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How to get more Google reviews without breaking the rules

Ask every customer at handover, send the direct link the same day, and reply to every review. That is the method, and it keeps you inside Google’s rules and UK law.

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In short

  • Reviews feed prominence, one of the three things Google uses to rank the map.
  • Ask every customer the same way. Asking only the happy ones breaks Google’s rules.
  • Since 6 April 2025, fake reviews and hidden incentivised ones have been illegal in the UK.

How to ask

  • In person at handover, then a message the same day.
  • With your direct review link. In your Business Profile it sits under Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
  • Every customer, the same way, with nothing offered in return.
Hi Sarah, thanks for having us today. If you have a minute, a short Google review helps other people find us: [link]. If anything isn’t right, reply here and we’ll sort it.

What is banned

  • Anything in return. Discounts, gifts or payment for a review. Google bans it outright.
  • Asking selectively. Only asking the customers you expect to be happy. The CMA calls it cherry-picking.
  • Conflicts of interest. Reviews from staff, family or anyone with a stake in the firm.
  • Fake reviews, or incentivised ones you hide. Banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The CMA can fine up to 10 per cent of global turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater.

Replying

  • A good review gets one line that names the job.
  • A bad review gets an acknowledgement, what you have done about it, and an offer to sort it directly. Write it for the next customer reading.
  • Never offer a refund for a changed review. Flag a genuinely fake one from your profile instead.

You run the jobs. We run this.

  • A review request to every customer when the job is signed off, sent automatically
  • Your direct link on invoices, messages and a QR card left with the paperwork
  • Every review answered the same day, in your words
  • Nothing bought, filtered or faked, ever
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Written for electricians, heating engineers, plumbing firms, air conditioning firms, construction companies and landscaping firms.

Sources
  1. Google, Tips to get more reviews
  2. Google Maps, Prohibited and restricted content
  3. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20
  4. CMA, Fake reviews (CMA208)
  5. CMA, How the CMA uses its direct consumer enforcement powers

Questions owners ask.

Can I offer a discount or a prize draw for a Google review?

No. Google’s policy prohibits incentives of any kind for reviews on Google.

Can I only ask the customers I know were happy?

No. Google prohibits selective asking, and the CMA treats encouraging only satisfied customers as cherry-picking, which can be a banned practice.

Can I get a bad review taken down?

Only if it breaks Google’s policies, a fake review for example. Flag it from your Business Profile. Otherwise reply calmly and put the problem right.

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