How to Get Google Reviews: Ask, Reply and Follow the Rules

Key takeaways

Get your official review link or QR code from your Business Profile and use it everywhere.
Ask every customer, right after a good experience, with a short personal message.
Reply to reviews, positive and negative, briefly and without private details.
Never offer anything in exchange for a review, never ask only happy customers and never write or buy reviews.

Link + QRthe official ways to request reviews from your profile (Google)

Oct. 21, 2024the FTC rule on fake reviews took effect (Federal Register)

0incentives allowed in exchange for a review (Google)

Reviews are one part of a Google Business Profile. If your profile is not set up yet, start with what Google Business Profile is and how to set it up, and then the Google Business Profile checklist. This guide is only about reviews: getting more of them and handling them well.

How do you ask for Google reviews?

Use the review link or QR code that Google gives you inside your Business Profile. Send the link by text, WhatsApp or email after the service, or print the QR code where customers pay or wait. Make the message short and personal, and ask every customer, not only the ones you expect to be happy.

Sign in to your Business Profile at business.google.com.
Open Read reviews and choose Get more reviews.
Copy the link, or save the QR code (Google says QR codes are generated from a computer browser).
Save the link in your phone, your email signature and your invoice template.
Print the QR code on receipts, the counter, the reception desk or the truck.

These steps follow Google's help page to create a review link or QR code. Menu names change from time to time, so look for the same option if yours looks slightly different. Google also notes that reviewers need a Google Account, which can be created with any email address, in its tips to get more reviews.

When is the best time to ask for a review?

Ask as soon as the customer has received the value: when the job is done, the meal is over, the order has arrived or the treatment is finished. The experience is fresh and the customer is still thinking about you. Waiting weeks makes the request feel random and far fewer people follow through.

Business	Good moment	Channel
Plumber, HVAC, roofer	When the job is finished and tested	Text or WhatsApp the same day
Restaurant	With the bill	QR code on the table or receipt
Dental or medical clinic	After the appointment	Follow-up message, never mentioning the treatment
Online store	A few days after delivery	Email with the link
Professional services	When the case or project closes	Personal email from the person who did the work

A message that works: "Hi Ana, thank you for trusting us with the repair today. If you have a minute, an honest review on Google helps other neighbors find us: [link]. Thanks, Carlos." Short, personal, asks for an honest review and includes the link.

What is not allowed when you ask for reviews?

Google prohibits offering incentives such as payment, discounts or free products in exchange for reviews, asking only happy customers for reviews, discouraging negative ones, setting review quotas for staff, posting reviews about yourself or competitors and any review based on a conflict of interest. Breaking these rules can get reviews removed.

Allowed	Not allowed
Asking every customer for an honest review	Sending the link only to customers who rated you well first
Sharing the official link or QR code	A discount, gift or raffle entry for leaving a review
Thanking reviewers in a reply	Paying someone, or a service, for reviews
Reminding customers once	Asking employees or family to post reviews
Replying calmly to a negative review	Offering something to remove or change a negative review

These come from Google's prohibited and restricted content policy for Maps, under fake engagement and rating manipulation, and Google's review help page adds that incentives to change or remove reviews are prohibited too. Asking only satisfied customers is often called review gating; it is a common feature of review software, so check how yours works.

What does the FTC rule on fake reviews say?

The FTC rule, effective October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews and testimonials, buying reviews with incentives conditioned on a positive or negative opinion, undisclosed reviews from company insiders and suppressing negative reviews through baseless legal threats or intimidation. It applies to businesses selling to US consumers. This is general information, not legal advice.

The details are in the FTC announcement and the rule in the Federal Register. If you also serve customers in Latin America or elsewhere, check local consumer protection rules with your counsel; the honest system in this guide fits all of them.

How should you reply to Google reviews?

Reply to as many reviews as you can, soon after they arrive. Keep it short and specific, use the reviewer's name, sign with your name or initials and avoid copy-pasted thank-yous. Never share private information, never argue and do not use replies to advertise promotions. Replies are read by future customers, not only by the reviewer.

Positive review: thank them and mention something specific about their visit or job.
Negative review: apologize sincerely for real mistakes, explain what you can do and invite them to continue privately.
Do not accept blame for things outside your control; explain calmly instead.
Never confirm that someone is a patient or client, or mention details of their case.
Set a weekly 15-minute slot to read and answer new reviews.

That guidance follows Google's own tips for replying, which also note that a mix of positive and negative feedback often looks more trustworthy than only perfect scores. A reply to a bad review could read: "Hi Luis, I am sorry the technician arrived late; that is on us. I would like to fix this. Please call me at the office and ask for Marta."

Do Google reviews help local rankings?

Google says review count and review score are factored into local search ranking, and that more reviews and positive ratings can improve a business's local ranking. Reviews are one signal among several, together with relevance, distance and prominence, so they work best on a complete profile and a site that explains your services well.

Google says this in its guide to improving your local ranking. Reviews, profile and website together are the core of my local SEO work. As an SEO consultant, I can review your profile and your review routine in a free diagnosis: book it here.

Frequently asked questions

Can I delete a bad Google review?

Not because it is negative. You can report reviews that break Google's content policies; Google decides whether to remove them.

Can I ask friends and family for reviews?

Not if they are not real customers or have a conflict of interest. Google's policy and the FTC rule both cover this.

Can I offer a discount to everyone who leaves a review?

No. Google prohibits incentives for posting reviews, even if the review can be positive or negative.

Should I reply to reviews with no text?

A short thank-you is fine, but focus your time on reviews with comments.

Do customers need a Gmail address to review?

They need a Google Account, which can be created with a non-Gmail email.

About the author

Juan José Giraldo is an SEO consultant in Medellín, Colombia, with 5+ years of experience. He works on technical and local SEO for 600+ US car dealerships at Reunion Marketing, an Inc. 5000 agency, and supervises the SEO of 18 US online stores with more than 3 million products at Prontomowers. Read more · LinkedIn.

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How to get Google reviews: ask at the right moment, reply well and stay within the rules.