Guide · Reviews

Review request templates: texts and emails to ask for a Google review

By Michael Kissinger, founder of Localkept · Published October 30, 2026

A good review request is short, personal, sent the same day, and has your direct Google review link in it. Below are texts and emails you can copy, when to send them, and the few rules to follow. Send the same message to every customer, not just the happy ones.

First, get your review link

In your Google Business Profile choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link (Google’s help page). It makes it easier for customers to leave a review on your Business Profile. Replace [link] below with it, or get it with our free review link tool, which fills it into these messages for you.

Text messages

Keep a text under about 300 characters, from a number they know, signed by a person.

Hi [name], it’s [your name] from [business]. Thanks for having us out today. A quick Google review would mean a lot to a small business like ours: [link]
Thanks for coming in today, [name]! If you have 30 seconds, we’d love a Google review: [link] — [your name], [business]
Hi [name], [your name] here. Hope the [repair/new install] is working well. If you can, would you share how it went on Google? [link] Thank you!

One follow-up at most. If there’s no review after three or four days, one gentle reminder is fine:

Hi [name], just a reminder in case it got buried: [link]. No worries if not. Thanks again for choosing us. — [your name]

Emails

After a service job

Subject: How did we do, [name]? Hi [name], Thanks for having [business] out on [day] for [the job]. I hope everything’s working the way it should. If you have a minute, a Google review helps neighbors find a business they can trust, and it means a lot to us: [link] If anything isn’t right, just reply to this email and I’ll take care of it. Thanks, [your name] [business] · [phone]

After a visit or appointment

Subject: Thanks for visiting [business] Hi [name], Thanks for coming in. We hope you loved [the cut / the meal / your visit]. Would you share your experience on Google? It takes about a minute: [link] See you next time, [your name]

For a bigger project

Subject: Your [project] is done. One small favor? Hi [name], It was a pleasure working on your [project]. A Google review would help other homeowners decide, and it’s the best thank-you a small business can get: [link] Thanks for trusting us with it, [your name], [business]

Said in person

“A Google review really helps us. I’ll text you the link so it’s one tap.”

In our experience, asking face to face first, then sending the link, works better than a message out of nowhere.

The rules to follow

  • Ask everyone. Google’s policy forbids selectively asking happy customers for reviews or discouraging negative ones (Google Maps content policy). One message, one link, every customer.
  • No rewards. Google forbids offering payment, discounts or free goods or services in exchange for a review (policy). So no “10% off for a review”.
  • Texting has its own rules. Federal rules require consent before many kinds of text messages, and customers can opt out at any time (FCC consumer guide). Text customers who gave you their number for the job and expect to hear from you, honor “stop” right away, and don’t buy lists. This is general information, not legal advice. If texting is a big part of how you ask, check with someone who knows the rules in your state.
  • Email is simpler. A personal note to your own customer, easy to reply to, is a normal follow-up.

Keep it going

Requests work best as a habit, sent after every job. The whole routine, including how many reviews to aim for, is in How to get more Google reviews. When the reviews come in, answer them: How to respond to Google reviews, with templates.

On Localkept’s Website + Local plan ($199 a month), you tell us which customers to ask and we email each a review request in your business’s name (from “[business] via Localkept”) with your link, 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).

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.