How to Get More Google Reviews: Your Review Link, QR Code and What to Say

It’s a familiar frustration for local businesses: the work is good, customers say thanks, and the Google reviews still arrive in a trickle. People mean to leave one, then the moment passes. Meanwhile, some of the most visible advice online suggests fixes such as a discount in exchange for a review, or a quick survey so you only send the review link to people who scored you highly. Both break Google’s rules, and in the UK some of these tactics can now break the law as well.

The method that works and keeps you safe is plain. Make leaving a review a one-tap job, ask every customer at a sensible moment, and never offer anything in return. This guide covers it in order: your review link and Google’s own QR code, where and when to ask, what to say, how to reply, and which popular tactics to leave alone.

Before you start: you need a Google Business Profile (your business listing on Google Search and Maps) that you can manage, and a computer for the QR code step. Your customers will need a Google Account to leave a review.

Why reviews are worth a steady effort

Google is careful about what it says here. Its guidance on local ranking lists relevance, distance and popularity as the main factors, and says that “more reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking”. It also says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. So reviews help, but they aren’t a switch you can flip, and nobody can promise you a position for them.

Reviews also travel further than your listing. Google’s Gemini app uses public information from Google Maps, including ratings, when people ask it about places. If you want to know why AI assistants suggest one local business over another, we cover that in why ChatGPT recommends your competitor.

Step 1: Get your review link and QR code

Google lets you create a link that takes customers straight to the review box for your business, plus a QR code that does the same job on paper. At the time of writing (September 2026), Google’s help page on review links and QR codes describes this route on a computer:

1. Go to your Business Profile while signed in to the Google Account that manages it.
2. Select Read reviews.
3. Select Get more reviews.
4. To copy the link, select Copy.
5. To keep the QR code, right-click it and choose Save image as…

You’re done when you can paste the link into a new browser tab and it opens the review form for your business, and the QR code is saved as an image file you can find again.

The QR code is desktop-only for now. Google says that “currently, reviews QR codes can only be generated on a computer browser, not on mobile devices”. Its help page only documents the desktop route, so do this step on a laptop or PC even if you normally manage your profile on your phone. Google changes its menus from time to time, so if the buttons look different, check the help page linked above for the current steps.

Once you have the link, save it somewhere you can paste it in seconds: an email signature, a saved text reply, a note on the shop phone, your invoice template. A link sitting in your Business Profile does nothing until customers see it.

Step 2: Decide where and when to ask

Google suggests adding the link to receipts and thank-you emails, sending it at the end of a chat, and printing the QR code for customers who visit in person. It also mentions sending review requests by email, WhatsApp message or Facebook post.

Pick the channels that match how you already deal with customers:

• Trades and home services: a text or WhatsApp message after the job is finished, or a line on the invoice.
• Clinics and professional practices: the follow-up email or appointment summary.
• Shops, cafés and hospitality: a QR code at the till or on the table, and a line on the receipt.

Ask every customer, not just the ones you think are happy. Google’s policy says businesses must not “selectively solicit positive reviews from customers”, and the UK regulator’s guidance lists “encouraging just those who are satisfied to leave reviews” as one form of cherry-picking that may break consumer law. The simplest way to stay on the right side of both is to build the ask into something that goes to everyone, such as the invoice, the receipt or the standard follow-up message, rather than deciding case by case.

Timing is a judgement call. We haven’t found reliable research on the best moment to ask local service customers, so treat this as a practical rule rather than a proven formula: ask soon after the job or visit, while it’s still fresh, as part of your normal wrap-up.

In person, offer rather than press. Displaying a QR code in your premises is exactly what Google suggests. What its policy rules out is requiring or pressuring customers to leave a review while they’re on the premises, or setting staff targets for reviews. A sign on the counter is fine. Standing over someone until they’ve tapped five stars is not.

Step 3: What to say

We haven’t found evidence that any particular wording brings in more reviews. What matters is that your request is short, includes the link, and stays neutral. Google’s rules forbid asking reviewers to include specific content, and the UK regulator says a general request to customers is fine as long as it doesn’t predetermine what people say or how they rate you.

