Your customers are happy. They tell you so on the doorstep, in texts, in thank-you cards. And then your Google profile shows eleven reviews, the newest from last spring, while the competitor down the road has 140.
The difference usually isn’t the quality of the work. It’s asking. The businesses with lots of reviews ask every customer, at the right moment, with a link that takes them straight to the stars.
Here’s how to get more Google reviews: where to find your review link and QR code, when and how to ask, word-for-word messages to send, and the rules Google tightened in 2026 that can cost you the reviews you already have.
Step one, get your Google review link and QR code
Don’t make customers search for you. Send them a link that opens your review form.
- On a computer, sign in and open your Business Profile.
- Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
- Select Copy to copy your link, or right-click the QR code and choose Save image as…
Google only lets you make the QR code in a browser on a computer, not on a phone. Save it once and use it everywhere.
Your profile has to be verified first. If it isn’t, our guide to Google Business Profile verification walks you through it.
How to ask customers for a Google review
Ask when the job’s done and they’re pleased: the day the kitchen’s finished, the evening after the meal, the morning the parcel lands. The feeling fades fast, and so does the chance they’ll bother.
Ask everyone. Not just the ones you’re sure about. That’s a Google rule, as you’ll see below, but it’s also better business: a mix of reviews reads as real, and Google says itself that a mix of positive and negative feels more trustworthy.
And ask personally. A message from the person who did the work feels like a favour between people. One from “the team” feels like marketing.
What to say when you ask for a Google review
Short, personal, with the link. Here are messages you can adapt.
Text or WhatsApp, after a job: Hi Aoife, it’s Mark from Kelly Electrical. Thanks again for having us out today. If you’ve a minute, a Google review would really help a small business like ours: [link]. Thanks!
Email, after a project: Hi Tom, now that the new site’s been live a couple of weeks, I hope it’s bringing in the calls. If you’ve a moment, would you leave us a short Google review? It takes about a minute: [link]. Whatever you think, good or bad, we’d like to hear it. Thanks, Dave
In person, at the end: “Glad you’re happy with it. We rely a lot on Google reviews, so I’ll text you the link, if that’s all right? No pressure at all.”
A reminder, once, a week later: Hi Aoife, just a quick nudge on the review, only if you get a chance: [link]. Thanks either way.
One reminder, then leave it. Chasing turns goodwill into annoyance.
Notice what the messages don’t do. They don’t ask for five stars, they don’t suggest what to write, and they don’t offer anything in return. All three are against Google’s rules.
Where to put your review QR code
Anywhere a happy customer looks after the work is done. Google itself suggests receipts, thank-you emails, the end of a chat, a printed code in store, email, WhatsApp and Facebook.
A few that work well for local businesses:
- On the invoice or receipt, next to “Thank you”.
- On a card left behind after a job, with a line from whoever did the work.
- On the menu, the bill folder or the table, for a café or restaurant.
- In your email signature, and the footer of your booking confirmations.
- On the back of a business card.
What about review stands and tap-to-review NFC cards at the till? They’re just another way to carry your link. Use them to hand the link over, not to have customers review you while they stand at the counter: Google now bans pressuring customers to review while they’re on your premises.
What Google doesn’t allow when you ask for reviews
This is where businesses lose reviews they worked hard for. Google allows you to ask for genuine reviews, as long as you don’t offer an incentive or try to steer the rating or what’s written. It spells out what’s banned.
| Not allowed | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Incentives | Money, a discount, a free coffee or a prize draw for leaving, changing or removing a review |
| Review gating | Asking only happy customers, or asking “were you happy?” first and sending only the yeses to Google |
| Discouraging bad reviews | Asking unhappy customers not to post, or making it harder for them |
| Pressure on the premises | Requiring or pressuring customers to review while they’re at your business |
| Staff quotas and staff names | Targets for staff to collect reviews, or asking customers to name a member of staff |
| Asking for specific content | “Could you mention our Navan shop and say we’re the best?” |
| Conflict of interest | Reviews from employees, their families, or you |
| Fake reviews | Paid reviews, reviews from people who weren’t customers, several accounts run by one person |
The on-premises, staff quota and staff-naming rules are new. Google added them to a “Rating Manipulation” section of its policy between February and March 2026, so a lot of long-standing advice, including “ask customers to mention the person who served them”, now breaks the rules.
Can you really buy Google reviews?
You can find people selling them. Buying them is a bad bet.
If Google decides a business has broken its fake engagement rules, it can block new reviews, hide the ones you have, and put a warning on your profile telling customers that fake reviews were removed, all for a set period. And in the UK it’s now the law too: the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has banned fake reviews, and undisclosed paid ones, since April 2025.
Can Google detect fake reviews? It says it removed 292 million reviews that broke its policies in 2025, and restricted more than 782,000 accounts. It’s looking.
How many 5-star reviews does it take to increase your Google rating?
More than most people expect, and more the higher you go. A business on 4.2 from 57 reviews needs 35 more five-star reviews to reach 4.5. One on 4.5 from 57 reviews would need 86 to reach 4.8.
Our free Google review calculator works it out for your own numbers, and shows how long it’ll take at the rate you’re getting reviews now.
How can I increase my Google reviews fast?
Start with the customers you’ve already served. If you’ve never asked before, you’ve probably got months of happy customers to start with. Send each of them the text above, from a real person, over a few weeks.
Not in one afternoon, though. Google’s filters watch for unusual volumes and patterns, and a flood of reviews in a day can look like manipulation even when every one is real. Our guide to why Google reviews disappear explains how that goes wrong.
After that, make asking part of how every job ends. The link on the invoice, the text the same evening, the one reminder a week later. Reviews then arrive steadily, which is exactly what a real, busy business looks like.
Reply to the reviews you get
Google’s own advice is to reply, and to make each reply count. Customers reading your profile see that someone’s listening. Our guide on how to respond to Google reviews has templates for good, bad and fake ones.
Other questions people ask about getting more Google reviews
How can I get more 5-star Google reviews?
Do good work, then ask every customer promptly with a direct link. You can’t ask for five stars specifically, and you can’t only ask the happy ones, so the rating follows the work.
How much does it cost to get Google reviews?
Nothing. Your review link and QR code are free in your Business Profile. Paying for reviews breaks Google’s rules, and in the UK the law.
Can I offer a discount for a Google review?
No. Google bans incentives of any kind, from money to a free coffee, for leaving, changing or removing a review.
Is it OK to ask customers for a Google review?
Yes. Google encourages it. Just ask everyone, don’t offer anything for it, and don’t tell them what to write.
Can my staff leave a Google review for our business?
No. Reviews from employees, and from their families, break Google’s conflict of interest rules and can be removed.
