How to Get More Google Reviews: 6 Steps for Your Business
Direct answer and summary
To get more Google reviews, verify your Google Business Profile, copy its review request link, then ask every customer while they are still at your business, through a QR code or your loyalty card, and reply to every review. Never buy reviews or reward them: Google's policy forbids both. BTAQA can send the customer to your review page right after they add your loyalty card.
Key takeaways
- You need a verified Google Business Profile and its review request link.
- Ask every customer, not only happy ones: selectively asking for positive reviews breaks Google's policy.
- No reward for a review: no discount, no stamp, no points.
- An owner cannot delete a review; you can report it if it breaks the policy, and Google decides.
- The best moment to ask is while the customer is still at your business.
Step by step
- 1
Verify your Google Business Profile
Go to business.google.com, create or claim your business profile, and verify it. Without a verified profile you cannot reply to reviews or get a review request link.
- 2
Copy your review request link
In your business profile, choose the option to ask for reviews (Ask for reviews), then copy the link. It opens the write-a-review window directly, so the customer never has to search for your business.
- 3
Turn the link into a QR code and put it in front of customers
Print a QR code of the link and place it at the counter, on tables and on the receipt. The customer scans it with their camera and the review page opens in seconds.
- 4
Ask every customer while they are still at your business
Ask after payment or when they collect their order, and ask every customer, not only the happy ones. One short sentence from staff is enough, with no pressure and no reward.
- 5
Connect the link to your loyalty card so it asks for you
Add the review link to your loyalty card. With BTAQA the link shows on the card in the customer's wallet, the customer can be sent to your review page right after adding the card, and an automatic review request can follow a visit.
- 6
Reply to every review, positive and negative
Thank positive reviewers by name, and answer negative reviews calmly with a fix. The customer gets notified of your reply and can update their review afterwards.
A customer searches for a "restaurant near me" or a "car wash" and sees your business next to a competitor on the map. You have 12 reviews; they have 400. Most people pick the competitor before reading anything else.
The problem is rarely the quality of your service. Most happy customers never write a review because nobody asked them at the right time. This guide shows how to ask the right way, and what Google forbids, so you don't lose the reviews you earn.
What you need before you start
A verified Google Business Profile and the review request link from it.
- A Google Business Profile for your business, verified in your name
- The review request link from that profile: the link you will put in a QR code and on your loyalty card
- A few minutes with your staff to agree on one sentence for asking
If you can't find the option to ask for reviews in your profile, the profile is probably not verified yet. Finish verification at business.google.com first.
When should you ask for a review?
While the customer is still at your business: after payment, when they collect their order, or when they see the result.
A review request usually fails for one reason: it arrives too late. A message two days later reaches a customer who has forgotten the visit. A request in the shop arrives while the experience is fresh, with the QR code right in front of them.
Examples from different businesses:
- Car wash: ask when the customer collects their clean car and sees it
- Restaurant: after payment, with the QR code on the bill
- Salon: once the customer sees the result in the mirror
- Cafe: when you hand over the cup, with the code on the table or counter
How can your loyalty card ask for reviews for you?
Add your Google review link to your loyalty card, and with BTAQA the request reaches the customer at three moments without staff having to remember.
- Right after adding the card: when the customer adds your card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and returns to the join page, BTAQA sends them to the write-a-review page instead of the success screen. It is optional, needs a valid Google review link, and is available on every plan. Details on the Google review after install page.
- On the card itself: the review link shows on the back of the Apple Wallet card and in the links section in Google Wallet, so the customer finds it whenever they open your card.
- After the visit: when staff pick the product or service at the scan, BTAQA sends a review request automatically after a delay you set, from 1 to 24 hours, with a message like "How was your coffee?", naming what the customer ordered. It only goes to customers who agreed to marketing messages, at most once a day. This feature is on the Engage and Retain plans; details on the smart review collecting page.
None of the three asks the customer whether they were satisfied first, so there is no filtering of happy customers, which keeps it in line with Google's policy.
What does Google forbid when collecting reviews?
Google forbids selectively asking satisfied customers for reviews, offering any reward for a review, and paid or fake reviews.
These rules come from Google's official content policy, and breaking them can get reviews removed:
- No filtering: don't ask only happy customers, and don't discourage customers from writing a negative review. Don't ask "Were you satisfied?" and then send only the happy ones to Google.
- No rewards: no money, discount or free product for writing a review or changing a negative one. That includes an extra stamp or points on a loyalty card.
- No pressure: don't require or pressure customers to leave a review.
- No staff quotas: don't ask your staff to collect a set number of reviews.
- No insider reviews: reviews from current or former employees, or from anyone with a contractual tie to the business, are a conflict of interest.
Is buying Google reviews worth the risk?
No. Paid reviews, whether the payment is money or a service, count as fake engagement for Google, and it removes them when it detects them.
Offers selling "100 five-star reviews" are everywhere, but they sell something Google removes once it finds it. Worse, real customers notice dozens of similar reviews on the same day and stop trusting all your reviews, even the real ones.
The cheaper and longer-lasting option is asking your real customers consistently. Ten real reviews a week become hundreds within months, and they don't break Google's policy.
Can you delete a negative Google review?
An owner cannot delete a review. You can report it, and Google removes it only if it breaks Google's policy.
In your business profile, open the reviews section, choose the report option next to the review, and pick a reason such as spam or offensive language. Checking a report usually takes several days. If Google decides the review does not break the policy, it stays live, and you can submit a one-time appeal from the Reviews Management Tool.
Don't report a review just because you disagree with it. A genuine negative review gets a reply, not a report.
How should you reply to Google reviews?
Reply to every review, positive and negative, with a short, personal sentence.
- Positive review: thank the customer by name, and mention what they liked if they said
- Negative review: apologise for the experience without arguing, offer a fix, and invite them to contact you directly
- Rating with no text: a short thank-you is enough
Google checks replies before posting them, and a reply usually appears within 10 minutes. The customer is notified of your reply and can update their review afterwards, and a calm reply to a negative review can lead the customer to change it.
Frequently Asked Questions
In your Google Business Profile, choose the option to ask for reviews (Ask for reviews), then copy the link. If the option doesn't appear, finish verifying the profile first.
No. Google's policy forbids any reward for a review, whether money, a discount or a free product, and that includes stamps and points on a loyalty card.
No. Selectively asking satisfied customers for reviews breaks Google's policy. Ask all your customers the same way.
Checking a report usually takes several days, and Google removes the review only if it breaks its policy. If the report is rejected, you can submit a one-time appeal.
Yes. The customer is notified of your reply and can edit or delete their review at any time.
No. With BTAQA the review request reaches the customer through the loyalty card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, without the customer downloading any app.
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