Every request should:

• go to every customer, with the same wording whatever you think of the job;
• ask for “honest feedback” or “a review”, never “5 stars” or “a positive review”;
• avoid asking people to mention particular staff, services or keywords;
• offer nothing in return;
• include your link or QR code.

The examples below are example wording to adapt to your own voice. They aren’t tested formulas.

Example wording: text or WhatsApp after a job

Hi [name], thanks for choosing [business name]. If you have a minute, we’d appreciate an honest review on Google. It helps other people decide whether we’re right for them: [review link]

Example wording: thank-you email

Subject: Thanks from [business name]

Thanks for coming to us. If you’d like to share how it went, you can leave a Google review here: [review link]. Whatever your experience, we read every review and it helps us improve.

[Your name]

Example wording: in person

“Thanks for coming in today. If you’d like to leave us a Google review, the QR code’s on the card, and honest feedback of any kind helps.”

Example wording: printed card or sign by the till

Tell us how we did. Scan to leave a Google review.

Leave it there. If a customer says no or doesn’t reply, don’t chase them repeatedly.

Step 4: Reply to your reviews

You need a verified Business Profile to reply. Google’s advice on replying is sensible and short: be nice and professional, keep replies brief, and be “a friend, not a salesperson”, so there’s no need to offer deals in your replies. Google also says you don’t need to thank every reviewer publicly, so reply when you have something useful to add.

Positive reviews: a short thanks that sounds like a person, signed with your name or initials. Mention something specific from the review if there is something, but don’t paste the same line under every one.

Negative reviews: anyone reading your reviews later will see how you handled the criticism, so take a moment before replying. Google’s guidance is to:

• never share the customer’s private information;
• avoid personal attacks;
• invite the reviewer to contact you directly if that would help;
• admit a genuine mistake and apologise where it’s due, without taking the blame for things outside your control;
• reply in good time.

Replies are checked before they appear. Google says this usually takes up to 10 minutes but can sometimes take up to 30 days, so don’t post the same reply twice if it doesn’t appear straight away. You can edit or delete a reply later.

The rules: what Google and UK law don’t allow

Two sets of rules apply to your Google reviews: Google’s Maps content policy, and UK consumer law under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCC Act). Since April 2025, that Act has explicitly banned fake reviews and hidden incentivised reviews. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which enforces it, sets out the detail in its fake reviews guidance (CMA208).

Practice	Google’s policy	UK law (CMA guidance)
Asking every customer, neutrally, for an honest review	Allowed	Allowed
Offering anything for a review: money, discounts, freebies, services	Banned, whether or not you disclose it	Banned if hidden; allowed only if disclosed and the review is genuine
Only asking customers you expect to be positive	Banned	May break the law (“cherry-picking”)
Discouraging or blocking negative reviews	Banned	May break the law (suppressing negative reviews)
Reviews from staff, family, or anyone with a business connection	Banned (conflict of interest)	Asking staff to write a review can count as commissioning one
Requiring or pressuring customers on your premises	Banned	Not specifically covered in CMA208, but Google’s ban applies
Asking for specific content, or for staff to be named	Banned	Steering content or sentiment isn’t covered by the “general ask” that’s allowed
Posting reviews from several accounts, or sudden unusual volumes	Banned	Fake reviews are banned

Incentives are where the two sets of rules differ, and where people get caught out. UK law allows an incentivised review if the incentive is clearly disclosed and the review still reflects a genuine experience. Google doesn’t: its policy bans incentives for posting, changing or removing reviews, full stop. Because you’re dealing with Google reviews, the stricter rule is the one that applies, so offer nothing at all. Prize draws are a grey area. The CMA says entry into a prize draw is unlikely to count as commissioning a review under UK law, but Google’s policy doesn’t mention prize draws either way. Our advice is to leave them out of your Google review requests.

