How-to

How to send a Google review link

Every Google Business Profile has one review link. It never changes, it works forever, and it looks like this:

Get yours once, save it somewhere you won't lose it, and text it to customers while the job is still fresh. That's the whole method. Everything below is detail.

Getting the link (pick whichever annoys you less)

The fast way is the free Google review link + QR code generator. Type your business name, click your listing, done. It fills in your place ID for you and throws in a printable QR kit. No account. Maybe thirty seconds, most of which is you deciding which listing is yours.

Prefer to get it from Google directly? Open the Google Business Profile app or business.google.com, look on the Home screen for the "Ask for reviews" card, and copy the short link it shows. Same destination, Google's shortened version.

Sending it: text first, and right after the job

A text sent the same afternoon gets opened. An email sent Friday gets found the following Thursday, if at all. And timing beats phrasing every time; the customer who just watched you fix the thing is the customer who'll spend thirty seconds on a review. A week later they like you exactly as much but the moment's gone.

Keep the message short. Two you can copy:

One ask, one reminder a few days later if they haven't clicked, then stop. The full set, including the check-in message that goes out before the ask, lives on the review request templates page, free.

Standing still works too. A QR code on the counter, the invoice, or the truck door is the same link for people already holding their phone. The generator above builds it. Scan it once yourself before you print two hundred of anything.

The two rules

Send the same link to everyone. Sorting customers first, link for the happy ones and a "private feedback form" for the rest, is called review gating. Google's policy prohibits it and the FTC has fined companies for it. The customers who had a rough experience are also the ones most likely to just tell you directly when handed the chance, which beats a filtered star average anyway.

And no rewards. No discount for a review, no gift card, nothing. Beyond the policy problem, Google's filters watch for language that suggests an incentive was involved, and a review that reads like it was paid for does you no favors with humans either.

Last thing worth knowing: a review doesn't always show up right away after a customer clicks through, even a few days later. If that happens, here's why a Google review might not be showing up and what's actually worth checking.