How to get more Google reviews (with templates)

The short answer

Most businesses don't have few reviews because customers are unhappy. They have few reviews because nobody asks. Five habits fix that:

1. Get your review link. It opens Google's review form directly, so customers don't have to search for you.
2. Ask every customer, at the right moment. Right after a job well done, or within a day of the visit.
3. Ask in person, then send the link. A sentence face to face, followed by a text or email with the link.
4. Make it easy to scan. Put a QR code where people wait or pay, on receipts and on packaging.
5. Reply to every review you get. Customers who see you answering are more likely to write one themselves.

And one rule above all: never offer anything in return for a review. The rest of this guide shows how to do each step, with templates you can copy.

Step 1: Get your Google review link

A Google review link opens the "write a review" form for your business in one tap. Without it, a customer has to search for you, find your profile, scroll to the reviews and find the button. Every extra step loses people.

There are three ways to get one:

Use our free generator

Type your business name and city into our free Google review link generator, pick your business, and copy the link. It also makes a QR code you can download or print as a counter sign. No signup.

From your Business Profile

1. Sign in with the Google account that manages your business.
2. Search your business name on Google to open your Business Profile.
3. Choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
4. Copy the link (it looks like g.page/r/…/review), or share it straight to email, WhatsApp or Facebook.

On a computer, the same window also shows a QR code. Google's instructions are in its help article Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews.

Build it from your Place ID

Every business on Google Maps has a Place ID. Add yours to the end of https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid= and you have a working review link. This is the link our generator builds for you.

Whichever you use, open it once on your own phone before you share it, and check that the review form shows your business name.

Step 2: Ask at the right moment

Timing matters more than wording. Ask while the experience is fresh and the customer is still pleased with it: the moment a plumber fixes the leak, when a client admires their new haircut, when a diner says the meal was lovely.

If you can't ask right then, send the link the same day or the next. After a week, most people have moved on.

• Restaurants and cafés: when the bill arrives, or on the receipt.
• Trades and home services: at the end of the job, then a text the same evening.
• Clinics, salons and studios: at checkout, then a text after the appointment.
• Shops: a QR code by the till and on bags or packaging.
• Online and delivery orders: an email a day or two after the order arrives.

Ask every customer, not only the ones who seem happiest. That is both Google's rule and good practice: you hear about problems you'd otherwise miss, and a profile with only glowing reviews looks less believable than one with a few honest ones.

Step 3: Ask in person

A short, direct request from a real person works better than any sign or email. It doesn't need a speech. Say it the way you'd ask a favour:

"Thanks so much for coming in. We're a small business and most new customers find us on Google. Would you mind leaving us a quick review? I can text you the link."

Then actually send the link, there and then if you can. A few tips:

• Mention why it matters. People are glad to help a local business they like once they know it helps.
• Make it about honesty, not stars. Ask them to share their experience; never ask for five stars.
• Don't push. If someone says no or not now, thank them and move on.
• Let them review later, on their own phone. Google's rules say you shouldn't pressure people to review while they're still on your premises, and many businesses report that reviews posted from a shared tablet or the shop's Wi-Fi get filtered out.

If several people on your team ask customers, give them a simple script, but never a target. Google specifically says staff shouldn't be set a number of reviews to collect, or told to ask customers to mention them by name.

Review request templates you can copy

Replace the words in [brackets] and paste in your review link. Keep messages short: a review request should take less time to read than the review takes to write.

Text messages

Emails

Send these from a real person's address, so a reply reaches someone. Short subject lines with the customer's name get opened most.

WhatsApp

Only message customers who have already contacted you on WhatsApp or agreed to hear from you there.

A reminder

One reminder a few days later is fine. More than one starts to feel like pressure.

Printed cards and receipts

Pair this line with your QR code on a table card, a receipt, a business card or a thank-you note in the package.

Texting and emailing customers has its own rules in many countries, such as getting consent before marketing messages. A one-off request after a purchase is usually fine; if you're unsure, check the rules where you are.

Where to use a review QR code

A QR code turns any printed surface into a review request. Customers point their phone camera at it and land on the review form. Put it where people have a spare moment and are already pleased:

• A small sign on the counter, by the till or on each table
• Receipts, invoices and order confirmations
• Business cards handed over at the end of a job
• Delivery bags, packaging and thank-you cards
• The waiting area of a clinic, salon or garage, for customers to use later

Print it at least 2 cm (about 1 inch) wide, with a line of text that says what it does, such as "Scan to review us on Google". A code with no explanation gets ignored. Our review link generator makes the code and a ready-to-print counter sign.

A QR code supports your request; it doesn't replace it. Point to it when you ask, and it works far better.

What Google doesn't allow

Breaking Google's review rules can get reviews removed, review posting switched off on your profile or a warning shown to customers. These are the ones businesses break most often:

• Incentives of any kind. In Google's words, "Offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, to customers in exchange for reviews is considered fake engagement and is strictly prohibited." That includes prize draws, loyalty points and "show us your review for a free coffee".
• Asking only happy customers. Google prohibits businesses from "selectively" asking for positive reviews or discouraging negative ones. A survey that sends only satisfied customers to Google, sometimes called review gating, falls under this.
• Pressure on the spot. Don't require or pressure customers to review while they're on your premises, and don't tell them what to write.
• Review targets for staff. Setting staff a number of reviews to collect, or asking for reviews that name a staff member, is against the rules too.
• Reviewing yourself. Reviews from owners, staff, relatives or anyone paid to write them are a conflict of interest. So are reviews of competitors.
• Buying reviews. Paid review services break the rules, get caught by Google's filters and, in many countries, break consumer protection law as well.

The full list is in Google's prohibited and restricted content policy, under fake engagement.

Reply to every review you get

Asking is half the job. The other half is answering. A profile where every review has a thoughtful reply shows that reviews here get read, which makes the next customer more willing to write one. Google itself says that replying shows customers you value their feedback.

Thank people for good reviews in a sentence or two, mentioning something specific. Answer complaints calmly, without arguing, and invite the customer to contact you. Our guide on how to respond to Google reviews covers every star rating, and there are ready-made reply examples to copy. If you're short on time, the free AI review reply generator writes a draft in seconds.

How many Google reviews do you need?

There is no magic number. Google says that prominence on Maps is based partly on how many reviews you have, and that "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking" (from its guide to local ranking). It doesn't say how many is enough, and reviews are only one factor alongside relevance and distance.

The useful comparison is with the businesses you compete with. To set a realistic target:

1. Search Google Maps for your main service the way a customer would, for example "dentist near me".
2. Note how many reviews the top three businesses have, and how recent their newest ones are.
3. Aim to get close to their count, and to get a steady flow of new reviews every month.

Recent reviews matter to customers as much as the total: a business with 200 reviews and none since last year looks less active than one with 80 and a new review every week. A steady habit of asking beats a one-off campaign.

Mekomi's ranking diagnosis does this comparison for you: it looks at the businesses that outrank you on Google Maps, shows how your review count and review pace compare, and tells you what to fix first.