How can you get more Google reviews? Methods and templates

To get more Google reviews, ask genuine customers for honest feedback once their ex­pe­ri­ence is complete and provide a direct link to your review page. Choose an ap­pro­pri­ate time, keep the request brief and make sure the process follows Google’s guide­lines by avoiding in­cen­tives, pressure and selective requests to satisfied customers.

Why is it worth getting more Google reviews?

Reviews give potential customers first-hand insights into a business and can help them make a more informed decision. Existing customers can therefore act as tes­ti­mo­ni­als. Google lists relevance, distance and promi­nence as the main factors that influence local search results. The number of reviews and positive ratings can con­tribute to promi­nence and may improve local ranking, but they do not guarantee a par­tic­u­lar position in the local pack.

For busi­ness­es, reviews serve several purposes:

• They make ex­pe­ri­ences with products and services visible.
• Number, recency and dis­tri­b­u­tion give an im­pres­sion of how often customers interact with the business.
• Recurring comments highlight strengths and potential areas for im­prove­ment.
• Pro­fes­sion­al responses signal that feedback is taken seriously.

A complete Google Business Profile forms the basis for managing your listing. If you do not have one yet, you should first register a Google Business Profile. Reviews are most effective when they form part of a broader local SEO strategy that also includes accurate business in­for­ma­tion and good customer service.

What do Google’s guide­lines allow?

Google allows busi­ness­es to ask customers for reviews and to share a review link or QR code from their Business Profile. Reviews must be based on genuine ex­pe­ri­ences, and requests should not influence the rating or content of the review.

The following are not permitted in par­tic­u­lar:

• Money, discounts, gifts, com­pe­ti­tion entries or other benefits in exchange for a review
• Paid, fab­ri­cat­ed or re­peat­ed­ly published reviews
• Pressure or in­struc­tions regarding the star rating
• Re­quire­ments for employees to obtain a certain number of reviews
• Requests for customers to include specific content in their review
• Organized campaigns intended to ar­ti­fi­cial­ly increase or decrease ratings
• Requests to change or remove a negative review in exchange for an incentive
• Se­lec­tive­ly asking only customers who are expected to leave positive reviews

Instead, use an objective criterion to decide when to ask customers for feedback, such as the com­ple­tion of a job or receipt of an order. Google also notes that a mix of positive and negative feedback can appear more trust­wor­thy.

Which channels can you use to ask for Google reviews?

Busi­ness­es can encourage customers to leave a Google review, provided they follow the relevant rules. There are several ways to ask for reviews, each involving a different level of effort and offering different ad­van­tages when it comes to getting more Google reviews.

Personal request

A personal request works well im­me­di­ate­ly after a positive in­ter­ac­tion. Staff should not ask for a five-star rating, but simply invite customers to share honest feedback. Customers should also have the option to leave their review later rather than feeling pressured to do so on the spot. A QR code on a small card can make the process easier and help generate more Google reviews.

Example: “Thank you very much for your feedback. If you’d also like to share your ex­pe­ri­ence on Google, you can find our review link here.”

Email after purchase or completed job

A short follow-up email can be sent after a doc­u­ment­ed purchase or completed job. Only use contact details that have been collected lawfully and make sure the message complies with the rules on elec­tron­ic marketing. A clear call to action (CTA) can link directly to the review page, making it easy for customers to leave feedback.

Example: “Thank you for your order. How was your ex­pe­ri­ence with us? You can leave an honest Google review via this link: [Google review link]”

SMS or messenger

Short messages are only suitable if the channel can be used lawfully and customers can rea­son­ably expect to be contacted in this way. Keep the message brief and avoid un­nec­es­sary at­tach­ments or ad­di­tion­al in­for­ma­tion.

Example: “Thank you for your visit. Would you like to share your ex­pe­ri­ence on Google? [Short link]”

QR code on a receipt or business card

Google provides a QR code for re­quest­ing reviews through the Business Profile. This can be used on receipts, business cards or other printed materials. Add a short, neutral note so customers know where the code leads and what they can expect after scanning it.

Example: “How was your visit? Scan the QR code to share your feedback on Google.”

Link in the email signature

A discreet link in a pro­fes­sion­al email signature stays visible without requiring a separate review request. This is par­tic­u­lar­ly useful for people who regularly com­mu­ni­cate with customers and want to provide an un­ob­tru­sive way to leave feedback.

Example: “Had an ex­pe­ri­ence with us? [Leave a Google review]”

Social media

A general post can remind customers that they have the option to leave a review. Avoid linking the request to a com­pe­ti­tion or using wording that focuses only on positive ex­pe­ri­ences.

Example: “Have you used our service? Feel free to share your ex­pe­ri­ence via our Google review link.”

Website

Place a review link on a contact or service page and clearly indicate that it leads to Google. Do not use a prior sat­is­fac­tion survey to decide who sees the link or who is invited to leave a review.

Example: “Share your ex­pe­ri­ence and help others make an informed choice. [Leave a Google review]”

When is the best time to ask for a Google review?

The best time to ask is once the service has been completed, while the ex­pe­ri­ence is still fresh in the customer’s mind. Avoid sending a request while a complaint or other issue remains un­re­solved. However, whether a customer receives a review request should not depend on whether they have pre­vi­ous­ly expressed sat­is­fac­tion.

For longer projects, a clearly defined milestone may be more suitable than waiting until the very end. Set an ap­pro­pri­ate point in the customer journey for each type of service and review the response rate to see whether the timing works well.

How should you word a good review request?

