Google reviews, the right way: ask everyone, offer nothing, reply to all.

How to get more Google reviews without breaking Google’s rules: your free review link and QR code, a message to send, how to reply, and what gets reviews removed.

By
Yucti
Reviewed by
Satish Pophale, founder
Last checked
Reading time
5 min read

The short answer

Ask every customer for a review, in the same way, with your free Google review link or QR code. Never offer anything in return, and never ask only the customers you think are happy. Then reply to every review, good or bad.

That’s all Google allows, and it works: Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking. There’s no way to pay for a better one.

Why the rules matter

Many videos promise “unlimited reviews”, or tell you to give a discount for a five-star rating. Both break Google’s policy on fake engagement. Google removes reviews that break it, and can act against the profile itself. Fake or paid reviews can also count as misleading advertising under India’s consumer protection law.

Google’s policy says a business must not:

  • offer payment, discounts or free goods or services for a review, or for changing or removing one;
  • discourage negative reviews, or ask only the customers likely to leave good ones;
  • require or pressure customers to review while they’re still on the premises;
  • ask customers to include particular words, or to name a member of staff;
  • give staff targets for a number of reviews;
  • post reviews from the owner, staff, family or anyone with a business connection, or reviews of a competitor.

Step by step

On a computer (the QR code can’t be made from a phone yet):

  1. Open your Business Profile, and select Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
  2. To copy the link, select Copy. Save it on your phone, so you can paste it into WhatsApp.
  3. To save the QR code, right-click it and choose Save image as…. Print it.

No Business Profile yet? Start with our guide to putting your shop on Google.

2. Ask everyone, the same way

Google suggests putting the link or QR code on bills and receipts, in thank-you messages, and on a printed card in the shop. A QR code at the counter is fine; standing over a customer until they post is not.

Send one message, once, after the visit, the delivery or the job, to every customer alike:

Thank you for coming in today. Would you share a Google review? It helps others find us. (Paste your review link here.)

Don’t add “if you were happy with us”: that’s asking only the happy ones. Don’t ask for five stars, or tell people what to write.

3. Reply to every review

  1. Open your Business Profile and select Read reviews.
  2. Next to the review, select Reply, write your reply, and select Reply again.

The customer is told about your reply, and can change their review after reading it. You can edit or delete a reply later.

  • Good review: thank them, briefly, and mention what they mentioned.
  • Bad review: stay calm. Say what you understood, apologise if it’s due, and invite them to call so you can put it right. Never argue in public.
  • Clinics: don’t mention a patient’s treatment in a public reply, or even confirm that they visited.

4. Report a review only if it breaks the rules

A review you disagree with stays up. One that breaks Google’s policy (spam, abuse, a fake review, a competitor’s attack) can be reported:

  1. In your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then the report icon next to the review.
  2. Choose the reason and select Send report.
  3. Follow it in Google’s Reviews Management Tool. It shows “Decision pending”, “Report reviewed – no policy violation” (you can appeal once) or “Escalated”. Reviews usually take several days.

Reporting doesn’t guarantee removal. The best answer to an unfair review is a calm reply, and more reviews from real customers.

What it costs

Nothing. Your Business Profile, review link, QR code and replies are free. You pay only for printing the QR card.

If you send review requests through the WhatsApp Business Platform rather than the free WhatsApp Business app, each one is a template message, which Meta charges for: ₹0.115, or ₹0.8631 if Meta counts it as marketing. Our guide to WhatsApp’s October 2026 charges explains the difference.

Mistakes to avoid

  1. A gift for a review: a discount, a free service, cash, a contest entry. Not for posting a review, changing one or removing one.
  2. Filtering: asking “how did we do?” and sending only the happy customers to Google.
  3. Pressure at the counter: asking someone to post before they leave.
  4. Scripts: telling customers what to write, or asking them to name the person who served them.
  5. Reviews from inside: the owner, staff, family or friends reviewing the business.
  6. Bought reviews: any service or app selling reviews or “review packages”.
  7. Clinics: doctors also follow the medical council’s rules on advertising. Ask every patient alike, if the doctor chooses to ask at all, and never pick out testimonials for marketing.

Last checked

4 October 2026, against Google’s policy and Business Profile Help pages. Google changes button names and steps from time to time, so we re-check this guide before we share it again.

Sources

Not sure how your profile looks to customers?

Yucti Studio’s free visibility check takes about 20 minutes. We look together, on your phone, at your Google profile: photos, hours, categories, reviews and unanswered questions, and how you show up in searches and AI answers. You keep a one-page report with the three biggest fixes.

Book a free visibility check

How we make these guides: we draft them with AI from the sources listed, check every fact against those sources, and a person approves each one before it goes live.

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