Google review request texts that get sent: templates, timing, and what Google allows

Short answerSend every client the same short text a few hours after the visit: your business name, a thank-you, a request for an honest review, your Google review link, an info link and “Reply STOP to opt out”. Send one gentle reminder at most. Google’s policies prohibit incentives, discouraging negative reviews and asking only happy customers, so the ask never depends on how the visit went.

The review request that gets sent beats the perfect one that stays in your drafts. Our post on how to ask for a Google review covers the why and how to answer a bad review. This one is the copy-and-paste part: eight texts, when to send them, and the rules.

The examples use made-up businesses: Cedar & Co. Hair, Velvet Nail Studio, Harbour Plumbing, Northline Pilates and Granite Auto Spa.

What should a Google review request text say?

Five things, and nothing else: who you are, thanks, the ask, the review link, and your info link with the STOP line.

• Your business name near the start, so they know who’s asking.
• A specific thank-you. “Thanks for coming in today” or the job you did.
• “An honest review”, never “five stars” or “if you loved it”. The rating is theirs to choose.
• Your direct review link, so nobody has to search for you on Maps.
• “Info: [link] Reply STOP to opt out.” The link goes to a page with your address and phone number.

Leave out offers, staff names (“mention Maya by name”) and anything that suggests what to write. The reasons are in Google’s rules, further down.

Google review request text templates

Each fits in two text segments as written (under 306 characters). Swap in your details; the square brackets are placeholders.

Number 7 is the one people get wrong. It’s tempting to write “now that you’re happy”. Don’t: the ask goes out the same way whether the fix landed or not, and the client decides what to say. Straight apostrophes and no emoji keep each text in the standard encoding; the reasons are in our reminder templates.

When should you send a review request?

A few hours after the visit, on the same day, while it’s fresh and they’re no longer at your counter. One reminder the next day is the most to send.

Where do you get your Google review link?

From your Google Business Profile: open Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Google’s help page gives these steps:

1. 1
   Go to your Business Profile

   Use a computer if you also want the QR code: Google says review QR codes can currently only be generated in a computer browser, not on mobile.
2. 2
   Select “Read reviews”, then “Get more reviews”

   It’s the option with the share icon.
3. 3
   Copy the link or save the QR code

   Select “Copy” for the link. For the QR code, right-click it and choose “Save image as…”.
4. 4
   Test it on your phone

   It should open the review box for your business. Customers must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review.

What do Google’s policies allow?

Asking is allowed. Paying, filtering, pressuring and scripting are not. Here’s the policy in Google’s own words:

That rules out the “How did we do?” survey that only sends happy clients to Google, a discount for a review, reviews from your team or family, and pushing a client to review on a tablet at the counter. A text later that day, to everyone, is the clean version.

There’s a Canadian layer too, because the request is a text:

Our post on whether CASL applies to text messages sorts the other texts you send.

Do you need software to get more Google reviews?

No. You need the ask to go out every time, to everyone. Software only helps because people forget on busy days.

The free version is the tip above: your link, a saved template, your phone. If you choose a system, check four things: it texts every client with no star filter or survey first, every text names your business and carries STOP, it sends from your business number, and you can see what went out.

In the system we build, the review request goes out automatically after every visit, to every client, with your direct Google link. It’s included in the $299 a month plan, along with your website, online booking, reminders and missed-call text-back, and we set up and clean up your Google Business Profile at launch. Replying to reviews stays with you. More on the reviews side is on our Google profile and reviews page.

To see it with your own business in it, start with a free demo site, built within 48 hours of a 15-minute call, or a free video audit of your Google profile as it stands today.