Google reviews
without buying them
Happy customers almost never leave a review on their own initiative; angry ones almost always do. So getting reviews isn't about tricks, it's about asking everyone, at the right moment, with a link that opens the review box. And about steering clear of the practices Google goes after — one of which, buying reviews, is also illegal in the European Union.
By Ismael Vázquez, founder and technician · Published 24 September 2026
Happy customers don't write unless you ask
That's why most profiles have few reviews and a share of complaints that doesn't reflect the business.
Someone who had a problem with a business looks up its profile to say so. Someone who was happy just gets on with their day. So, left to itself, the reviews that arrive on their own are skewed towards the negative, and the profile ends up telling a worse story than the business deserves.
The fix is nothing sophisticated: ask for them. But how, when and whom you ask matters a lot, because there are five details between a request that works and one that gets ignored, and another four between asking well and doing something that gets your reviews wiped.
Reviews carry weight in two places. Google counts them as part of prominence, one of the criteria it uses to rank the map, as we explain in how to optimise your Google profile. And they're read by the customer hesitating between your listing and the competitor's next door, which is where calls are won or lost.
The exact moment, and four more details
Most businesses that ask for reviews do it late, to few customers and with a link that makes people hunt for the button.
Right when you hand over the finished job
The moment is when the customer says “thanks” or “perfect”: when you hand back the repaired computer, finish the installation, close the order. On that day the experience is fresh and the gratitude is genuine. Three weeks later, by email, the same person no longer remembers why they were pleased.
With the link that opens the review box
From the Business Profile, Google lets you create a link or QR code to ask for reviews. Use it: it goes straight to the form, without the customer having to search for your business on the map, find the right listing and locate the button. Every step you remove means more people who actually finish writing.
Through the channel you already use
If the customer wrote to you on WhatsApp, ask on WhatsApp. If it was by email, by email. A message in the same conversation gets opened; a new email from an automated sender gets ignored or ends up in spam.
Every customer, without choosing
Asking only those you think are happy is prohibited by Google, and it shows: profiles that are all five stars breed distrust. If your service is good, most of the reviews that come in will be good.
Once, without pushing or pressuring
One friendly message and, at most, one reminder. Google's policies also prohibit pressuring customers to leave a review while they're on your premises. No tablet on the counter waiting for them to write it in front of you.
The message, word for word
Short, personal and with the link. Adapt it to the way you talk.
“Hi Marta, it's Jordi from the workshop. Glad the laptop's working properly again. If you've got a minute, it would really help us if you told people on Google how it went: [link]. And if anything didn't turn out as you expected, tell me directly and we'll look into it. Thanks!”
Three things make it work: both people's names, which turn it into a message rather than a campaign; the direct link, which removes all the effort; and the invitation to mention what didn't go well, which doesn't steer the review but gives you the chance to fix things first.
What it must not include: any promise in return, any hint at the rating you're hoping for, and no “if you're happy”. That last phrase looks harmless and it's precisely the selective solicitation Google prohibits.
Four practices that end in deleted reviews
They all work for a few weeks. Then Google removes the reviews and, in serious cases, restricts the profile.
Incentives, even if the review is genuine
Discounts, gifts, a prize draw among reviewers or a free coffee in exchange for the review. Google's policies prohibit any incentive for posting reviews, and also for changing or removing a negative one. The problem is the incentive, not the content.
Filtering who gets the link first
Tools that ask “are you satisfied?” and send only those who say yes to Google. It's the selective solicitation the policy describes in those very words, however much the tool markets it as reputation management.
Reviews from staff, family or friends
Google treats this as a conflict of interest: people with a current or past employment relationship with the business. Setting staff a target number of reviews to collect isn't allowed either, and the policy mentions it specifically.
Buying review packages
As well as being prohibited by Google, it has been illegal in the European Union since May 2022: the Omnibus Directive, transposed in Spain by Royal Decree-law 24/2021, made buying or commissioning fake reviews an unfair practice. It doesn't matter if they're sold as a “reputation service”.
Replying is also how you get reviews
A profile with replies shows the next customer that someone reads what they write.
To good ones
Short and with something specific, not the same line pasted under every one. Thanks with the customer's name, a reference to the job if the customer mentioned it themselves, and that's it. Replying is among Google's official recommendations for the profile, and it encourages the next people to write.
To bad ones
Calmly, the next day if need be. The reply is for the people reading, not the person who wrote. Google recommends being kind, brief and protecting privacy: never mention details about the customer or their case, even if they prove you're right. Offer a phone number to discuss it privately and don't argue in public.
What to do with a review that isn't from a customer
You can report it, but it won't be removed just for being negative.
