A plumber in Bristol, a nail salon in Glasgow and a dog groomer in Norwich all have the same Facebook problem. Customers say lovely things in person, but the Page shows a handful of recommendations from years ago. This guide covers how Facebook recommendations for business work now, how to get more of them honestly, and how to handle the ones you would rather not see.
What are Facebook recommendations for business?
Star ratings have gone. As OneLocal's explainer on the Facebook reviews tab puts it, customers "can no longer leave star-rated reviews for businesses on Facebook", and the rating shown is estimated "based on how many people recommend or don't recommend the Page, as well as any past ratings and reviews it may have."
This matters for two reasons. First, a recommendation is a yes or no choice, so a lukewarm customer who might once have given three stars now has to pick a side. Second, old reviews still affect your score. If your Page had a rough patch years ago, those ratings still count until newer recommendations outweigh them.
Do customers still read Facebook recommendations?
BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, based on a panel of US consumers, found that 97% read reviews for local businesses, and 41% say they "always" read them, up from 29% the year before. On the writing side, 34% had left a Facebook review in the past year, second only to Google at 45%. UK habits are broadly similar, but treat the exact figures as a guide.
Reach is the UK-specific half of the picture. Ofcom's Online Nation figures, as reported by ISPreview, show Facebook and Messenger together were used by 93% of UK online adults in May 2025.
How do you turn on recommendations for a Facebook Page?
Meta moves these menus around often, so the labels on your screen may differ slightly. The general route is:
- Log in to the Facebook profile that manages the Page and switch into the Page.
- Look for Reviews on the Page itself, usually under the "More" menu below the cover photo.
- If it's missing, open the Page settings and look in the privacy section for the option to allow reviews. According to OneLocal, there is no save button, so the change applies as soon as you toggle it.
- Check the Page category. A Page set up as a creator or public figure may not offer reviews, so a local service business should use a local business category with an address or service area.
Once it is live, visit the Page in a private browser window to check what a customer sees.
How can you get more Facebook recommendations without breaking the rules?
The businesses that collect recommendations steadily all do one thing: the ask is part of the job, not an afterthought. A few approaches that work well for UK service businesses:
- Send a direct link. Copy the URL of your Page's Reviews section and shorten it. Put it in your post-job text message, your invoice email footer and your WhatsApp quick replies.
- Time it to the result. A cleaner should ask when the client walks into a spotless house, not three weeks later. A dentist should ask after the check-up, not after the bill.
- Ask in person first. "Would you mind recommending us on Facebook? I'll send you the link now" works far better than a cold automated message.
- Print a QR code for counters, van windows and receipts if your customers come to you.
If your customer list lives in a booking or invoicing tool, the follow-up can be automated. Our guide to AI-assisted customer service for small businesses covers how to trigger a polite request after each completed job without it feeling robotic.
Is it legal to incentivise Facebook recommendations in the UK?
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 added fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews to the list of banned practices, and the Competition and Markets Authority can enforce it directly. That covers more than buying reviews from a click farm. Asking only your happiest customers, having staff post recommendations from personal profiles, or swapping "recommend us for 10% off" all sit somewhere between risky and unlawful.
Review gating is a common trap. Some review tools send a "were you happy?" question first and only show the Facebook link to people who say yes. It looks clever, but it filters out honest criticism, and that is exactly the kind of practice regulators and platforms are cracking down on.
How should you reply to a negative Facebook recommendation?
A good reply has three parts: thank them for the feedback, acknowledge the specific issue without arguing about it, and give a clear next step with a name and contact route. For example: "Thanks for letting us know, Sarah. That's not the standard we aim for on boiler services. I've sent you a message so I can sort the return visit this week. Tom."
Things to avoid: quoting the customer's private details, blaming the customer in public, copy-pasting the same reply under every complaint, and getting into a back-and-forth thread. If complaints are piling up faster than you can answer them, a structured process helps. Our guide to AI-assisted complaint handling for UK businesses explains how to triage complaints and draft replies quickly without losing the personal tone.
Can you remove a fake or unfair Facebook recommendation?
