How to ask for Google reviews without breaking Google’s rules.

Most happy customers will leave a review if you ask at the right time and make it easy. Here is wording you can copy, a routine you can automate, and the rules that catch businesses out.

Most customers who had a good experience are happy to leave a review. They just do not think of it, or they cannot find where to click. A short, well-timed message with a link solves most of that. The harder part is knowing what you are allowed to do, because two sets of rules apply: Australian consumer law, and Google’s own policies for reviews on Maps and Search. Google’s are stricter.

Two sets of rules, and Google’s are stricter

Under the Australian Consumer Law, business.gov.au says it is illegal to create or arrange a fake or misleading review. According to that guidance, the ACCC treats a review as fake or misleading when, for example, it was written by someone who has not used your product or service, was removed or changed by you after the customer posted it, or was written by family, staff or people you paid without disclosing the connection. An incentive is acceptable under the law if you offer it for both positive and negative reviews and clearly disclose it.

Google goes further. Its policy for content on Google Maps says merchants may not “offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services – in exchange for posting any review”. It also says merchants may not “selectively solicit positive reviews from customers”, and “should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises, nor should they request that specific content be included”. Google’s Business Profile help describes incentivised reviews as fake and misleading content that is “strictly prohibited”.

business.gov.au itself tells businesses to check the rules of the review website before asking for reviews. So if you want reviews on Google, follow Google’s rules as well as the law.

Clinics and allied health: registered health practitioners have an extra layer. Ahpra’s advertising guidelines say advertising for a regulated health service must not use testimonials. Ahpra’s testimonial guidance says you do not have to remove reviews on sites you do not control, but you should take care when engaging with them, because that may be treated as using a testimonial to advertise. Do not copy reviews onto your website or ads, and read that guidance before you start asking patients for reviews.

Get your review link first

Google’s help page explains how to create a review link or QR code from your Business Profile. Use that link in every request. A customer who has to search for your business, find the profile and then find the review button often gives up halfway.

Two practical details from Google’s help: customers need to be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review, and they can create one with a non-Gmail address. If a customer says they cannot leave a review, that is usually why.

How to ask: templates you can copy

Keep the request short, personal and easy to ignore politely. Mention the job so it does not feel like a mass message. Ask for honest feedback rather than a five-star rating. Change the wording so it sounds like you.

Text message after a trade job

Hi [first name], thanks for having us out to [suburb] today. If you have a minute, an honest Google review helps other locals decide whether to call us: [review link]. Thanks, [your name], [business name]. Reply STOP, or call [phone], if you would rather not get messages like this.

Email for a professional service

Subject: A quick favour, if you have a minute

Hi [first name],

Thanks again for working with us on [what you did, for example “your loan application” or “this year’s BAS”]. If you are comfortable sharing how it went, a short Google review helps other people work out whether we are a good fit for them. Honest feedback of any kind is useful to us too.

[review link]

No need to reply if you would rather not. Thanks either way.

[your name]
[business name] · [phone]
If you would prefer not to receive emails like this, just reply and let us know.

In person, at the end of a job

“Thanks for having us. If you’re happy to, we’d really appreciate a Google review sometime. I’ll text you the link so it’s easy to find.”

Then send the link and leave it there. Asking someone to do it on the spot, on your device or while you watch, is the kind of pressure Google’s policy asks merchants to avoid.

When to ask, and how to make it automatic

The best time is soon after the customer has seen the result, while the experience is fresh. A simple routine that most businesses can run by hand, or set up in their job management or CRM software:

1. Choose the trigger. For example, the job is marked complete, the invoice is paid, or the settlement or appointment has happened. Pick the moment the customer can judge the outcome.
2. Send one request by text or email with your review link, ideally the same day or the next.
3. Send one reminder a few days later if they have not reviewed. Then stop.
4. Stop early if the customer replies, reviews, asks you not to contact them, or has an open complaint you are still resolving.
5. Ask everyone who reaches the trigger. Do not filter out customers who seemed unhappy, and do not send unhappy customers to a private feedback form instead of the review link. Some review tools offer this kind of filtering. Steering unhappy customers away from the review link amounts to selectively soliciting positive reviews, which Google’s policy does not allow.
6. Keep a simple record of who was asked and when, so nobody gets asked three times.

business.gov.au says you should only email customers asking for a review if you have their permission to email them. When you do, include your business name and an easy way to opt out. That matches what the ACMA sets out for commercial messages under the Spam Act: identify yourself as the sender, include your contact details and make it easy to unsubscribe. The ACMA also says inferred consent “does not cover sending messages after someone has just bought something from your business”, so a recent job on its own is not permission to send marketing. Whether a particular review request counts as a commercial message depends on its content and context, so following those basics is a sensible default. If you send requests by text under your business name, our guide to the SMS Sender ID Register explains why they might show as “Unverified”, and why a “reply STOP” opt-out may not work when texts come from a name rather than a number.

Many job management, booking and CRM tools can send a message when a job changes status. If yours cannot, a small automation can do it. This is the same kind of follow-up AppliedAgents builds for quotes and enquiries, and the rules above apply to anything automated just as they do to a person.

Replying to reviews

Google recommends replying to reviews and notes that replies are public. It also says “a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy”, so a few less-than-perfect reviews are not the end of the world. How you answer them matters more.

• Reply to all of them, good and bad, briefly and politely.
• Never confirm private details in public. Do not mention what a customer bought, their address, health information or account details, even if they did.
• Take problems offline. Acknowledge the issue, say what you will do, and give a way to contact you directly.
• Do not argue the facts point by point. Future customers are reading your tone more than the details.

If you use an AI tool to draft replies, do not paste the customer’s details into it, and check the draft before you post. Our guides on what to remove before pasting customer messages into AI and checking AI-drafted replies cover both steps.

Things to avoid

• Discounts, prize draws, freebies or “thank you” gifts tied to a Google review.
• Asking staff, family or friends to post reviews.
• Asking for five stars, or suggesting words to include.
• Setting staff targets for a number of reviews. Google’s policy specifically mentions merchants asking staff to solicit a certain number.
• Sending people to a feedback form first and only passing on the happy ones.
• Buying reviews or using a service that posts them for you.

Sources

• Google, Maps user contributed content policy: prohibited and restricted content
• Google Business Profile Help, Tips to get more reviews
• business.gov.au, Online reviews
• Ahpra, Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service and testimonial guidance
• ACMA, Avoid sending spam

This article is general information, not legal advice. Google’s policies and the guidance above were checked on 29 October 2026 and can change.