Is it worth buying reviews on Google?

Looking for a plumber, a coffee shop, or a gym? Search results immediately show stars, comments, and a rating like “4.2/5” right next to the company name. It’s your digital business card. The first impression you create before the customer clicks anything further. If you don’t take care of this, the internet will do it for you.

Hence the pressure; Business owners, marketers, online reputation managers—everyone knows this. One negative review and your average drops. Your competition has twice as many reviews. New reviews appear slowly and infrequently. You start to wonder why others are constantly giving you five stars, but you’re getting nothing.

It doesn’t sound entirely legal, but it’s not such a strange temptation. Just type it into Google and a dozen or so pages pop up. They offer packages: 10, 50, 100 five-star reviews. All “from accounts that look real.” No risk. No effort. With the promise of a better average. More stars, more clicks, maybe even more customers.

Before you make a decision, it’s worth understanding why people trust Google reviews so much and how much of an impact they have on who appears at the top of the results and who gets left behind.

The higher the average and the more recent ratings, the greater the chance that a customer will click on your listing. Nobody clicks through to the second page of results, looking for hidden gems. People choose what’s at the top. Reviews have a real impact on this.

It’s no wonder many companies try to “catch up,” because every star counts, and every genuine review requires effort. That’s when shortcuts become tempting. Buying reviews isn’t a marketing gimmick, though, but a risky gamble. Most often, it doesn’t pay off…

In this article, we’ll take a look at what buying reviews actually does, what’s involved, what can go wrong, and what you should do instead if you’re truly committed to building your online reputation. Honestly and without stretching the boundaries.

Why Google Reviews Matter for Your Business

When someone searches for a product or service, they not only compare available options but also try to assess who they can trust. And nothing helps them do this more than Google customer reviews.

Google reviews appear directly in search results and on Google Maps. There’s no need to click through five tabs or search through pages. Everything is visible at a glance—star ratings, number of reviews, recent comments. This is what people rely on to make quick decisions.

People trust opinions more than advertisements

You can run great campaigns, polish your website, and post on social media every day. But if someone sees ten positive reviews about your business on Google, it will make a bigger impression than any headline you write yourself.

Reviews act as social proof. They show that real people have interacted with your company and thought it was worth writing about. And that really matters, especially when someone is choosing between two similar offers.

Opinions influence what people click on

When someone types “dentist near me” or “best pizza in town” into Google, they get a list of businesses and their ratings. Most people don’t scroll very far. They choose what looks solid at first glance, which is usually those businesses that have:

rating of 4.5 stars or higher
a reasonable number of opinions
fresh comments that sound authentic

If your listing has no reviews or your average rating is stuck at 3.1 from five years ago, there’s a good chance you’ll be overlooked, even if your service is great.

Fresh reviews keep your business card relevant

The number of reviews matters, but so does their freshness. Ten glowing reviews from three years ago won’t impress if your competition has fresh comments from the past week.

A steady stream of new reviews demonstrates that the company is operational, visible, and continues to deliver what people are looking for. It also provides potential customers with an up-to-date picture of the situation. People want to know what it’s like now, not before the pandemic or under the previous management.

Reviews impact your local visibility

Google considers many factors when deciding who appears high in local search results, and reviews are one of them. The algorithm isn’t public, but it is known that:

a higher grade point average works to your advantage
more reviews help you stand out
newer reviews affect the so-called freshness of the business card
positive feedback strengthens trust and accuracy

All of this means that reviews have a real impact on whether anyone finds you at all.

The Temptation of Buying Google Reviews (or Why Companies Even Consider It)

Let’s assume you’re doing everything right. Customers are happy, the service works, and you’re proud of what you offer. And your Google rating? Still 3.8—and it won’t budge. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Many businesses hit this wall, especially small businesses that rely heavily on search engine traffic and referrals.

Why People Start Searching “Buy Google Reviews”

There are several reasons why companies would even consider such a step:

Reviews are slow to come in. Even when customers are satisfied, they rarely have the time (or the inclination) to write anything.
Two or three negative reviews bring down the average and you feel like it’s unfair.
The competition is swimming in five-star reviews, and you have no idea how they do it.
You’ve asked for reviews, but the response is minimal. You’re starting to think you might need to take a more direct approach.

So you type something like “buy Google reviews” and… Boom. Dozens of sites offer review packages. No configuration required, no effort required. Just choose an option: 10 reviews, 50, 100, whatever you prefer.

They promise these are so-called “non-drop reviews,” from “real” accounts, “resistant to deletion.” The prices seem quite reasonable. The text on these sites suggests that everyone does this. And maybe they do. Who knows?

Most of these sites emphasize that their reviews appear credible. The reviews are spread out over time, they sound authentic, and the accounts are supposedly American and active. But even if everything looks good at first glance, Google often detects patterns that don’t align with normal customer behavior.

From the outside, this seems like a simple way to generate positive feedback. In practice, it rarely ends well.

Everything looks like it’s completely legal.

