Can I offer a discount to customers who leave a review?

No. Google's own policy prohibits offering incentives, including free or discounted products or services, in exchange for reviews. Treat this as a hard line rather than a gray area, since it can put your whole profile at risk.

Can I write reviews for my own business or have employees do it?

No. Reviews are supposed to reflect a genuine customer experience. A review from an employee or the owner isn't that, even if the service described is real.

Should I only ask customers I know are happy?

We'd recommend against deliberately filtering who gets asked. Beyond the fairness issue, a profile with suspiciously uniform five-star reviews and no occasional critical one tends to look less credible to the next customer reading it, not more.

Where do I actually get my review link?

From inside the Business Profile you manage: open Read reviews, then Get more reviews, where Google gives you a link to copy and, from a computer, a QR code you can download.

Does BusinessWebsiteAudit.com manage my reviews for me?

No, we don't sell reputation management software or ongoing review tracking tools. Reviews are one part of Trust, which the Free Website Audit evaluates alongside how clear, visible, and conversion-ready the rest of your online presence is.

How to Get More Google Reviews (The Right Way)

Most businesses already know reviews matter. Fewer actually have a working process for asking, which is usually the real gap. Here's how to get your actual review link, build a simple request habit around it, and stay on the right side of Google's rules while you do it.

Get Your Review Link or QR Code

Your Google review link comes from the Business Profile you manage, not from any third-party tool. According to Google's own instructions for creating a link or QR code to request reviews, you'll find it by opening your Business Profile, selecting Read reviews, then Get more reviews. From there you can copy the link directly or generate a QR code. Google notes that QR code generation currently only works from a computer browser, not from a mobile device, so do this step at a desk rather than on your phone.

Interface labels change from time to time, so if what you see doesn't quite match this description, trust Google's own current page over this one.

Put the Link Somewhere a Customer Will Actually See It

Having the link isn't the same as using it. The businesses that get a steady flow of reviews tend to build the request into moments that already exist, rather than treating it as a separate task:

A short thank-you email sent right after the job or appointment is done, while the experience is still fresh
A text message, where it's appropriate and you have the customer's permission to text them
Printed on the receipt or invoice, with a line explaining what it's for
A QR code at the counter, on a van decal, or on a leave-behind card for in-home service work
A brief mention at the natural end of a phone call or in-person interaction, followed up by the link in a text or email

Pick two or three of these that actually fit how you interact with customers rather than trying to do all of them at once.

What to Actually Say

Generic requests get ignored. A specific, human one is more likely to get a response. A few examples you can adapt:

Email, sent after a service visit: "Thanks again for choosing us for your [service] today. If you have a minute, we'd really appreciate a quick Google review, it genuinely helps other people in the area find us. Here's the link: [your link]"

Text message, where you have permission to text: "Hi [name], thanks for trusting us with [job] today! If you were happy with the work, a quick Google review would mean a lot: [your link]"

In person, right after wrapping up: "If you were happy with how everything went, I'd really appreciate it if you left us a quick Google review when you get a chance. I'll text you the link so it's easy to find."

Keep the tone the way you'd actually talk to a customer. Avoid anything that reads like a script, and never attach a discount, a freebie, or any other incentive to the ask.

What Google Actually Prohibits

This part isn't optional or a matter of style. Google's policies, covered in its guidance on getting more reviews and its review-link instructions, state plainly that reviews must reflect a genuine experience, and that offering incentives such as free or discounted products or services in exchange for a review is considered fake engagement and is strictly prohibited. That applies to offering a discount for a positive review, pressuring customers to change or remove a negative one, and having employees or the business owner post reviews that aren't based on a real customer experience.

Beyond what Google explicitly bans, we'd also steer you away from anything that shapes which customers get asked. Quietly skipping the request for anyone who seemed unhappy, while actively chasing down your happiest customers, produces a review profile that looks curated rather than honest, and a savvy customer reading it can usually tell.

What Actually Works, Beyond Just Asking

Assuming you're asking the right way, a few habits make a real difference over time:

Ask at the moment satisfaction is highest, right after the job is done or the issue is resolved, not weeks later when the memory has faded. Make the ask itself effortless: a direct link or a QR code beats asking someone to search for your business by name. If you have staff who interact with customers, make sure they know the request is a normal, expected part of wrapping up a job, not an awkward extra step. Follow up once if someone doesn't respond, but don't turn it into repeated nagging.

Reply to the reviews you get, positive and negative alike. A short, genuine response shows future customers that a real person is paying attention. And when an honest negative review shows up, which happens to every business eventually, respond calmly and factually rather than treating it as an emergency. A thoughtful public reply often does more for your reputation than the negative review does against it.

How This Fits Into Your Overall Trust

Reviews are one part of a bigger picture: whether a visitor trusts what they find about your business once they're looking at it. We don't sell reputation management software or ongoing review tracking tools. Trust is one of several areas the Free Website Audit evaluates, alongside how clearly your business comes across and how easy it is for an interested visitor to actually reach out.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I offer a discount to customers who leave a review?: No. Google's own policy prohibits offering incentives, including free or discounted products or services, in exchange for reviews. Treat this as a hard line rather than a gray area, since it can put your whole profile at risk.
Can I write reviews for my own business or have employees do it?: No. Reviews are supposed to reflect a genuine customer experience. A review from an employee or the owner isn't that, even if the service described is real.
Should I only ask customers I know are happy?: We'd recommend against deliberately filtering who gets asked. Beyond the fairness issue, a profile with suspiciously uniform five-star reviews and no occasional critical one tends to look less credible to the next customer reading it, not more.
Where do I actually get my review link?: From inside the Business Profile you manage: open Read reviews, then Get more reviews, where Google gives you a link to copy and, from a computer, a QR code you can download.
Does BusinessWebsiteAudit.com manage my reviews for me?: No, we don't sell reputation management software or ongoing review tracking tools. Reviews are one part of Trust, which the Free Website Audit evaluates alongside how clear, visible, and conversion-ready the rest of your online presence is.