How to get more Google reviews for your small business

Why reviews matter

People compare reviews before they call a local business. Google’s own advice is to value every review: honest, balanced reviews help customers decide, and a mix of feedback often looks more trustworthy than a wall of five stars.

Step 1: Get your Google review link and QR code

1. Open your Google Business Profile on a computer. Google says the review QR code can only be made in a computer browser, not on a phone.
2. Select Read Reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. Select Copy to copy your review link.
4. To save the QR code, right-click it and choose Save image as.

Step 2: Ask every customer at the right moment

The best time is right after the job is done: when you hand back the keys, finish the clean, or send the invoice. Ask everyone the same way, not only the customers you think are happy. Places Google suggests for your link or QR code:

• Your receipts and invoices.
• Your thank-you emails.
• The end of a chat with a customer.
• A printed QR code at your counter or in your store.
• An email, a WhatsApp message or a Facebook post.

Step 3: Make it one tap

Send the review link itself, not “find us on Google”. Every extra search or click loses people. Put the QR code where customers already look: the counter, the invoice, the back of your business card, the side of your truck.

Step 4: Follow up once

Many people mean to leave a review and forget. One friendly reminder a couple of days later is enough. More than that starts to feel like pressure.

Step 5: Reply to every review

Google’s tips for replies:

• Keep it brief, direct and honest.
• Don’t send the same thank-you to everyone; say something about their visit.
• Stay conversational, not promotional, and don’t use replies to offer deals.
• For a negative review, protect the customer’s privacy, avoid personal attacks, apologize when it fits, and reply in a timely manner.

What you must not do

Google’s review policy and the US Federal Trade Commission’s rule on fake reviews (announced August 14, 2024) both apply. Breaking Google’s policy can get reviews removed and your Business Profile restricted.

• Don’t offer anything for a review: no payment, discounts, free goods or services. Google calls this fake engagement, and that includes asking someone to change or remove a negative review.
• Don’t ask only your happy customers, and don’t discourage negative reviews. Google’s policy forbids selectively asking for positive reviews.
• Don’t pressure customers to review while they’re still at your business, give staff a quota of reviews, or tell customers what to write.
• Don’t review yourself or have employees post reviews. Google treats current and former employees as a conflict of interest, and the FTC rule bans insider reviews that don’t clearly disclose the connection.
• Don’t buy reviews or tie a reward to a positive (or negative) review. The FTC rule bans incentives that depend on the review’s sentiment.
• Don’t threaten or intimidate anyone to take down a bad review. The FTC rule bans review suppression too.

How Maurie AI helps

With the Local Marketing add-on ($79 per location a month billed yearly, or $99 monthly) you can:

• Send review request emails to your CRM contacts or a CSV list, with one follow-up after two days if they haven’t responded.
• Share a Smart Review Link and QR code. Customers rate their visit first, every customer can still go on to Google, and an unhappy customer can also send you private feedback so you can make it right.
• Keep every customer, job and review request on the same contact in the built-in CRM.

On Starter and up, a workflow can also send the review request for you, for example when a document is signed or a tag is added.

Sources, checked November 12, 2026: Google Business Profile Help, Tips to get more reviews and Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews; Google Maps user contributed content policy; FTC, Final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials.