removed, your listing flagged, and in the US, to run afoul of FTC rules that now carry real penalties. Review incentives are one of the most misunderstood areas of local marketing, and the line between legal and prohibited is sharper than most owners realize.
This guide explains what review incentives Google and the FTC actually allow in 2026, what crosses the line, and how to grow reviews the safe way.
Incentivizing reviews is heavily restricted, and offering rewards in exchange for reviews violates both Google's policies and FTC guidelines. You cannot pay for, discount for, or reward reviews.
The core rule is that a review must be honest and unbiased, and an incentive taints that. A restaurant in Miami, FL offering a free dessert for a five-star review is breaking the rules, even if every review is genuine.
⚠️ Common Mistake: Treating incentives as a gray area. They are not. Offering anything of value in exchange for a review is prohibited and can trigger review removal and penalties.
The FTC prohibits incentivized, fake, and biased reviews, and its rules now carry real consequences for businesses that break them. US businesses need to take this seriously.
Specifically off-limits: paying for reviews, offering discounts or freebies in exchange for reviews, gating reviews to filter out negative ones, and posting fake reviews. A dental practice in Columbus, OH that offers account credit for reviews is exposed to FTC penalties, not just Google removal.
📊 Flento Data: With FTC enforcement around fake and incentivized reviews tightening, the businesses that grow reviews compliantly protect themselves while competitors relying on incentives risk removal and fines.
You can absolutely ask for reviews, you just cannot reward them, so build a strong request process instead. Asking well beats incentivizing every time.
Ask every customer for an honest review at the moment of peak satisfaction, make it easy with a one-tap link or QR code, and respond to what comes in. This is the Flento Compliant Review Loop: ask genuinely, make it effortless, incentivize nothing. A gym in Phoenix, AZ that simply asks at the right moment grows reviews faster than one risking incentives.
💡 Pro Tip: You may remind and encourage customers to leave a review, and you may make it easy. You just cannot tie anything of value to it. Encouragement is fine, exchange is not.
Review gating, filtering customers so only happy ones are asked to leave public reviews, is also prohibited, so ask everyone the same way. Gating is a common trap businesses fall into unknowingly.
Do not screen for positive feedback before directing customers to public review sites. A salon in Charlotte, NC that only sends the review link to customers it knows are happy is gating, which violates the rules. Ask all customers, and let the honest reviews stand.
You do not need incentives to win at reviews. You need a consistent, honest ask, and it keeps you on the right side of Google and the FTC.
Is it legal to offer a discount for a Google review? No. Offering discounts, freebies, or any reward in exchange for reviews violates Google's policies and FTC guidelines, and can lead to review removal and penalties, even if the reviews are honest.
What does the FTC prohibit around reviews? Paying for reviews, offering incentives in exchange for them, posting fake reviews, and review gating. FTC rules on fake and incentivized reviews now carry real consequences for US businesses.
Can I ask customers for reviews at all? Yes. You can ask every customer for an honest review, remind them, and make it easy with a link or QR code. What you cannot do is offer anything of value in exchange for the review.
What is review gating? Gating is screening customers so only the happy ones are directed to leave public reviews. It is prohibited. You must ask all customers the same way and let honest reviews, positive or negative, stand.
Incentives are a shortcut that backfires. Grow reviews with an honest, consistent ask and stay safe with Google and the FTC. Automate compliant review requests with Flento's Google review management software. Get started free.