Most of these services go to great lengths to avoid appearing suspicious. Instead of explicitly talking about buying reviews, they use terms like “reputation marketing,” “review acquisition,” or “building online credibility.” Some offer packages where reviews appear gradually over several days to avoid raising suspicion. And the results? From the outside, they’re impressive. Suddenly, five stars increase, the profile looks professional, and the first impression is significantly improved. It’s no wonder they’re so tempting.

The temptation is understandable

When you put a lot of work into your business and the numbers don’t show it, it’s frustrating. Reviews are one of the few public metrics that actually impact clicks, bookings, and sales. It’s no wonder people start thinking about how to speed up this process. The problem is that what was supposed to be a quick fix can eventually turn into a long-term problem. It might not explode immediately, but sooner or later, it resurfaces, and then the consequences are much more severe than they initially seem.

Advantages of buying reviews on Google

There’s no point pretending there aren’t any advantages to this… at least not at first glance. When someone decides to buy Google reviews, it’s usually not because they want to “game the system” for fun. Rather, it’s about a quick sense of relief. A higher rating. More stars. Something that will make the company looks better in the here and now. And let’s be honest: fake reviews can have some effect – in the short term.

1. Rapid increase in average ratings and number of reviews

A higher Google rating can instantly make a company seem more trustworthy. This is one of the main reasons some companies choose to buy Google reviews Singapore, as the change in numbers is immediate.

For example, a profile with a rating of 3.7 may not raise concerns, but it also doesn’t convey a sense of confidence. A few more negative reviews and the average drops below 3.5, a threshold at which many customers begin to hesitate or avoid the company altogether. Artificially adding ten or twenty five-star reviews can raise the rating above 4.0, a level at which companies begins to appear more credible in search results.

Buying reviews doesn’t just improve your rating; it also increases your total number of reviews. This, though less visible, also affects perceived credibility. A company with five reviews seems new or undeveloped. One with 60, 80, or more looks established, even if that number has been inflated.

This perception of trustworthiness influences customer behavior. A higher rating and more reviews can increase the chances that someone will click on your Google listing instead of choosing a competitor. It can also positively impact your local visibility, especially if the reviews are fresh and consistent with the rest of your profile.

From a visibility and first impression perspective, short-term benefits may seem attractive:

A visible jump in the average rating
The impression of greater popularity or trust
More clicks from search results or Google Maps

That’s why review sellers advertise with phrases like “improve your Google rating quickly” or “gain trust with 5-star reviews.”

While this effect can indeed occur, it’s worth remembering that it’s purely visual and very fleeting. Google’s systems are designed to detect this type of manipulation, and a sudden spike in ratings or reviews, without any actual customer activity in the background, rarely lasts long.

2. Short-term competitive advantage

When customers compare similar businesses in local searches, they most often look at three things: distance, star rating, and total number of reviews.

If your business appears alongside a competitor with significantly more reviews or a slightly higher average, you’re at a disadvantage. Even if you actually offer a better service, a lower rating or low number of reviews can discourage clicks.

This is where the temptation of fake reviews comes in. They’re seen as a quick way to level the playing field. Buying 5-star reviews can help a business:

equal (or exceed) the number of reviews of local competitors
raise your grade point average to be on par with others in the same industry
to appear more recognizable, popular, or experienced in direct comparison

This is particularly important in industries where many companies offer almost identical services and customer choice is determined by minor differences in online visibility.

number of clicks in local results
position in the so-called “3-pack” Google (especially when the number and freshness of reviews counts)
overall perception of quality when quickly viewing results

For businesses struggling to keep up with the competition and feeling like they’re falling behind online, buying reviews can seem like the only way to stay in the game.

In fact, such tactics can work well in the short term. A surge in ratings and reviews can make your listing look better and more competitive. You might see more clicks, calls, or visits simply because your profile looks more solid at first glance.

The problem is that this advantage rests on a very fragile foundation. Google’s algorithm regularly analyzes review behavior, and a sudden influx of positive feedback that doesn’t align with actual customer activity often raises suspicions. If these reviews are deleted or the account is penalized, this temporary advantage disappears along with credibility, which is difficult to rebuild later.

3. Controlling your first impression

Online, first impressions often last only a few seconds. When someone first sees your business listing on Google, they typically only look at the star rating, number of reviews, and the first few comments. This quick assessment shapes how your business is perceived before they even click, call, or visit.

Buying a few 5-star reviews can instantly change that first impression. A wave of praise makes your profile look more polished, cohesive, and “customer-approved,” especially if all the recent reviews are short, positive, and appeared around the same time. This presentation can attract attention and instill a new sense of trust in people who are unfamiliar with your company and lack their own context.

At the same time, negative reviews fall lower on the list. If someone scrolls through the reviews section and has to dig a bit to find a complaint, its impact on the decision may be significantly less. For companies with one or two negative reviews high on the list, this “burying” may seem like a solution.

A business card full of praise looks good and can positively impact how your company is perceived in those few crucial seconds. This can increase the chance that someone will click on your profile or choose you over the competition.

But first impressions aren’t the whole story. If a customer’s actual experience doesn’t align with what they read in reviews, they’ll notice very quickly. Once trust is broken, it’s incredibly difficult to rebuild.