How to ask for Google reviews

Asking for Google reviews is the bit most local owners put off. The job is done, the van is packed, and asking can feel like begging for stars.

How to ask for Google reviews is simpler than that. Google already lets you ask for a genuine review, so long as you do not pay for it, do not tell people what to write, and do not lean on them while they are still in the room. The practical version is one official link and a short message you can reuse.

This post is the template pack. Copy the wording, change the first line so it sounds like you, and send it the same way every time. For the wider rules, see our posts on how to ask customers for a Google review, how to get more Google reviews for a small business, and Google review policy for local businesses.

What Google allows when you request a Google review

Google’s prohibited and restricted content page is the rulebook. Merchants may solicit or encourage content that represents a genuine experience, without offering incentives and without trying to influence the rating or the contents of the review.

You may ask. You may not:

1. Offer payment, a discount, or free goods or services in exchange for a review, a change, or the removal of a bad one.
2. Tell them what to write, including a star rating or a mention of a named person.
3. Pressure them while they are still on the premises.
4. Ask only the happy customers.

Google’s tips on getting reviews say the same thing in shorter form. Remind customers. Share a Google link or a QR code. Value all reviews, not only the glowing ones. A mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy to the next person who reads the listing.

Never incentivise a review. That breaks Google’s policy and is treated as fake engagement.

Get one official review link first

Do not invent a form. Do not send people to a Facebook recommendation and hope they also find Google. Use the review link that comes from your Business Profile.

Google’s help on review links tells you how:

1. Open your Business Profile on a computer.
2. Choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. Copy the link. You can also save the QR code as an image. Google says QR codes can be generated in a computer browser, not on a phone.

Save that link once. Use the same address in every ask. Google suggests putting it on receipts, in thank-you emails, at the end of a chat, or printing the QR code in a shop. It also notes you can send the request by email, WhatsApp or a Facebook post.

You need a profile you control before that button exists. You can add or claim a Business Profile at no charge. After you verify it, you can read and reply to reviews.

The customer has to be signed into a Google Account to leave a review. They can create one with a non-Gmail address. You do not need to walk them through that in the first message. If they reply and say they are stuck, send Google’s account set-up page.

Timing: when to send the ask

Send it after the job is finished and they have had a chance to see the result.

• Plumber or electrician: often the same afternoon, once you are off the drive.
• Hairdresser or clinic: later that day.
• Painter or decorator: after they have lived with the room, not while the last coat is still wet.
• Ongoing clients: after a clear milestone, not mid-job.

A message after you leave is the version that does not feel like a test. Use the same wording for everyone who had a completed job, not a private list of people who smiled. If a job went badly, put it right first. Do not send the review link to bury a complaint.

One message is enough. If they ignore it, leave it. A second nudge a week later can feel like pressure.

Ready-to-use templates

Paste your official review link on its own line so it is easy to tap. Change the first line so it sounds like you. Do not add a voucher. Do not write “only if you loved it”. That is selective asking.

Text message

Hi Sam, thanks for having me today. If you have a minute, a Google review would help people nearby decide.

Here is the link:

[paste your official Google review link]

If anything was not right, reply to this message and I will sort it.

WhatsApp

Thanks again for today. If you are willing, a Google review is a real help for local people choosing who to book.

Review link:

[paste your official Google review link]

Happy to put anything right if it was not quite what you hoped. Just reply here.

Email

Subject: Thanks for today

Hello Sam,

Thank you for having me in. If you have a minute, a Google review would help other people nearby decide who to call.

Here is our review link:

[paste your official Google review link]

If the visit was not what you hoped, reply to this email instead and I will put it right.

Thanks again, [Your name] [Your business name]

In person (light mention only)

Google says not to require or pressure people to leave a rating or write a review while they are still on the premises. Keep any in-person ask light, and give them a way to do it later.

Something like: “If you are happy with the work, I will text you our Google review link later so you can leave one when it suits you. If anything was off, tell me and I will sort it.”

Then send the text or WhatsApp after you leave. Do not stand there while they write it. Do not ask for five stars.

Printed QR or invoice footer

Google allows a QR code from the same Get more reviews screen. Print it on a small card, a receipt, or the footer of an invoice with a plain line such as:

A Google review helps local people decide. Scan the code or open the link. If something was not right, call or email us and we will put it right.

What not to do

These are the shortcuts that break the rules:

1. “Leave a five-star review and get 10% off.” Incentives are not allowed.
2. “Please mention Dave and say emergency plumber.” Do not request specific content.
3. Asking only the customers who smiled. That is selective solicitation.
4. Handing them your phone and waiting in the kitchen. That is on-premise pressure.
5. Sending three different homemade URLs. Use one official Google link.
6. Asking staff or family to leave reviews. Google treats conflict-of-interest reviews as rating manipulation.

If you want the full policy in plain English, read Google review policy for local businesses and can I buy Google reviews.

Who should send it

For a one-person trade, you send it. You did the job, so the message lands as a thank-you, not a marketing blast.

If you have a small team, the person who finished the work is usually the right sender. A generic office number can work if the message still names the job and the person. Do not automate a review request before the job is actually finished.

After a review arrives

Reply. Google says you must verify the profile before you can reply. Google’s reply tips say to keep replies professional, short, and not promotional, and to avoid using a response to offer deals. Do not ask for a better score in the reply.

For messy complaints, see how to reply to a bad Google review and how to respond to Google reviews.

Where RippleKeep fits

A free health check is a 30-minute look at your rating, how recently reviews arrive, how you reply, and who appears nearby. If steady, honest asks are the gap, see Google reviews. A free one-page website hosted on ripplekeep.com is a place to put the same review link next to your phone number. Website is £95 a year for up to 5 pages on your own domain. Or send a message if you would rather write than book a time.

A straight answer

How to ask for Google reviews is ordinary language plus one official link. Thank them. Ask once. Do not tell them what to write. Do not pay them. Send it after you have left, and use the same link every time.

The next customer will read what real people wrote. That is the point of asking in a way Google still allows.