How do I get more Google reviews for my business?

Covent Market Amber

Ask every customer in person at the end of the job or visit, unless your professional regulator forbids it, then text or email your review link. The link and QR code are in your Google Business Profile under Read Reviews, then Get more reviews. Never offer a reward for a review, ask only happy customers, or let staff or family post reviews.

Get a free preview

How do I ask for a Google review, and when?

At the end of the job or appointment, face to face, while the work is fresh. Ask in one sentence and say how the link will reach them. Then send it within the hour by text or email, or make sure the QR code is on the receipt, so they can write the review later, in their own words, without you standing there.

Google lets you ask, but its policy says a business must not pressure customers to review while they are on its premises, or ask for particular content: no “five stars”, no keywords, no “please mention Mike”. Standing over someone in their own driveway while they type is no better. Google also does not allow asking only the customers who seem happy, so the link goes to everyone, including the customer whose job ran late. The exception is a profession whose regulator forbids asking at all, covered further down.

Wording you can copy, face to face, by text and by email:

At the end of a job: “Thanks for having me. If you have a minute this week, a Google review helps people find me. I'll text you the link.”
At a counter or front desk, while they pay: “If you have a minute later, a Google review helps people find us. The QR code is on your receipt.”
By text, the same day: “Hi [name], it's [your name] from [business]. Thanks again for today. If you're willing to leave a Google review, here's the link: [link]. Whatever you thought, I read every one.”
By email, a few days later if they have not got to it: “In case the link got buried, here it is again: [link]. No pressure either way, and thanks again for choosing us.” This is the only reminder; after it, stop.

Where is my Google review link and QR code?

Open your Business Profile, choose Read Reviews, then Get more reviews, and select Copy for the link. The QR code is on the same screen: right-click it and choose Save image as. Google says the QR code can currently only be made in a browser on a computer, not on a phone. The menu labels on your screen may differ slightly from these.

Three small things are worth knowing. Reviewers must be signed in to a Google Account, though it does not have to be a Gmail address. A new review can take up to two weeks to show in your overall score. And for service businesses, Google may ask the reviewer which services you provided, with the options drawn partly from the service list in your profile, so keep that list complete.

Then put the link wherever the job or visit already ends. Google suggests receipts, thank-you emails, the end of a chat and a printed QR code in the shop. For most small businesses, I would start with:

Emailed invoices or receipts, with the link; printed ones, with the QR code
The job-complete text or email you already send
A small card with the QR code, left with the paperwork or on the counter
A sign at the till or front desk, for shops, salons and clinics

How should I reply to Google reviews?

Personally and briefly. Google advises against pasting the same thank-you under every review and against using replies to offer deals or promotions; it suggests putting the effort into reviews where you can answer a question or give an update. A reply that mentions the actual job reads like a person. A template reads like a template.

For a bad review: use their name, respond to the specific complaint, offer an apology where one is owed, and sign off with your own name or initials. Never mention private details, such as their address, what you found in their house or what they paid. Offer to sort it out by phone, and reply promptly. The reviewer is notified when you reply and can still change their review after reading it.

Only a verified business can reply. Replies are checked before they go public, usually within ten minutes but sometimes up to 30 days, and they appear under the business name. Local SEO is included with every site I build, and Care Plus adds a monthly Business Profile post, but asking your customers is the one part I cannot do for you.

What breaks Google's review rules, and what can it cost?

On Google, the reviews are removed and the profile can be restricted, among other measures: no new reviews for a set period, existing reviews unpublished for a set period, or a public warning on the profile that fake reviews were removed. Google emails the owner before applying a restriction, and the owner can appeal.

Canadian law applies too. In January 2024 the Competition Bureau warned that anyone who writes or allows reviews that give a false or misleading impression could be liable under the Competition Act, and that employees must disclose that they work for the business even when their opinion is honest. In 2015 Bell Canada agreed to pay a $1.25 million penalty after some employees were encouraged to post positive reviews of two Bell apps without saying they worked there. In December 2023 Montreal-based Amp Me agreed to pay $310,000 of a $1.5 million penalty, after the Bureau took its limited ability to pay into account, over concerns that included allegedly buying positive reviews for its app from third parties between 2019 and 2022.

Each of these breaks Google's review policy, however harmless it looks from behind the counter:

A discount, a free service, a draw entry or any other reward for a review. Google treats incentives as fake engagement, even when the review asked for is an honest one.
Paying, or offering anything, to get a bad review changed or taken down. The same incentive rule covers revisions and removals.
Asking only the customers who seem happy, or a “happy? review us, unhappy? tell us privately” funnel. Google bans discouraging negative reviews and asking selectively for positive ones.
Reviews from staff, former staff, family or competitors. Google removes reviews written with a conflict of interest.
Review quotas for staff, or asking customers to name an employee in their review. Google's policy names both.
Buying reviews from any service, however it describes them. Paid reviews are exactly what the incentive and fake-engagement rules exist to stop.

Is it different for therapists, dentists and lawyers?

For some, yes, and it can mean not asking at all: the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario tells its registrants not to request or solicit testimonials, and its practice standards count an online review as one. The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario has a practice advisory on professional advertising for dentists, and the Law Society of Ontario has marketing rules for lawyers, so read your own regulator's rules before you ask, not only Google's. My pages on web design for therapists, dentists and lawyers go through each set of rules.

Getting reviews: what is allowed and what is not

What you do	Allowed?
Ask every customer, then text or email the review link	Yes, for most businesses
Put the link or QR code on receipts and thank-you emails	Yes. Google suggests both, and a printed QR code in the store
Offer a discount, free service or draw entry for a review	No. Google calls it fake engagement
Ask only happy customers, or ask for five stars, a keyword or a staff member's name	No. Google bans selective asking and requests for specific content
Reviews from staff, family or competitors	No. Google removes them, and undisclosed staff reviews can bring Competition Act liability
Pay whoever posted a run of one- and two-star reviews to take them down	No. Google says do not engage or pay; use its extortion report form
A registered psychotherapist in Ontario asking clients for reviews	No. Their college's practice standards forbid requesting them

Questions people ask

Can I offer a discount or a prize draw for a Google review?

No. Google treats any incentive for a review, including a discount, free goods or services, or payment, as fake engagement, whether or not you ask for a good review. It can remove the reviews and restrict your profile. Thank people with good work and a personal reply instead.

How do I get my Google review link?

Open your Business Profile, choose Read Reviews, then Get more reviews, and select Copy. The QR code sits on the same screen; right-click it and save the image. Google says the QR code can currently only be made in a computer browser, not on a phone, and the button names on your screen may differ slightly.

Can my employees or family leave a Google review?

No. Google removes reviews written with a conflict of interest, which covers current and former employees, family members and competitors. Separately, Canada's Competition Bureau has warned that a business can be liable for employee reviews that do not disclose the connection, even when the employee's opinion is honest, and that if the disclosure cannot sit visibly with the review, they should not leave a star rating.

What do I do about a fake one-star review?

Report it from your Business Profile if it breaks Google's policies, for example as spam or a conflict of interest. Google will not remove a review only because you disagree with it. If a sudden run of one- and two-star reviews arrives with a demand for money to take them down, do not pay or engage; Google says paying does not guarantee removal. Use its extortion report form.

Do more Google reviews help me rank higher?

They can. Google says how many reviews you have counts towards prominence, one of its three local ranking factors alongside relevance and distance, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. It makes no promise, and where you are and what you do still matter.