How to Get More Google Reviews (Within the Rules)
Ask everyone, at the right moment, with one tap. Do not pay, do not filter, do not fake. That is most of it.
Short answer
Ask every genuine customer for a review shortly after the job is done, using the direct review link from your Google Business Profile, by text or email. Do not offer discounts or gifts in exchange, do not ask only happy customers, and do not have staff or friends review you. Reply to every review, including the negative ones.
The way to get more Google reviews is simple and slightly boring: ask every genuine customer, at the moment they are most pleased, with a link that takes one tap. Most businesses with few reviews do not have a reputation problem. They have an asking problem.
What has changed is how strict the rules are. Google prohibits incentivised reviews and review gating, and in the UK fake and concealed incentivised reviews became illegal in April 2025. So this guide covers both halves: how to get more reviews, and how to stay inside the rules while you do it. Reviews are one part of your Google Business Profile, which in turn is one part of SEO for small businesses.
Why Google reviews matter
Reviews feed into prominence, one of the three factors Google uses for local rankings. More importantly, they are what a customer reads in the ten seconds before deciding which of three businesses to ring.
Three things matter more than the star average:
- Recency. A review from last month says you are still trading and still good.
- Steady flow. Twenty reviews spread over a year look natural. Twenty in a week, after two years of nothing, look odd to customers and to Google's spam systems.
- Content. Reviews that mention the actual service and the town ("replaced our boiler in Gillingham, tidy and on time") help relevance and persuade readers.
The rules, in plain English
At the time of writing (October 2026), Google's policy on prohibited and restricted content for Maps reviews says, among other things, that businesses must not:
- offer incentives, such as payment, discounts or free goods or services, in exchange for posting a review
- discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers
- post or arrange reviews based on a conflict of interest, which includes current or former employees
- ask staff to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews mentioning a particular staff member
The same policy says businesses may ask for reviews that reflect a genuine experience, without incentives. So asking is fine. Rewarding and filtering are not.
UK law adds to this. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, from 6 April 2025 it is a banned practice to write or commission fake reviews, or to commission reviews that conceal that they were incentivised. The Competition and Markets Authority's fake reviews guidance sets out what that means for businesses. This is a summary, not legal advice; if you are unsure about a specific scheme, check the guidance or ask a solicitor.
| Tactic | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Asking every customer for an honest review | Yes |
| Sending the direct review link by text or email | Yes |
| A QR code on an invoice, card or counter | Yes |
| Replying publicly to reviews | Yes, and recommended |
| Discount, freebie or prize draw for a review | No |
| Asking only customers who rated you well | No (review gating) |
| Staff, family or friends reviewing the business | No |
| Buying reviews or swapping them with other businesses | No, and illegal in the UK |
How to get more Google reviews: a process that works
1. Get your direct review link
In your Business Profile, use the option to ask for reviews. It gives you a short link and a QR code that open the review box directly. Help is on the get reviews on your Business Profile page.
2. Pick the moment
Ask when the customer is happiest and the job is fresh, usually:
- for trades, on the day the job is signed off
- for professional services, when the outcome is delivered, not when the invoice is paid
- for shops and hospitality, within a day or two of the visit
3. Ask in person first, then send the link
A quick, honest "Would you mind leaving us a Google review? I'll text you the link" works far better than an automated email out of nowhere. The text then arrives as a follow-up to a conversation.
4. Keep the message short
Something like:
Thanks again for choosing us for the bathroom fit. If you have a minute, an honest Google review helps other people in Medway find us: [link]. Thank you.
Notice what it does not do: it does not ask for five stars, does not mention a reward, and does not check satisfaction first.
5. Send one reminder, then stop
A single gentle reminder after three or four days is reasonable. More than that is annoying, and an annoyed customer is not the reviewer you want.
6. Make it routine
The businesses with steady reviews are not more charming. They have made asking part of the job close-out, so it happens every time. If you use a CRM, the request can be sent automatically when a job is marked complete; GoHighLevel reputation management covers one way of doing it. Check any tool's settings to make sure it does not filter by satisfaction score first, because that is review gating.
Replying to reviews
Reply to all of them. It shows you are present, and readers judge you on the replies as much as on the reviews.
- Positive reviews: thank them by name and mention the job if you can. Keep it short and avoid copy-pasted replies.
- Negative reviews: stay calm, acknowledge the issue, give your side factually if needed, and offer to continue offline. Never reveal private details about the customer.
- Fake or abusive reviews: report them through your Business Profile. Only reviews that break policy are removed, so do not report reviews simply for being critical.
A measured reply to a one-star review is often the most persuasive thing on the whole profile.
An example reply to a negative review
Say a customer leaves two stars saying the fitter arrived late and left dust in the hallway. A reply that helps rather than harms:
Thank you for the feedback, Sarah. You're right that we arrived later than the time we gave you, and I'm sorry we didn't call ahead. Leaving the hallway dusty isn't the standard we work to either. I've spoken to the team about both. If you'd like us to come back and finish the clean-up, please call me directly on the office number.
It acknowledges the specific problem, does not argue, does not reveal anything private, and offers a fix. Future readers see a business that takes complaints seriously. Compare that with a defensive reply listing everything the customer did wrong, which tends to put off the next reader more than the original review did.
Where review requests go wrong in practice
| Problem | What usually causes it | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Customers say they will review and never do | The link arrives days later, or not at all | Send it the same day, straight after the conversation |
| Reviews arrive in bursts | Asking happens in occasional campaigns | Build the ask into every job close-out |
| Reviews disappear | Google's automated systems remove reviews they judge to break policy, and occasionally catch genuine ones | Ask steadily rather than in bursts, and let customers review in their own time |
| Reviews mention the wrong service | No context in the request | Mention the job in the message, without telling them what to write |
| Staff push for reviews mentioning their names | Staff targets or bonuses tied to reviews | Remove those targets; Google's policy prohibits them |
None of these are fixed by software. They are fixed by making the request a normal, unremarkable part of finishing every job.
What not to do, even if a competitor does
You will see competitors with a sudden wall of five-star reviews from accounts with no other activity. It is tempting to match them. Do not. Google removes suspected fake reviews in bulk and can restrict or suspend profiles, and the UK regulator now has direct enforcement powers. If a competitor's reviews look fake, you can report them to Google.
Reviews beyond Google
Google is where most local searchers read reviews, but trade platforms and Trustpilot matter in some sectors. Showing genuine reviews on your website builds trust too, though review markup has its own rules, covered in schema markup for business websites. For how reviews and other proof affect enquiries once someone lands on your site, see website trust signals.
If you want your review process set up properly alongside your profile and website, it is part of the local work in the SEO service.
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