A good request lowers the hurdle without in­flu­enc­ing the review:

1. Keep it brief: Explain in a few sentences what it’s about.
2. Ask directly: Use a clear request instead of a long piece of ad­ver­tis­ing copy.
3. Keep it neutral: Ask for their honest ex­pe­ri­ence, not for a positive review.
4. Make it one click: Link directly to the review function.
5. Don’t mention a star rating: Don’t make any spec­i­fi­ca­tions or put anyone under pressure.
6. Say thanks: Thank them for the job and for the time they vol­un­tar­i­ly invest.

A complete template might look like this:

How can AI help with review requests?

AI can analyze existing data that may be used lawfully and suggest suitable times, channels and text variants. It can adapt templates to the type of service or language, prepare reminders based on defined rules and summarize response rates. These systems can also group incoming reviews by topic or answer Google reviews with AI.

People remain re­spon­si­ble for checking the audience logic, legal basis, com­pli­ance with guide­lines, tone and approval before anything is sent. AI should not use sat­is­fac­tion forecasts to request public reviews only from people it expects to be en­thu­si­as­tic. Personal data should be processed only for a specific purpose and limited to what is necessary.

How do you set up a request workflow?

Set up a clear process so that your review requests follow a well-thought-out system and are as efficient and suc­cess­ful as possible.

1. Define the trigger: Decide which factual event triggers the request, such as ac­cep­tance, end of the ap­point­ment or delivery. The trigger must not depend on an expected positive review.
2. Check channel and legal basis: Choose personal contact, website, QR code, email or SMS to suit the type of contact. Es­pe­cial­ly for elec­tron­ic messages, document the legal basis on which you are using the address.
3. Prepare templates and review link: Create a short, neutral template for each channel. Generate the official link or QR code in your Google Business Profile and test it on both mobile and desktop devices.
4. Define follow-up rule: If the chosen contact method is per­mis­si­ble, a one-off reminder can make sense. Stop sending further messages after a review, objection or un­sub­scribe. Frequent reminders create pressure and harm the customer ex­pe­ri­ence.
5. Measure results: Track sent requests, link clicks, new reviews, response rate and ob­jec­tions. Do not store sensitive content un­nec­es­sar­i­ly and do not try to match in­di­vid­ual people to a public review unless this is genuinely required.

Which mistakes can prevent you from getting more Google reviews?

• Offering in­cen­tives: Discounts, gifts or other rewards in exchange for reviews violate Google’s guide­lines.
• Only ap­proach­ing satisfied customers: Review gating distorts the overall picture and is not permitted.
• Asking too late: After several weeks, customers may no longer remember the ex­pe­ri­ence clearly enough to leave detailed feedback.
• Making the process com­pli­cat­ed: Sending customers to a general homepage creates un­nec­es­sary extra steps compared with a direct review link.
• Putting customers under pressure: Asking for a specific star rating or sending repeated requests can undermine the voluntary nature of reviews.
• Over­look­ing legal re­quire­ments: Unlawful emails or SMS messages can lead to com­plaints and legal con­se­quences.
• Not re­spond­ing to reviews: Failing to reply means missing an op­por­tu­ni­ty to engage publicly with customer feedback.

If a review violates the guide­lines, companies can delete or report the Google review. However, a factually critical review is not a violation of the guide­lines solely because of its content.

Which tools can help with review man­age­ment?

The right software can support effective rep­u­ta­tion man­age­ment:

• Email marketing software can automate messages and reminders.
• Spe­cial­ized review tools can create review links or QR codes and help track request workflows.
• In­te­grat­ed rep­u­ta­tion man­age­ment platforms combine review requests, mon­i­tor­ing, responses and multiple review sources in one place.

When choosing a tool, pay par­tic­u­lar attention to data pro­tec­tion, straight­for­ward review requests and sensible au­toma­tion. Features for reminders, per­for­mance tracking and cen­tral­ized review man­age­ment can also be useful. The tool should not encourage review gating.

The IONOS AI Rep­u­ta­tion Manager falls into the in­te­grat­ed category. It brings together reviews from different platforms in a single feed, supports per­son­al­ized review requests and generates AI-based draft responses that can be checked before pub­li­ca­tion. This makes it possible to manage review col­lec­tion and response workflows in one place, while legal and editorial re­spon­si­bil­i­ty remains with the company.

FAQ: Fre­quent­ly asked questions about Google reviews

Can you ask customers for Google reviews?

Yes. Google allows neutral review requests to genuine customers. In­cen­tives, pressure, fake reviews and pre-selecting only satisfied people are not permitted.

Can you offer a discount for a Google review?

No. Google considers discounts, free services and other benefits in exchange for reviews to be in­ad­mis­si­ble in­cen­tives. This applies re­gard­less of how many stars are requested.

How can you get a direct Google review link?

Open your Google Business Profile and go to the reviews section. Select the option to request more reviews, where you can copy the direct review link or, on desktop, download a QR code.

How often can you send a review reminder?

Google does not set a general maximum number of review reminders. In practice, one discreet reminder is usually enough, provided the contact is legally permitted. If a customer objects or un­sub­scribes, no further pro­mo­tion­al messages should be sent.

Can you ask only satisfied customers for a review?

Directing only customers who are expected to be satisfied to Google while filtering out others is commonly referred to as review gating. Google does not use this term in its current policy wording, but it prohibits se­lec­tive­ly so­lic­it­ing positive reviews and dis­cour­ag­ing negative reviews.

Can companies delete bad reviews?

Busi­ness­es can report reviews that violate Google’s policies. A negative opinion alone is not grounds for removal. Genuine criticism should be answered pro­fes­sion­al­ly and reviewed in­ter­nal­ly.