From the Business Profile you can report a review for Google to look at. It will remove it if it breaks its policies: someone who has never been a customer, insults, personal data, a competitor or a coordinated attack. It won't remove it because you don't like it or disagree with what it says.
While it's under review, reply anyway with a short, polite answer, saying you can't find a record of that person as a customer and offering a contact. Without accusing anyone. Anyone reading will understand the situation better than with any long explanation.
If several arrive at once with no connection to any real service, keep screenshots with the date and time: that pattern is what Google treats as fraudulent activity, and it's much easier to prove with organised evidence. And if you'd rather not manage the profile yourself, keeping it up to date is part of our SEO service.
What people usually ask
Do reviews affect my business's position on Google Maps?+
Yes, and Google says so openly in its help pages: reviews are part of prominence, one of the three criteria it uses to rank local results, and the more reviews and positive ratings a business has, the better its local ranking can be. But the biggest effect isn't on position, it's on what happens next: between two listings shown side by side on the map, searchers nearly always pick the one with recent, answered reviews. A well-placed business with three reviews from two years ago loses calls to a slightly lower-placed one with reviews from this month. That's why regularity matters as much as the total. There's no magic number after which you climb; what works is reviews arriving steadily, because that reflects a business with real customers.
Can I offer a discount in exchange for a review?+
No, even if the review is genuine. Google's policies expressly prohibit offering incentives — payments, discounts, free products or services — in exchange for posting reviews, and also in exchange for changing or removing a negative one. It makes no difference that you don't ask for a positive review: the incentive itself is the problem, because it taints every review the business has. The same goes for prize draws among people who leave their opinion, which is the most common variant. The consequences range from those reviews being removed to restrictions on the profile's features. What you can do is thank people for their review when it arrives, by replying to it, and treat the customer well next time — which is exactly what any business would do without needing a rule.
Can I ask only happy customers for a review?+
No. Google prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews, and also discouraging or preventing negative ones. That includes the system some tools sell: first asking the customer whether they're satisfied and sending the Google link only to those who say yes, while unhappy customers are routed to an internal form. It looks clever and it's exactly what the policy describes. The right alternative is to ask every customer equally. In practice, if your service is good, most of the reviews that arrive will be good, and the few bad ones that come in, well answered, make the whole profile more credible than a perfect one — because searchers distrust a listing that's five stars across the board.
Can my employees or family leave reviews?+
They shouldn't. Google treats reviews from people with a current or past employment relationship with the business as conflict-of-interest content, and the same applies to owners and their close circle. Those reviews can be removed, and a pattern of reviews from people around the business is easy to spot: new accounts, no other activity, posted on the same days. Nor is it a good idea for an employee to leave a negative review on a competitor's profile, which is the other side of the same problem. If you want your team to help, have them help ask customers for reviews, not write them. Just don't set them a target number of reviews, because Google's policy also specifically mentions asking staff to solicit a set number of reviews from customers.
What should I do with a negative review?+
Reply to it, calmly and without rushing to answer in the heat of the moment. The reply isn't for the person who wrote it, who rarely changes their mind, but for the next customers who read it. Google recommends being kind and professional, keeping it short, apologising where appropriate and protecting privacy. That last point matters: never mention the customer's details, their order or their case in the reply, even if you feel it proves you're right, because it's personal information and the reply is public. Explain what you can in general terms, offer a phone number or email to discuss it privately, and don't get into an argument. A calm reply to an unfair review usually makes the business look better than not having the review at all.
Can I delete a fake review?+
The business can't delete it directly, but it can report it from the Business Profile so Google reviews it. Google will remove it if it breaks its policies: for example, if it's from someone who has never been a customer, contains insults or personal data, comes from a competitor or is part of a coordinated attack. It won't remove it for being negative or because you disagree with what it says. While it's being reviewed, reply anyway with a short, polite answer saying you can't find a record of that person as a customer, without accusing anyone. If you suddenly receive a lot of negative reviews unrelated to any real service, document it with screenshots and dates, because that pattern is what Google treats as fraudulent activity.
Is it illegal to buy reviews?+
Yes. Since May 2022, buying, commissioning or faking consumer reviews to promote a product or service has been an unfair commercial practice throughout the European Union. It was introduced by Directive (EU) 2019/2161, known as the Omnibus Directive, which Spain transposed through Royal Decree-law 24/2021, amending its consumer protection and unfair competition laws. In other words, on top of whatever Google does to the profile — which may be removing the reviews and restricting the listing — there's a consumer-law infringement that the authorities can penalise. The same applies to review packages sold as an online reputation service: if the reviews don't come from real customers, it doesn't matter what they call it.
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