Google review link generator, with a QR code to print

How to get your Google review link or Place ID

There are two ways to get what the tool needs. The first is the better one whenever you can sign in to the Google account that manages your business.

1. Copy Google's own review link. On a computer, sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile and search Google for your business name. Your profile opens with its owner tools. Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, then Copy, and paste the link in the box above. Google's help page on review links says its own review QR codes can only be made in a computer browser, so on a phone, use this tool for the code.
2. Look up your Place ID. If someone else manages the profile, open Google's Place ID finder, type your business name into the search box on the map and pick your business from the list. The Place ID appears on the map. It is a code of letters and numbers that usually starts with ChIJ. Copy it and paste it above.

Why a Google Maps link is not enough

The Share button in Google Maps gives you a short link to your listing. A customer who opens it lands on your business, then has to scroll, find the review button and tap it. Every extra step is a chance for a busy customer to give up. A review link opens the box with the stars ready to tap, which is why it is the one to print.

A Maps share link does not carry the Place ID, so the tool cannot turn it into a review link. Paste one and the tool tells you so, with the two ways to get the ID. A link that already has the Place ID in it, such as one copied from the Place ID finder, works as it is.

Where to put the link and the QR code

The best place is wherever every customer is when the work is done. Google's own help page suggests receipts, thank-you emails, the end of a chat and a printed QR code in the store. For most small businesses, that comes down to these spots.

• The counter or front desk. Print the counter card from the tool and stand it by the register, at eye level for anyone waiting to pay.
• Receipts and invoices. Add the QR code to the printed receipt, or the link to the bottom of the invoice email.
• The thank-you text or email after a job. Send it the same day, while the visit is fresh. One short line and the link is enough.
• The paperwork you leave behind. Plumbers, roofers, cleaners and other home service crews can leave a card with the QR code on top of the invoice or the warranty sheet.
• Your own website. A "Leave us a Google review" button on the contact page, or on the page a customer sees after sending a form.
• Your email signature. One line with the link, under your name and phone number.

What to say when you ask for a review

Keep the ask short, say why it helps, and ask for an honest review rather than a five-star one. The lines below are examples to adapt in your own words.

• At the counter: "If you have a minute later, we would love to hear how we did. The code on this card takes you straight to our Google reviews."
• By text after a job: "Thanks for having us out today. If you have a moment, here is where to leave us a review on Google. It helps people nearby find us." Then the link.
• By email: a subject line of "How did we do?", two sentences of thanks for the specific job, and the link on its own line so it is easy to tap on a phone.

How to ask for Google reviews fairly

Google and the Federal Trade Commission both have rules about how a business asks for reviews. They come down to five habits, and each one also makes your reviews more believable to the people reading them.

• Ask every customer, the same way, at the same point. For example, every customer gets the text when the job is paid. Google's content policy lists selectively soliciting positive reviews from customers as rating manipulation. The FTC's questions and answers on its review rule say that asking only happy customers could violate the FTC Act.
• No gifts, discounts or prize drawings for reviews. Google strictly prohibits incentives in exchange for posting a review, and also for changing or removing a negative one, and it treats them as fake engagement. The FTC's rule allows some incentives as long as they never depend on what the review says, but on Google the answer is simply no.
• No screening step. A form that sends happy customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private feedback box is a way of asking only happy customers. Send everyone the same link.
• Only real customers, writing their own words. Google's help page says reviews must reflect a genuine experience. Do not write reviews for customers, and do not have staff, friends or family review the business.
• Answer bad reviews instead of trying to bury them. The same FTC rule bars unfounded legal threats and intimidation aimed at getting a review removed, and a calm public reply does more good anyway. The guide to how to respond to negative Google reviews has sample replies for each kind of bad review.

Why Google reviews matter for being found

Google's help page on improving your local ranking says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help a business's local ranking. It also says that replying to reviews shows you value your customers' feedback. Reviews are one part of being found, alongside a complete Business Profile and a website that says what you do and where.

If your business shows up on Maps but your website does not show up on Google, the cause is usually on the site itself. The guide to why a website is not showing up on Google walks through each reason and its fix, and the local business web design page covers what a site needs to show up for searches in your area.