What happens if you break them

According to Google’s page on Business Profile restrictions, if it finds a business has broken its fake engagement rules, it can remove the reviews, block new reviews for a period, unpublish existing reviews for a period, and show a warning on the profile saying fake reviews were removed. You’re told by email and can appeal. Google’s content policy also says it can act against the account itself, up to suspension or termination.

In the UK, Google also gave the CMA formal commitments in January 2025. Under them, UK businesses caught boosting their ratings with fake reviews can have a prominent warning placed on their profile and their review function switched off, and repeat offenders can lose all their reviews for six months or more.

Then there’s the law itself. Under the new regime, the CMA can fine businesses up to 10% of their global turnover for breaking consumer law, including the fake review ban.

Popular tactics you shouldn’t copy

Several of the guides that rank for “how to get Google reviews” in the UK are written for the US market, and some still recommend tactics that break Google’s policy. Some would also cause problems under UK law. If you see these suggested, skip them.

“Offer a discount or freebie for a review.” Usually pitched as a campaign to loyal customers for “another 5-star review”. Google bans incentives for reviews outright. The UK guidance gives a free or discounted product in exchange for a five-star review as a clear example of banned commissioning. This one fails on both counts.

“Survey customers first, then send the review link to the high scorers.” Sometimes called a review funnel, or review gating. It’s selective asking by design, which Google bans and the CMA describes as cherry-picking. It’s fine to run a customer survey, but the Google review link has to go to everyone, not just the people who scored you highly.

“Swap reviews with suppliers and partners.” Writing a review for a partner’s business so they’ll write one for yours. These people usually aren’t your customers, and the business relationship is exactly the kind of conflict of interest Google’s policy excludes.

“Get staff, friends and family to start you off.” Google treats this as a conflict of interest, and the UK guidance says asking a member of staff to write a review can count as commissioning it.

“Ask for five stars” or “mention [staff name] in your review”. Asking for a specific rating or specific content is against Google’s policy, and so is setting staff review targets or asking for reviews that name staff.

“Only ask when the customer seems pleased.” A softer version of gating, often dressed up as reading the room. If you only ask once someone has said something nice, you’re still selecting who gets asked. Ask everyone.

Dealing with bad, fake or missing reviews

A fair but negative review: reply calmly using the guidance in Step 4. You can’t have a review removed because you disagree with it. Google says plainly that it doesn’t get involved in disputes between businesses and customers.

A review that breaks Google’s policy (for example, fake, abusive, off-topic or from someone with a conflict of interest): report it. In your Business Profile, go to Read reviews, select the report option on the review, choose the reason and send it. Google also offers a Reviews Management Tool for reports. Google says checks take several days, and if it finds no violation you can appeal once.

A sudden run of one- or two-star reviews followed by a demand for money: this is an extortion scam. Google’s advice is not to pay or engage, to keep evidence, and to report it using Google’s merchant extortion form.

A customer says they left a review but you can’t see it: Google’s page on missing or delayed reviews says policy checks can take a few days. Reviews removed for breaking the policy won’t be restored.

Your star rating hasn’t changed: your score is the average of all your published Google ratings, and Google says it can take up to two weeks to update after a new review.

Check your set-up, then keep it steady

Before you move on, run through this once:

• Your review link opens your review form when pasted into a fresh browser tab.
• Your QR code scans correctly on at least one phone.
• The link or QR code sits in at least one place every customer sees: invoice, receipt, follow-up email, message or counter sign.
• Your request wording is neutral, offers nothing and doesn’t mention stars or staff.
• You’ve replied to your most recent reviews, and you know how to report one that breaks the rules.

After that, the job is consistency. A request built into every invoice or follow-up keeps going out without anyone having to remember it; a one-off push stops the moment you do. Revisit your set-up if Google changes the Business Profile menus, or if you change how you invoice or message customers.

If you’d rather have someone set this up and run it for you, Google review management is part of our local SEO service. That means direct review links, QR cards and follow-up messages, and replies to every complaint (and to praise worth answering), always within Google’s rules. We never write, buy or incentivise reviews. Get Found has 22 years’ experience and works from Worcester and Stockport with businesses across the UK, with no long contracts.

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