Use the three-dot menu on the recommendation and choose the option to report it. Pick the reason that matches most closely, and keep a screenshot and a short note of why it breaks the rules. If you have a CRM or booking system, check whether the person was ever a customer. That evidence matters if you need to escalate.
While the report is pending, post a short, neutral reply: "We can't find a record of a booking under this name. Please message us with your booking reference so we can look into it." Readers see that you engaged, and if the post is fake, the lack of a response from the poster tells its own story.
Should you turn Facebook recommendations off?
The temptation usually comes after one bad week. But a Page with no reviews section reads as either brand new or hiding something. A Page with mostly positive recommendations and a couple of well-handled complaints reads as a real business with real customers.
There are narrow exceptions. A Page that exists only to share video content, or a Page used for internal community updates, may not need reviews at all. For any business that takes bookings or quotes, keep them on and put the effort into replies and new recommendations.
How do Facebook recommendations fit into the rest of your reputation?
Recommendations only work hard when people see them. Embedding your best ones on service pages and quote forms puts them in front of visitors at the moment they are deciding, and our guide to adding reviews to your website walks through the options, from simple screenshots to live widgets.
A simple monthly routine is enough for most small businesses:
- Count new recommendations on Facebook and new reviews on Google.
- Reply to anything unanswered.
- Pick two or three new quotes to add to the website.
- Check whether the ask is going out after every job.
If you would rather have the asking, replying and monitoring handled as one system, see how review generation and management for UK businesses can be set up end to end.
Facebook Recommendations for UK Businesses — FAQ
Can customers still leave star ratings on a Facebook business Page?
No. Customers can no longer leave a star rating on a Facebook Page. They choose either Recommend or Don't Recommend, and they can add written comments and photos. Facebook still shows a rating on the Page, but it is worked out from how many people recommend or don't recommend the business, along with any older ratings and reviews the Page already had. In practice, a steady flow of recent positive recommendations will lift the score over time, and a handful of old one-star reviews will carry less weight as new recommendations come in. If the rating looks wrong, check the Reviews tab for old reviews from before the change, because those still count towards the score.
How many customers actually leave reviews on Facebook?
BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 found that 34% of consumers had left a Facebook review in the past year, second only to Google at 45%. The survey panel was US consumers, so treat it as a guide rather than an exact UK figure, but the pattern matches what most UK businesses see: Google is clearly ahead and Facebook is a solid second. The same survey found consumers use an average of six review sites. So Facebook should sit alongside your Google Business Profile, not replace it. For a small UK business, the best approach is usually to ask on whichever platform the customer already uses, and make both links easy to find.
Can I delete a negative Facebook recommendation?
Not just because you don't like it. A Page admin can't remove an honest recommendation, even a harsh one. What you can do is report a recommendation that breaks Facebook's rules, for example spam, hate speech, a post from someone who was never a customer, or a post about a different business. Use the three-dot menu on the recommendation to report it, and keep a note of why it breaks the rules. While you wait, post a calm, factual public reply. Readers often judge a business more on how it handles criticism than on the criticism itself. Turning the Reviews tab off to hide one bad post usually causes more trouble than it solves.
Is it legal to offer a discount in exchange for a Facebook recommendation in the UK?
Be very careful. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 made fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews banned practices in the UK, and the Competition and Markets Authority can enforce this directly. Offering a reward only for positive recommendations, or hiding the fact that a review was incentivised, puts you at risk under consumer protection law. Facebook's own feedback rules also restrict offering incentives in return for reviews, so a discount can get recommendations removed even where it might be lawful. The safest approach is to ask every customer for honest feedback, with no reward attached and no filtering by who was happy. For almost every small business, skipping incentives altogether is the simplest and safest choice.
Should I focus on Facebook or Google reviews first?
For most UK small businesses, Google comes first because it shapes Maps and local search results. BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers found 71% used Google to read reviews, down from 83% in 2025, and 45% had left a Google review in the past year. Facebook still matters, though: 34% had left a Facebook review, and Ofcom reports that Facebook and Messenger together reached 93% of UK online adults in May 2025. If your customers already follow you on Facebook, asking there has very little friction. A good routine asks for a Google review by default and offers Facebook as the alternative for customers who prefer it.
