User-generated content is the reviews, photos, and posts your customers make about you. It helps SEO three ways: reviews feed local rankings and star ratings, on-site reviews add fresh keyword-rich text in real customers' words, and mentions across the web build your brand as an entity. The work is asking at the right moment, disclosing any incentive per FTC rules, and moderating what comes in.
The three ways UGC actually moves search
Google Business Profile reviews are the most direct: review count, recency, and rating feed local pack rankings and produce the stars people see before they click. On-site reviews do something different. They add a steady flow of fresh content written in your customers' own language, which tends to match how real buyers phrase searches better than your polished product copy does. And UGC scattered across the web, forum threads, social posts, third-party review sites, builds the mentions that reinforce your brand as a recognized entity. Three mechanisms, one source — your customers.
Ask at the right moment
Most customers will leave a review if you ask when they are happy and make it a two-tap job. The moment matters. Right after a good purchase or a helpful interaction is when goodwill is highest. A follow-up message with a direct link to your Google profile beats a generic "review us" sign, because every extra step loses people. What you cannot do is gate: sending happy customers to Google while routing unhappy ones to a private form violates Google's policy and the FTC's stance on review suppression. Ask everyone the same way.
Incentives and the FTC line
You are allowed to thank people for reviews, but the rules are strict. You cannot condition a reward on the review being positive, and any incentive has to be disclosed. The FTC treats undisclosed incentivized reviews as deceptive and now attaches penalties to fake and paid reviews. So a small thank-you for any honest review, with the reviewer noting they received something, is fine. "Five stars gets you a discount" is not. Check the platform too, because Google, Leafly, and others prohibit incentivized reviews in their own terms regardless of what the FTC allows.
Moderation is not optional
Open a submission field and you will get spam, and cannabis adds its own hazards. Watch for reviews or posts that make medical claims you cannot back, and for anything that reads as marketing to minors. Set clear submission guidelines, filter the obvious junk, and remove clearly problematic content. The one thing you must not do is edit reviews to sound better. The moment customers suspect you are polishing their words, the authenticity that makes UGC valuable is gone, and so is the trust.
Mark up the real reviews
If you display real reviews on your own pages, review schema can earn star rich results in search, following Google's structured-data rules. The word that matters is real. Mark up only reviews that are actually visible on the page. Fabricating reviews or bolting rating markup onto pages that do not show them is a manual-action risk, and the short-term rich-result gain is not worth a penalty.
A worked example
A dispensary added a post-purchase text with a one-tap link to their Google profile, sent to every customer regardless of how the visit went. They offered a small loyalty credit for any honest review and had staff say plainly that the credit applied whether the review was good or bad, with reviewers noting they got it. Review volume climbed, the recent honest ones included a few three-star notes that actually made the profile look more credible, and the fresh keyword-rich text started matching long-tail local searches. They marked up the on-page reviews and picked up star results. Nothing was gated, nothing was bought for praise.
Key takeaways
- UGC helps through GBP reviews, fresh on-site text, and web-wide brand mentions.
- Ask right after a good experience and make leaving a review nearly effortless.
- Never gate reviews by sentiment; ask everyone the same way.
- Incentives are allowed only if unconditional on rating and disclosed, per FTC rules.
- Moderate for spam and unfounded medical claims, but never edit reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Can I offer a discount for a review?
You can offer an incentive for a review, but not for a positive one, and the incentive must be disclosed. The FTC bars conditioning a reward on the review being favorable and treats undisclosed incentivized reviews as deceptive. A clean approach is a small thank-you for any honest review, with the reviewer noting they received it. Many platforms also prohibit incentivized reviews in their own terms, so check those first.
How does customer content actually help SEO?
Reviews on your Google Business Profile feed local ranking and the star ratings shoppers see. On-site reviews add fresh, keyword-rich content in your customers' own words, which often matches how real people search. And UGC across the web builds the mentions and reputation signals that support your brand as an entity.
Do I have to moderate user-generated content?
Yes. Open submission fields and comment sections attract spam and off-topic junk, and cannabis content carries extra sensitivity around medical claims and anything that reads as marketing to minors. Set clear guidelines, filter obvious spam, and remove content that makes health claims you cannot stand behind. Do not edit reviews to sound better; that undermines the authenticity that makes UGC worth having.
Should I use review schema on customer reviews?
Only for real reviews shown on your own pages, and follow Google's structured-data rules. Marking up real, visible reviews can qualify you for star rich results. Never fabricate reviews or mark up ratings that are not actually on the page, which is a manual-action risk, not just a policy nicety.
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