How to get more Google reviews without breaking Google's rules

Reviews show next to your Business Profile in Maps and Search. They help people choose. They are also where businesses most often get into trouble with Google, usually by trying too hard.

The honest route is slower than a shortcut, and safer. Ask every customer. Make it easy. Reply to what you get. Below is how, then the list of things Google bans. I have linked Google’s own pages throughout so you can check me.

The rule behind everything

Google’s rule is that a review must reflect a genuine experience. Every ban below breaks that rule in one way or another. What Google does allow is asking for a review that reflects a real experience, with no reward and no attempt to steer the rating or what the review says. Google help: Prohibited and restricted content (Maps User Contributed Content Policy)

How to ask the right way

1. Ask every customer

   Do not ask only the people who seemed happy. Google does not allow businesses to selectively ask for positive reviews, or to discourage negative ones. The simplest way to stay inside the rule is a habit: everyone gets the same ask, after every visit or job.

   It is also better for you. Google points out that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy to people reading.

   Google help: Prohibited and restricted content (Maps User Contributed Content Policy); Tips to get more reviews

2. Make it easy with a link or QR code

   On a computer, open your Business Profile and select “Read reviews”, then “Get more reviews”. Copy the review link, or right-click the QR code and save it. Google says QR codes can currently only be made on a computer, not on a phone.

   Google suggests putting the link on receipts, in thank-you emails and at the end of a chat, and printing the QR code for your shop. You can also send it by email, WhatsApp or a Facebook post. Customers need to be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review. They can use a non-Gmail address to set one up.

   Google help: Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews; Tips to get more reviews

   Before sharing the link, use the worksheet’s review-request section to draft a neutral message and record the correct review link.

3. Ask once, politely, and let people choose when to review

   Google’s policy says you must not require or pressure people to leave a review while they are on your premises. Do not ask for specific wording. So no tablet pushed across the counter, and no script telling people what to say.

   Do not ask staff to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews that name a member of staff. Google lists both as things businesses must not request.

   Google help: Prohibited and restricted content (Maps User Contributed Content Policy)

4. Reply to your reviews

   You need to be verified first. Open your Business Profile, select “Read reviews”, then “Reply” next to the review. Write your reply and select “Reply” again.

   Google checks replies against its content policies. Most are done within 10 minutes. A few take up to 30 days. Your reply is public, and the reviewer is told about it. They can change their review afterwards.

   My advice is to reply to every review, even if it is one line. Google’s tips: keep it short and polite, and sign with your name or initials. You do not have to thank every reviewer in public, so write each reply fresh rather than pasting the same line under all of them. Replies are not the place for deals or promotions.

   On a bad review, say what you can and cannot do, and apologise if it is due. Never share the reviewer’s private details or attack them. Invite them to contact you to put it right.

   Google help: Manage customer reviews; Tips to get more reviews

5. Report only what breaks the rules

   If a review breaks Google’s content policies, you can report it. Open your Business Profile, select “Read reviews”, then “Report” next to the review. Pick the reason and select “Send report”. Google says evaluation typically takes several days.

   Google also says not to report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it. It does not get involved in disputes between businesses and customers. Never offer anything to a customer to change or remove a review. That is banned too.

   Google help: Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile; Prohibited and restricted content (Maps User Contributed Content Policy)

What Google bans

• Rewards. No payment, discounts, free goods or free services in return for a review. That includes offers to change a review, or to remove a negative one. Google counts this as fake engagement, and its policy also covers reviews paid for “in kind”. I would treat a free coffee, an entry into a prize draw or “10% off your next visit if you review us” the same way.
• Review gating. That means screening customers first and sending only the happy ones to Google. Google’s policy says businesses must not discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively ask for positive ones. So do not put a “how did we do?” filter in front of your Google link.
• Fake reviews. Reviews that are not based on a real experience. Reviews posted from several accounts by one person, or at their request. Reviews from people with a conflict of interest: Google’s examples include current or former employees, contractors, family members and competitors. Posting on a competitor’s profile to harm it is banned too.
• Steering what people write. Required wording, staff quotas and pressure on your premises (see step 3).

What happens if you break the rules

Google removes the reviews. It can also restrict your profile. Its examples: for a set time it may stop new reviews or ratings, unpublish your existing reviews, or show a warning that fake reviews were removed. Google says these are examples, not a full list. It emails owners before it applies a restriction, and you can appeal.

The UK law as well

In the UK it is not only Google’s rule. Since April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has banned the practice of submitting, or commissioning someone else to submit, a fake consumer review, or a review that hides the fact it was incentivised. The government’s guidance says a banned practice is automatically unfair and illegal. It also says the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can issue fines and directions directly to those who break consumer protection law.

There is a difference worth knowing. The law is about fake reviews and hidden incentives. Google goes further: it does not allow you to offer the incentive at all. So follow Google’s rule, which keeps you clear of both. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. The CMA’s guidance has the detail.

Questions

The pages behind this guide

These are the pages I read on 23 October 2026.

• Tips to get more reviewssupport.google.com/business/answer/3474122
• Create a Google link or QR code to request reviewssupport.google.com/business/answer/16816815
• Manage customer reviewssupport.google.com/business/answer/3474050
• Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profilesupport.google.com/business/answer/4596773
• Business Profile restrictions for policy violationssupport.google.com/business/answer/14114287
• Prohibited and restricted content (Maps User Contributed Content Policy)support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114
• Reviews and social media endorsements: what businesses and content creators must know (GOV.UK, CMA)www.gov.uk/government/collections/reviews-and-social-media-endorsements-what-businesses-and-content-creators-must-know
• Unfair commercial practices, CMA207 (GOV.UK, CMA)www.gov.uk/government/publications/unfair-commercial-practices-cma207/unfair-commercial-practices
• Fake reviews, CMA208 (GOV.UK, CMA)www.gov.uk/government/publications/fake-reviews

Related

Checked on 23 October 2026. Show Up London is independent of Google. If something here no longer matches Google’s page or the CMA’s guidance, email hello@showuplondon.co.uk and I will fix it.