Get more Google reviews without breaking the rules

Google says reviews “can help your business stand out and give potential customers helpful info”, and they show next to your Business Profile in Maps and Search. The shortcuts to more of them tend to break two separate rulebooks: Google’s platform policy and the law the ACCC enforces. This guide keeps the two apart, then sets out a routine that sits safely inside both.

Two rulebooks, not one

The law. The ACCC’s guidance for businesses is blunt: “It’s against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews or to arrange for others to do so.” It says reviews can mislead consumers if they are “written by family, employees, or people paid in some way by the business” without stating that connection, or “created by someone who hasn’t actually used the product or service”. It also warns that a business may mislead consumers if it goes on to “suppress or edit negative reviews” or “remove genuine reviews that are negative”.

On incentives, the ACCC says businesses that offer them “to write a positive review risk misleading consumers and breaching the law”. Under its guidance, any incentive must be applied whether the review is positive or negative, and “clearly disclosed so consumers know the review was incentivised”.

The ACCC cites court outcomes. HealthEngine, which admitted it didn’t publish a large volume of negative reviews, was ordered to pay $2.9 million in penalties “including for publishing misleading patient reviews and other conduct”. Service Seeking, which let businesses draft their own reviews that auto-published if the customer didn’t respond within three days, was ordered to pay $600,000.

Google’s policy. Google is stricter. Its Maps content policy says contributions “should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business”. The policy doesn’t let merchants:

“Offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services” in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative review
“Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers”
post content on a competitor’s listing to damage its reputation.

It treats reviews “paid for, directly or in kind” and content posted from multiple accounts by one person as fake engagement, and counts conflicts of interest, including “current or former employment” and “familial relationships”, as rating manipulation.

That’s where the two rulebooks split. On our reading of the ACCC guidance, a disclosed incentive offered to every reviewer isn’t automatically unlawful. Google bans incentives outright. If your target is Google reviews, the practical answer is no incentives at all.

What’s off the table

Across both sources, avoid:

Pay or reward for reviews. That includes payment, discounts and free goods or services. Google calls incentives “fake engagement” and says they are “strictly prohibited”.
Gate your requests. Sending a “how did we go?” survey and passing only the happy customers through to Google is, on our reading, selective soliciting of positive reviews, which Google’s policy prohibits.
Get staff, family or friends to post. Google counts employment and family ties as a conflict of interest. The ACCC says reviews by family or employees can mislead unless the connection is stated.
Write or post fake reviews. That includes drafting reviews that are sent to customers and published unless they respond, as the Service Seeking case shows.
Buy reviews from a service. The ACCC’s older guide for business gives the example of advertising for “100 reviews on my product” for $100. It says this “could induce misleading reviews”.
Swap reviews with other businesses. Neither source names review swaps. On our reading, they fall under Google’s ban on reviews paid for “in kind” and are not a genuine customer experience.

Google’s rules also cover how you ask. Merchants “should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises”, nor ask for specific content. That includes asking staff to hit a set number of reviews or to get reviews that name a staff member.

What Google allows

Google does allow merchants to “solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience”, without incentives or trying to influence the rating or contents. Its tips: remind customers, reply to reviews and value all of them, because “a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy.”

To get your review link or QR code, go to your Business Profile and select Read reviews > Get more reviews, then Copy the link or right-click the QR code to save it. Google says review QR codes can currently only be generated in a computer browser, not on mobile. It suggests using the link on receipts, thank-you emails and chats, and displaying the QR code in store. Customers must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review.

An asking routine for a service business

On our reading, the rules come down to one habit: ask everyone, the same way, at the same point in the job.

Pick a fixed trigger. For example, when the invoice is sent or the job is marked complete. Every customer gets the same request, so nobody is filtered out.
Send one message and one reminder. On our reading, anything more starts to look like pressure.
Keep the wording neutral. Don’t say “if you’re happy” and don’t suggest a star rating, a staff name or anything to mention.
Put the QR code where customers already look. Good spots are your invoice template, job sheets and the front counter.
Check it weekly. Add “reviews requested vs received” to your five-question weekly marketing review, and see where good enquiries get lost for the same kind of follow-up gaps.

Illustrative SMS:

Hi [name], thanks for choosing [business] today. If you have a minute, we’d appreciate an honest review on Google: [link]. Every review helps other locals decide. – [your name]

Illustrative email:

Subject: How did we go?

Hi [name],

Thanks again for having us out on Tuesday. We ask every customer for an honest Google review, good or bad, because it helps us improve and helps others choose. It takes a couple of minutes: [link]

[Your name], [business]

Responding to negative reviews

To reply, go to your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Reply next to the review. Google says the reviewer is notified when you reply and can still change their review. Replies are checked against its content policies before they go live.

Google’s advice: acknowledge mistakes without taking responsibility for things outside your control, apologise when appropriate, address the reviewer by name and respond promptly. Never share a reviewer’s private information; for complex issues, ask them to contact you by phone or email. Keep replies “conversational, not promotional”.

When a review looks fake

Google says you can report any review, but only policy-breaking reviews are eligible for removal. You shouldn’t report one “just because you disagree with it or dislike it”. To flag one, go to your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Report next to the review. Choose a reason, such as “Spam”, and select Send report. Google says evaluation typically takes several days.

Track reports in Google’s Reviews Management Tool, which also lets you lodge a one-time appeal if a flagged review stays up. Google has a separate reporting process for extortion scams involving negative reviews.

The ACCC’s advice lines up: ask the platform to remove a false or misleading review, or “respond to the review to correct the public record”.

Checklist

Remove every review incentive. Drop payments, discounts and freebies tied to Google reviews, because Google bans incentives outright, disclosed or not.
Stop any review gating. Send the Google link to every customer, not just those who rated you well in a survey, because selective soliciting breaks Google’s policy.
Brief staff on conflicts. Tell employees and family not to review the business, and don’t give staff review quotas or ask customers to name staff.
Set up one fixed asking routine. Get your link (and the QR code, which needs a computer) via Read reviews > Get more reviews, then send every customer the same neutral request at the same fixed point in every job.
Reply to negative reviews promptly. Acknowledge the issue, apologise where warranted and take complex matters offline without sharing private details.
Report only policy-breaking reviews. Flag suspected fake reviews through Read reviews > Report, and use the Reviews Management Tool to track and appeal.

Download checklist PDF

Sources 7 sources

Two rulebooks, not one

What’s off the table

What Google allows

An asking routine for a service business

Responding to negative reviews

When a review looks fake

Checklist

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