How to get more Google reviews

Ask every customer, right after the job, with your direct review link. Don’t pay or give discounts for reviews, and don’t ask only the happy ones: both are against Google’s rules. Below: getting your link, when and how to ask, and how many reviews you need.

1. Get your review link

Your Business Profile has a review link, and a QR code for it. Open your Business Profile on Google, choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link (Google’s help page). Google notes the QR code can only be made from a computer browser, not on a phone: download it there and print it. Or use our free review link and QR code tool, which also makes a printable card.

Put the link where customers already are:

• the text or email you send when a job is done;
• receipts and invoices;
• a QR card at the counter, on the truck or in the bag;
• your website’s contact page and footer.

2. Ask at the right moment

Ask right after the job is done: the leak is fixed, the haircut is finished, the meal is over. For a service job that’s the same day; for a big project, at the walkthrough. Ask in person first (“A Google review really helps a small business like ours. Would you mind leaving one?”), then send the link so it’s one tap.

Ready-to-send texts and emails are in Review request templates.

3. Ask everyone, the same way

Google’s policy says businesses may not discourage negative reviews or selectively ask happy customers for reviews (Google Maps content policy). So don’t send unhappy customers a “tell us privately” form while the happy ones get the Google link. That practice is called review gating, and it’s exactly what this rule forbids. Ask every customer with the same message and the same link.

In our view it also works in your favor: a profile of only perfect reviews can look less believable than 4.7 stars with honest detail.

4. Don’t pay for reviews

Google forbids offering incentives, such as payment, discounts or free goods or services, in exchange for posting a review (policy). The FTC’s federal rule goes after fake reviews and incentives that depend on the review being positive or negative, with civil penalties for knowing violations (FTC, August 2024). Google’s policy goes further than this FTC rule: on Google, no incentive at all, not even a “thanks for any review” raffle.

Google can remove reviews it judges fake, stop a profile from receiving new reviews for a time, and show a warning on the profile (Google). Never buy reviews, swap reviews with other businesses, or have staff and family post them.

5. Know how many you need

Google doesn’t publish a number. What customers say: in BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, 47% said they won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, 68% want at least a 4-star rating, and 74% only care about reviews from the last three months (Local Consumer Review Survey, February 2026; BrightLocal sells review software).

So aim past 20, then keep a steady flow. Since most people only look at recent reviews, a few new ones every month count for more than a burst once a year.

6. Answer the reviews you get

Replying shows the next customer you’re paying attention, and the same survey found 89% of consumers expect businesses to respond. Our guides: How to respond to Google reviews, with templates and How to respond to a negative review.

A simple weekly routine

1. At each finished job, ask in person.
2. Same day, send the link by text or email.
3. Every day or two, reply to new reviews.
4. Once a month, count new reviews. If it’s under two, ask more customers the same way.

Having it done for you

On Localkept’s Website + Local plan ($199 a month), after a job, you tell us which customers to ask and we email each one a review request in your business’s name with your Google review link. We also keep your Google Business Profile current and handle replies to your reviews (4 and 5 star replies are posted for you unless you ask to OK them first; 1 to 3 star replies always wait for your OK), and your reviews show live on your website.

How this guide was made: drafted with AI from how Localkept runs review requests and replies for local businesses, then fact-checked against the sources linked in it on October 30, 2026.