How can I ask every customer for a Google review without breaking Google's rules?

Where do I get the Google review link?

Open the Business Profile, select Read Reviews, then select Get more reviews. Choose Copy to take the review link. Google also provides a QR code from that screen. Its current instructions say the QR code can be generated in a computer browser, not on a mobile device. The Google reviews hub covers the other parts of the review process, and the review-link and QR-code guide covers the link itself.

How should I share the review link?

Use a normal customer touchpoint and keep the invitation neutral. Google's review-link instructions name these placements and channels.

BrightLocal's 2026 recommendations also point to timely email or SMS and printed links or QR codes as practical request channels. After reviews arrive, how to respond to Google reviews covers the reply itself.

When should I ask for a Google review?

Ask after the customer has had the experience they are reviewing. Use the business's normal follow-up point and make the same invitation available to every customer with a genuine experience. BrightLocal recommends asking as part of the purchase journey where appropriate, using timely email or SMS, and putting links or QR codes on printed materials.

Do not ask before the experience is complete or make a review a condition of service. The timing can fit the business, but the rating and review content must remain the customer's choice.

What should a compliant review request say?

Name the business, invite an honest account of the customer’s genuine experience, include the Business Profile review link, and let the customer choose whether to post, what rating to give, and what words to use. Google's Maps policy allows a request for genuine-experience content when the business offers no incentive and does not try to influence the rating or review contents.

What can I send by SMS?

Use this neutral variant when SMS is part of your normal customer communication:

Hi [first name], thank you for choosing [business name]. If you would like to share your honest experience, you can leave a Google review here: [review link]. Thank you for your time.

Send the same kind of invitation to every customer with a genuine experience. Do not add a requested rating, a required phrase, a staff member’s name, a reward, or a request that staff solicit a certain number of reviews.

What can I send by email?

Keep the subject and body clear about the choice the customer has:

Subject: Share your experience with [business name]

Hi [first name],

Thank you for visiting [business name]. If you would like to share your honest experience, you can leave a Google review here: [review link]. Your rating and comments are entirely up to you.

Thank you,
[business name]

This email asks for a genuine experience without steering the rating or the content. It does not promise a reward or make a review a condition of service. Google lists email as a review-request channel and requires the review to reflect a genuine experience.

Should I ask every customer or only happy customers?

Ask every customer who had a genuine experience. Google prohibits discouraging or prohibiting negative reviews and selectively soliciting positive reviews. Sending a private satisfaction survey first, then giving the public link only to people who respond positively, is review gating. A neutral request lets the customer decide whether the public record is positive, negative, or mixed.

Can I offer a discount or gift for a review?

Do not offer a discount, payment, free goods, or free services in exchange for a Google review. Google's review guidance prohibits incentives for posting a review, changing a review, or removing a negative review. Google also says reviews must reflect a genuine experience. A small reward, giveaway, or discount is not an exception under that policy.

What is the difference between the FTC review rule and Google's Maps policy?

The FTC's 16 CFR § 465.4 and Google's Maps policy set different boundaries. The FTC rule prohibits compensation or another incentive conditioned on a consumer review expressing a particular positive or negative sentiment. Google's Maps policy prohibits incentives for posting any review, regardless of the requested sentiment. For a Google review, follow the stricter Google rule and do not tie any incentive to the request.

The FTC defines something of value broadly. Its examples include discounts, coupons, money, gift certificates, products, services, contest entries, and another review. Google's Maps policy is the direct rule for a Google review, and it prohibits incentives for posting, changing, or removing one.

Can an employee or family member leave a review?

If an officer or manager creates a review or testimonial about the business, the FTC rule requires a clear and conspicuous disclosure of that material relationship unless the relationship is otherwise clear to the audience in a testimonial.

Do not ask an employee, manager, agent, or immediate relative to create a review that misrepresents the reviewer or the experience. The FTC rule covers a business procuring a materially misleading review from those insiders for a third-party site when the business knew or should have known about the misrepresentation. The rule does not cover a generalized solicitation to purchasers about their experiences or reviews that appear through ordinary hosting.

Google also treats content based on a conflict of interest as rating manipulation. Its examples include current or former employment, contractual or consulting relationships, competitors, and family relationships. Ask actual customers about their genuine experiences instead.

Can I display only positive reviews on my website?

The FTC rule also prohibits an unfounded legal threat, physical threat, intimidation, or a knowingly false or recklessly false public accusation used to prevent a review or cause it to be removed.

Do not claim that a displayed set represents most or all submitted reviews while suppressing reviews because of their ratings or negative sentiment. The FTC rule prohibits that misrepresentation. Neutral criteria applied equally, such as removing personal information, abusive content, or clearly false content, are treated differently under the rule.

Can I ask for five stars or specific wording?

No. Do not ask for five stars, positive sentiment, a named employee, or a particular phrase. Do not require or pressure the customer to leave a rating or write a review while they are on the premises. Google says merchants should not request specific content or selectively solicit positive reviews. Invite an honest account and leave the rating and words to the customer. The review-gating glossary entry explains the selective-request pattern.

What can I do instead of offering a discount for a review?

Use a neutral request that makes the next step clear, not a review-linked incentive:

• Ask every customer who had a genuine experience, not only customers expected to respond positively.
• Give every customer the same review link or QR code through a normal follow-up channel.
• Invite an honest account and let the customer choose whether to post, what rating to give, and what words to use.
• Do not discourage negative reviews, pressure customers to review on the premises, or request a specific number of reviews or a particular content detail.

The Google reviews hub covers the broader review process.

Does a customer need Gmail to leave a review?

The customer must be signed in to a Google Account, but Google says that account can use a non-Gmail email address. Make the review link easy to open, then let the customer handle the account sign-in Google requests. Do not promise that every recipient will be able to post.

Is there a required waiting period or guaranteed result?

Google’s current review-link and review-tips pages do not set a fixed number of hours or days after a visit, and they do not provide a review percentage or ranking guarantee for asking. For review mechanics beyond the request itself, read how Google reviews work. Choose a normal follow-up point for your business, use it consistently for every eligible customer, and treat the message as an invitation rather than a promised outcome.

What does US law add to these Google rules?

The FTC rule says that providing compensation or another incentive in exchange for, or expressly or implicitly conditioned on, a consumer review expressing a particular sentiment is an unfair or deceptive act and a violation of § 465.4. The rule covers consumer reviews, including ratings without written text, and its definition of purchasing a review includes discounts and coupons as examples of something of value. The Google Maps policy is broader for this practical question because it prohibits incentives for posting, changing, or removing a review, regardless of the requested sentiment.