What it is
Marking up reviews you wrote about yourself, or inventing ratings, is against Google policy and a fast route to a manual action. Review markup must be genuine third-party feedback. Manufactured ratings. Policy violation; manual-action risk. Only mark up genuine, policy-compliant reviews.
Why does self-serving/fake review markup matter for AI search?
Policy violation; manual-action risk.
How do you fix it?
Only mark up genuine, policy-compliant reviews.
How do you find it on your site?
- Check whether review markup reflects genuine, independent reviews.
- Flag self-authored or fabricated ratings.
- Remove non-compliant review markup.
- Use only authentic reviews, ideally third-party verified.
Which ranking and citation factors does it touch?
Fake or self-serving review markup risks a manual action and trust loss. Only genuine reviews belong in markup.
What is the impact?
Medium-high; penalty risk. Direct.
What is the evidence?
Review markup must follow policy. Google Search Central, Structured data general guidelines; Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search
Sources
Frequently asked questions about self-serving/fake review markup
What does "Self-serving/fake review markup" mean?
Manufactured ratings.
How do you fix self-serving/fake review markup?
Only mark up genuine, policy-compliant reviews.