How to Ask for Google Reviews (and What Google Bans)

To get more Google reviews within Google's rules, ask every customer, in the same words, once the work is done, and give them a direct link to your review form. What Google bans is anything that bends the result: rewarding people for reviews, asking only the customers you expect to be happy, telling customers what to write, and reviews from people with a conflict of interest. Those rules are in the Google Maps user-generated content policy, and a business that breaks them can lose reviews and have restrictions placed on its Business Profile (Maps user-generated content policy, Prohibited and restricted content, and Business Profile restrictions for policy violations, both last checked 28 September 2026). This guide sets out each rule with the page it comes from, how to ask within them, and how to reply to the reviews you get.

What Google bans

These are the rules that matter when a business asks for reviews. Each comes from the Fake engagement and Rating manipulation sections of Google's prohibited and restricted content policy for Maps, unless the source column says otherwise.

What Google does allow is asking customers to post about a genuine experience, as long as you offer nothing in return and do not try to influence the rating or what they write (Prohibited and restricted content, last checked 28 September 2026).

What happens if a business breaks the rules

Google removes reviews that break the policy. If it decides a business owner has broken its fake engagement policy, it may also restrict the Business Profile. Its examples include stopping the profile from receiving new reviews and ratings for a set period, unpublishing its existing reviews and ratings for a set period, and showing customers a warning that fake reviews were removed. Google says it emails the owner before applying a restriction, and the business can appeal (Business Profile restrictions for policy violations, last checked 28 September 2026).

What Australian consumer law adds

The ACCC says it is against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews, or to arrange for others to create them. It lists reviews that can mislead: reviews written by family, employees or people paid by the business without disclosing that connection, reviews by someone who has not used the product or service, and reviews edited by someone else after they were written. Suppressing, editing or removing genuine negative reviews may also mislead (ACCC, Online reviews for product and services, last checked 28 September 2026).

The ACCC and Google differ on incentives. The ACCC says an incentive for a review must apply whether the review is positive or negative, and must be clearly disclosed. Google does not allow incentives for reviews on Google at all, so for Google reviews the answer is simply no rewards of any kind. The ACCC also says that where a business shows a star rating, it should show the number of reviews the rating is based on (ACCC, same page, last checked 28 September 2026). The ACCC does not give legal advice, and neither does this guide; if you are unsure how the law applies to you, ask a lawyer.

How to ask for reviews within the rules

1. Get your review link or QR code

Google gives each Business Profile a link and a QR code that open its review form. Go to your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link or save the QR code; Google says review QR codes can only be created in a browser on a computer, not on a mobile device (Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews, last checked 28 September 2026). The link is short. Ours, shown only to illustrate the format, is https://g.page/r/CQ0uV2hRu7KKEAE/review.

Customers must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review, and Google notes they can create one with an email address that is not Gmail (Tips to get more reviews, last checked 28 September 2026). A direct link saves them searching for your business first.

2. Ask once, when the work is done

Google suggests putting the link on receipts, in thank-you emails and at the end of a chat, and displaying the QR code in your shop (Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews, last checked 28 September 2026). Ask when the customer has actually experienced what they paid for: at delivery, at the end of an appointment, or when a project is handed over. For project work, one ask at handover, in the email that closes the project, is enough.

3. Use the same words for every customer

Google does not allow selectively asking for positive reviews, so send the same request to every customer, not only the ones you think were pleased. We read the same rule as ruling out review gating: a "How did we do?" message that sends happy customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private feedback form. Ask everyone the same way, and let each customer decide what to write.

4. Do not suggest what to write, and do not name staff

Google says a business should not ask for specific content to be included, and it names asking staff to collect reviews that identify a staff member as an example of what is not allowed. Keep the request about the customer's experience: no suggested phrases, no star rating in the request, and no staff names.

5. No rewards and no pressure

Google's examples of banned incentives are payment, discounts and free goods or services, and the ban covers rewards for changing a review or removing a negative one as well as for posting one. Treat any other reward, such as an entry into a prize draw, the same way. And do not ask a customer to write a review on the spot while they are still with you: Google says businesses should not require or pressure customers to leave a review while on the premises. A QR code on the counter is fine; standing over someone while they scan it is not.

6. Keep staff, family and partners out of it

Reviews from current or former employees, contractors, relatives or anyone else with a conflict of interest are not allowed on Google, and the ACCC says undisclosed reviews from family or employees can mislead. Ask customers only.

An example request

Thanks for choosing us for your new website. If you have a few minutes, we would appreciate an honest review of your experience on Google: [your review link]. It helps other businesses decide whether we are the right fit for them.

It names no staff member, suggests no rating or wording, offers nothing in return, and can go to every customer unchanged.

How to reply to reviews

You can reply once your business is verified. Go to your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Reply next to the review. Google checks replies against its content policies before posting them, which usually takes up to 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days. The reply appears as your business, not under your personal name, the reviewer is notified, and they can still change their review afterwards (Manage customer reviews, last checked 28 September 2026).

Google's own tips for replies (Tips to get more reviews, last checked 28 September 2026):

• Be professional and polite, and keep it short and simple.
• Reply where you can add something, such as an answer or an update, rather than sending the same thank-you to everyone.
• Do not use a reply to promote deals or offers.
• For a negative review: never share the reviewer's private information or make it personal; acknowledge any mistake without taking the blame for things outside your control; apologise where it fits; address the reviewer by name and respond to what they actually said; reply promptly; and if the matter is complicated, ask the reviewer to phone or email you so it can be sorted out privately.

A reply is public, so write it for the next customer who reads it as much as for the reviewer. An example reply to a critical review of a delayed project:

Hi Sam, thank you for the feedback, and we are sorry the launch date moved. You are right that we should have told you about the delay sooner. We would like to put this right, so please call or email us and we will go through it with you.

When a review breaks the rules

You can report any review, but only reviews that break Google's policies are removed, and Google asks businesses not to report a review just because they disagree with it or dislike it. To report one, open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, choose Report next to the review and pick the reason. Google says evaluation typically takes several days; you can follow the report in the Reviews Management Tool and, if Google finds no violation, submit a one-time appeal (Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile, last checked 28 September 2026).

If a review is genuine but you think it is unfair, reply instead. The ACCC notes that a business can respond to a review to correct the public record, and warns that removing or editing a genuine negative review may mislead consumers (ACCC, Online reviews for product and services, last checked 28 September 2026).

Common questions about Google reviews

Setting up your Google Business Profile

You can reply to reviews only once your business is verified, so the profile comes first (Manage customer reviews, last checked 28 September 2026). Our technical SEO and local search service includes Google Business Profile setup and optimisation where local search is in scope. We quote after a free scoping call, as a fixed proposal listing the scope, price and exclusions, so ask us about your Business Profile when you are ready.

Sources

Every source below was read on 28 September 2026. Google and the ACCC update these pages without notice, so check the linked page before you rely on a rule.

• Maps User Generated Content Policy Help: Prohibited and restricted content (Fake engagement, Rating manipulation, conflicts of interest)
• Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews (incentives, Google Account, reply tips)
• Google Business Profile Help: Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews
• Google Business Profile Help: Manage customer reviews (replying, reply review times, verification)
• Google Business Profile Help: Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile
• Google Business Profile Help: Business Profile restrictions for policy violations
• ACCC: Online reviews for product and services

Drafted with AI assistance; researched and reviewed by Saad Ali.