How to get more Google reviews without breaking Google's rules

You have 80 reviews, the place across the road has 600, and they show up above you on the map. The tempting fix is to ask only the tables that loved it. That is the one move that can get you into trouble.

To get more Google reviews within the rules, ask every guest, the same way, with a direct review link or QR code: on the bill, on the receipt, in a post-visit email and in a short line from staff. Don't offer anything in return, don't filter who gets asked, and don't tell staff to hit a number. Last checked: 4 November 2026.

What does Google allow when you ask for reviews?

Google wants you to ask. Its help page on getting more reviews says you "can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code", and its page on local ranking says "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking." The limits are in Google's Maps user contributed content policy, which says merchants may not:

• "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers"
• "Offer incentives", such as payment, discounts, free goods or services, for reviews
• Request "that staff solicit a certain number of reviews"
• Request "that staff solicit reviews that include specific content"

The last two matter for restaurants. A whiteboard target of "10 reviews each this week" is a quota. Asking guests to "mention Sam by name" or "say the tasting menu" is requesting specific content. Keep the ask open-ended.

Guests also need a Google Account to leave a review, though Google notes they can create one with a non-Gmail email address.

Is review gating illegal?

Review gating means asking guests how they rated their visit and sending only the happy ones to Google. Here is how each rulebook treats it:

So: banned by Google in every market, named as a problem by the UK regulator, and risky in the US even without a specific line in the rule. The safe design is simple. Every guest gets the same request and the same public link, whatever they thought of the meal.

A private feedback step is fine if everyone who fills it in is also shown the Google link. For a specific case, check with an adviser for your situation.

Can you offer a discount or a free drink for a review?

Not for a Google review. Google's policy bans incentives for reviews in every market, and its help page calls it "strictly prohibited".

The laws are looser than Google, which confuses people:

• US: the FTC's rule (16 CFR 465.4) bans incentives "conditioned expressly or by implication" on a review expressing a particular sentiment. An incentive for any honest review isn't banned by the rule, but it is still banned by Google.
• UK: CMA208 paragraph 3.7 lets traders incentivise reviews if they tell consumers the review was incentivised and the review reflects a genuine experience. Again, Google still bans it.

The regulators are watching hospitality. On 27 March 2026 the CMA opened investigations into five businesses, including Pasta Evangelists, over "Whether customers were offered discounts on future orders in exchange for leaving 5-star reviews", and whether that was disclosed. The CMA says it has not reached any conclusions about whether consumer law has been broken.

Buying reviews, and staff or family reviewing you without disclosure, is off the table everywhere: Google bans conflict-of-interest content, the FTC rule covers fake and insider reviews, and CMA208 covers undisclosed commercial links. If fake reviews are being posted about you, see how to remove a Google review.

How do you get your Google review link and QR code?

From Google's page Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews:

1. Go to your Business Profile and sign in.
2. Select Read reviews, then "Get more reviews".
3. Select Copy for the link, or right-click the QR code and choose "Save image as".

Google says "reviews QR codes can only be generated on a computer browser, not on mobile devices." Save the code once and reuse it on bills, receipts, table cards and menus. Test it on two phones before you print 500 copies. For the rest of the profile guests see before they tap the link, use the checklist in our Google Business Profile guide for restaurants.

Where should a restaurant ask?

The right moments are when the meal is fresh and the guest has their phone out anyway.

Use the same link everywhere and offer it to everyone. More reviews means more low ones too, so plan to answer them: see how to respond to negative reviews.

Worked example: how many reviews a steady ask brings

These rates are illustrative. Track your own for a month and replace them.

That is roughly 35 reviews a month. A profile with 150 reviews averaging 4.3 (645 stars) would need 60 new five-star reviews to reach 4.5: (645 + 300) ÷ (150 + 60) = 4.5. In practice not every new review is five stars, so it takes longer, but a steady flow from every guest gets you there in months rather than years. Google does not publish exactly how it calculates the rating shown, so treat the maths as a guide.

5 ask scripts you can copy

Each one goes to every guest, names no staff member, and suggests no content.

1. Staff line at the door

Thanks so much for coming in tonight. If you've got a minute, we'd really
value a Google review. There's a QR code on your receipt.

2. Printed on the bill or receipt

How did we do? Tell us, and other guests, on Google.
[QR code]  [short review link]

3. Post-visit email

Subject: How was your visit to [restaurant]?

Hi [first name],

Thanks for coming to [restaurant] yesterday. We'd love to hear how it
went, good or bad. You can leave a Google review here: [review link]

If anything wasn't right, you can also reply to this email and it comes
straight to me.

[Name], [role]

4. Table card

Enjoyed it? Didn't? Either way, we read every Google review.
Scan to leave yours. [QR code]

5. Team briefing note

Reviews: offer the QR code to every table at payment, whatever kind of
night they've had. Don't ask guests to mention names or dishes, don't
offer anything in return, and there's no target. Just ask everyone.

Script 3 offers a private reply route alongside the public link, not instead of it. That keeps it on the right side of the gating line. It is also the kind of ask the CMA describes as allowed: "merely emailing customers generally to ask if they wish to provide a review" (CMA208, paragraph 3.6).

Can TablePort handle this for you?

TablePort can ask every guest and help you keep up with what they write:

1. Turn on the standard "How was your visit?" automation in guest marketing. Once it's on, it emails guests 20 hours after their visit and offers every guest the public review link, whatever they rated. It was built that way on purpose, so it never filters who gets asked.
2. Connect your Google Business Profile and see new reviews for every location in one inbox, beside your bookings and orders.
3. Get alerts for 1 to 3 star reviews, sent to the owners and managers you choose.
4. Reply from the inbox, with an AI draft your team edits before posting.

The limit: TablePort can't make guests leave reviews, and can't remove the ones they leave. See the Google reviews page.