How to get more Google reviews honestly

Reviews do two jobs. They help customers decide whether to trust you, and Google says reviews are part of how it judges a business's prominence: "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking."

The good news is that you don't need tricks. The businesses with lots of reviews usually just ask consistently and make it easy. This guide shows you how, while staying firmly inside Google's rules and UK law.

The rules first (they've got stricter)

Google's Prohibited & restricted content policy says merchants must not:

• Offer incentives such as payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative one.
• Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews (often called "review gating").
• Require or pressure customers to leave reviews while on the premises.
• Request specific content, including asking staff to collect a set number of reviews or asking for reviews that mention a staff member's name.

Reviews from people with a conflict of interest (staff, family, competitors, people you have a business relationship with) aren't allowed either.

Google says it may remove offending reviews and can restrict a profile: blocking new reviews for a period, unpublishing existing reviews, or showing a warning to customers that fake reviews were removed.

UK law: since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 makes it automatically unfair to submit or commission fake reviews, or to publish incentivised reviews without making the incentive clear. The CMA has published guidance (CMA208) explaining the rules.

What is allowed? Google says merchants may "solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives". In short: ask everyone, give nothing in return, and don't tell them what to write.

Step 1: Get your review link

In your Google Business Profile, find the Ask for reviews (or "Get more reviews") option. It gives you a short link and a QR code that open the review box directly. Save both:

• In your phone's notes or as a text shortcut.
• On your invoice and quote templates.
• In your email signature.
• As a QR code on a counter card, receipt or business card.

Step 2: Ask at the right moment

The best time to ask is when the customer has just experienced the result:

• Trades: the day the job is finished and they're happy with it, or when you send the final invoice.
• Cafés and restaurants: a QR code on the table card or receipt, rather than a verbal request at the till (avoid anything that feels like pressure on the premises).
• Salons and clinics: a message later that day, when they've had a chance to see the result at home.
• Shops: a QR code on the receipt, bag or packaging.

Make it part of a routine. Example (illustration only): an electrician who sends a "thanks, here's your invoice and certificate" message after every job can add one line with the review link. Asking every customer in the same way also keeps you inside Google's rule against selective asking.

Step 3: Use simple, honest wording

You can copy and adapt these templates. They ask for an honest review and don't suggest what to say.

Text message (after a job):

Hi Sam, thanks for choosing us today. If you have a minute, we'd really appreciate an honest Google review. It helps other people nearby find us: [link]. Thanks, Jo at Example Plumbing

Email (after an appointment):

Subject: Thanks for visiting today

Hi Priya, thanks for coming in. We'd love to hear how we did. If you're happy to, you can leave an honest review on Google here: [link]. It only takes a minute, and we read every one.

Counter or table card:

Enjoyed your visit? Tell us honestly on Google. Scan the code to leave a review.

Things to leave out: "5-star", "if you were happy", "mention our name", "leave a review for 10% off". Each of those either gates, steers or incentivises.

Step 4: Follow up once (and only once)

People mean to leave a review and forget. One polite reminder a few days later is reasonable. More than that starts to feel like pressure.

Step 5: Reply to every review

Google's local ranking tips say that replying to reviews shows you value feedback, and "positive reviews and helpful replies can help your business stand out". Replies also show future customers how you treat people.

Replying to a positive review:

• Thank them by first name.
• Mention the service briefly in natural words (not a list of keywords).
• Keep it short and genuine.

Thanks Sam, really glad the new radiator's keeping the lounge warm. Thanks for having us.

Replying to a negative review:

1. Wait until you're calm. Reply within a day or two.
2. Thank them for the feedback and acknowledge the problem without arguing.
3. Don't share personal details, job information or anything confidential.
4. Offer to put it right offline, with a way to contact you.
5. If it's resolved, the customer may choose to update their review. You can't ask them to in exchange for anything.

Hi Alex, I'm sorry the job ran later than we said. That's not the standard we aim for. I'd like to understand what happened and put it right, so please call me on the office number when it suits you. Jo

What to do about fake or unfair reviews

If a review breaks Google's policies (for example, it's spam, from a competitor, abusive, or about a different business), you can report it from your Business Profile. Google reviews reports against its policies. It won't remove a genuine review just because it's critical.

Don't fight in public, threaten legal action in a reply, or ask friends to post positive reviews to "balance it out". The last one is exactly what the rules prohibit.

Reviews on other platforms

Google isn't the only place customers look. Depending on your business, reviews on Facebook, Trustpilot, Yell, Yelp, TripAdvisor or a trade platform may matter too. Apple Maps shows ratings and reviews from its own users and partners. Pick one or two platforms to focus on rather than spreading customers thin. For most local businesses, Google first is sensible because it shows directly in Search and Maps.

How many reviews do you need?

There is no magic number, and Google doesn't publish one. Look at the businesses that appear alongside you in the map pack: that's your realistic benchmark. A steady flow of recent reviews tends to look more trustworthy to customers than a burst followed by silence, and steady asking also avoids the "unusual volumes or patterns" Google's policy watches for.

A simple review system

1. Save your review link and QR code (today).
2. Add the link to your invoice, quote and email templates (this week).
3. Ask every customer at the same point in your process, in the same words.
4. Send one reminder after a few days if they haven't left one.
5. Reply to every review within 48 hours.
6. Check monthly: how many new reviews, what people mention, and anything to improve.

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help: Prohibited & restricted content
• Google Business Profile Help: Business Profile restrictions for policy violations
• Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews
• Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
• GOV.UK: Fake reviews guidance (CMA208)

This guide is general information, written to be accurate as of October 2026. Platforms and rules change, so check the official sources linked above. Examples are illustrations, not real businesses or results. Nobody, including BizBoost AI, can guarantee a ranking position on Google, Bing or Apple Maps.