Google updated its review snippet documentation on 24 July, clarifying that self-serving reviews you host about your own business are not eligible for star ratings, and that fake or undisclosed incentivised reviews can trigger a manual action. If you paint your own stars in search, this is a warning.
The stars are for reviews you did not write about yourself. That is the whole rule.
Google has tightened its rules on review snippets and it is now willing to hand out manual actions to sites that break them. If you show your own star ratings in search, read this.
Google updated its review snippet documentation on 24 July, spelling out more clearly when review markup can trigger a manual action. The core rule is the one businesses keep tripping over. Google calls reviews self-serving when a review about a business sits on that same business's own website, whether in the markup directly or through an embedded third-party widget. Self-serving reviews are not eligible for the star-rating rich result. Fake or undisclosed incentivised reviews go further and can earn a penalty.
In plain terms. You cannot mark up reviews about yourself, on your own site, and expect Google to paint stars next to your listing. You can still publish testimonials. You just will not get the rich snippet for them, and if the reviews are fake or paid without disclosure, you risk a manual action.
Why it matters
Those star ratings in search results lift click-through, so businesses have long gamed them with self-serving markup. Google closing that off removes an easy win and adds real downside. A manual action does not just kill the stars, it can drag a wider set of pages. Chasing the snippet with fake or self-referential reviews is now a way to lose ground, not gain it.
Star ratings Google shows for self-serving reviews you host about your own business
What to do about it
Reviews still matter enormously. Just earn them honestly on platforms built for them, and stop trying to paint your own stars.