This guide is for owners and staff who want more Google reviews from real customers without breaking Google's rules. Get your review link from your Business Profile, ask every customer soon after the visit, and send one short message with the link. Google allows you to ask. It bans rewarding people for reviews, asking only the happy customers, and pressuring anyone to review while they are still at your business.
What Google allows and what it bans
Google's policy lets you encourage reviews of a genuine experience, as long as you offer nothing in return. It bans:
- Incentives: payment, discounts, or free goods or services in exchange for a review, including for changing or removing a negative one.
- Gating: asking only the customers you expect to be happy, or discouraging negative reviews. A message that sends happy customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private form is selective asking.
- Pressure on the premises: Google says businesses should not require or pressure customers to leave ratings or reviews while they are at the business. A tablet at the counter where staff wait for a review does exactly that.
- Staff quotas and scripts: asking staff to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews that mention specific content.
- Conflicts of interest: reviews from the owner, current or former employees, or anyone with a business or personal tie to you.
Get your review link
- On a computer, go to your Business Profile on Google Search.
- Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. On Search you can also select Ask for reviews.
- Select Copy to copy the link, or right-click the QR code and save the image.
- Paste the link into the messages below.
When to ask
Ask once the customer can judge the service, while they still remember the details. For the businesses in this guide:
- Clinic: after the appointment, by message, not in the waiting room.
- Plumber or electrician: once the job is done and the customer has used it, for example the next day.
- Cafe: at payment, with a QR code on the receipt or table card they can use later.
- Salon: a message the same evening, once the customer has seen the result at home.
Messages you can copy
Keep it short: who you are, one line of thanks, the link. Replace the parts in square brackets. Every message asks for an honest review, not a good one.
Hello [first name], thank you for visiting [clinic name] today. If you have a minute, we would value an honest review on Google. It helps other patients choose a clinic. Please do not include any health details. [review link]
Hi [first name], it's [your name] from [business name]. Thanks for having us for the [job] yesterday. Would you leave an honest Google review? [review link] If anything is not working, reply here and we will come back.
Subject: Thank you for visiting [salon name] Hi [first name], Thank you for coming in on [day]. We hope you are enjoying your [service]. Would you share an honest review on Google? It takes about a minute and helps other people find us. [review link] Thanks, [your name], [salon name]
Thanks for coming in. If you have a moment later, the QR code on your receipt takes you to our Google reviews. An honest review helps us most.
Reply to the reviews you get
Google suggests replying to reviews to show customers their feedback matters. Future customers read your replies before they decide, so answer the critical ones as carefully as the good ones.
Common problems
- Can I offer a discount to customers who leave a review?
- No, not even for an honest review. Google bans payment, discounts, and free goods or services in exchange for any review.
- Can I ask only the customers who seemed happy?
- No. Google's policy bans selectively asking for positive reviews. Ask every customer the same way.
- Can staff ask customers to review on a tablet at the counter?
- No. Google says businesses should not require or pressure customers to review while on the premises. Hand them a QR code or send the link after the visit.
- Why can't a customer post their review?
- They must be signed in to a Google Account. They can create one with any email address, not only Gmail.
Keep up with new reviews in Reach
Reach lists your Google reviews in one inbox, where you can find unreplied reviews, draft a reply and post it to Google after you confirm it.