Google Reviews Compliance Cheat Sheet

The Google review rules changed. Most firms are still asking the old way.

What changed in May 2026, what to stop doing today, and the staff playbook that works inside the new rules.

Google updated its review policies and started enforcing rules that have been on the books for years. None of this means you stop asking. It means you change how you ask, how you incentivize it, and how the review gets written. Print pages 4 and 5 for your intake team.

For the full write-up on what Google changed, read Google just changed the rules on reviews — here’s what every law firm needs to know.

What you get in the cheat sheet

Seven pages, built to be used the same day you read them. Two of them are written to be printed and handed to the people making the asks.

• The 6 changes at a glance — stop doing this, do this instead, one row each
• The per-ask bonus conversion — $25, $50 and $100 per-review bonuses converted, with monthly cost at 50 asks
• Your numbers worksheet — fill it in once, hand the per-ask number to your team
• Copy-and-paste email footer — two visible options, the cleanest defense against a gating accusation
• The staff playbook — who to ask, the five authorized moments, the channel rules, and the one approved script
• The follow-up cadence — Day 0, 3, 7 and 14 scripts, then when to stop

What you do with it once it lands

The cheat sheet closes with a 7-day action plan. Here is how it opens.