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How Should a Contractor Ask for Google Reviews Without Breaking the Rules?

By Ansh Singh · Updated November 8, 2026 · 9 min read

Short answer: A contractor should ask every customer for a Google review soon after the job, with a short text that has a direct link. Do not offer discounts or gifts for reviews, do not ask only the happy customers, and do not tell people what to write. Google and the FTC both restrict those moves. A plain, polite ask is allowed.

Key facts

Google allows asking customers by text, email, card or QR code, with a direct link to your profile.
Google prohibits offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for reviews.
Google does not allow selectively soliciting positive reviews, so send the same request to every customer.
The FTC rule bans fake reviews, including AI-written ones, and compensation that depends on a positive or negative review.
Staff should not pressure customers on site, and merchants may not set staff quotas for reviews.
Send the request within 24 hours of finishing the job, and reply politely to every review.

A review request is a short message that asks a customer to rate your work publicly. It is the cheapest way to build proof, and it feeds both Google's local ranking and what AI assistants see. This page gives you copy-ready messages, the rules behind them, and examples of replies.

What do Google and the FTC allow?

Start with the rules, because the wrong template can get reviews removed or your profile restricted.

Allowed	Not allowed
Ask customers for a review in a text, email, card or QR code	Offer a discount, gift or payment for a review
Remind customers who have not replied yet	Ask only customers you think will be happy
Give them a direct link to your Google profile	Tell customers what to write or what rating to give
Reply politely to every review	Pressure customers on site or set staff quotas
Flag reviews that break Google's rules	Ask staff, family or friends to review you

Google's help page says you can ask customers to visit a link or scan a QR code to leave a review. It also says offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for reviews is prohibited, and reviews must reflect a genuine experience (Google Business Profile Help).

Google's review policy goes further. Merchants may not selectively solicit positive reviews or discourage negative ones. Staff should not pressure customers to leave reviews while on the premises, and merchants may not set quotas for staff to solicit reviews or request specific content (Google review policy). Reviews from people with a conflict of interest, such as employees or relatives, are not allowed either.

The FTC's rule on consumer reviews bans fake reviews, including AI-written ones. It also bans offering compensation or incentives that depend on a positive or negative review, whether stated outright or implied. It restricts review suppression, such as using baseless legal threats to remove negative reviews (FTC announcement, 2024). The rule took effect on October 21, 2024. The FTC's own answers page says the rule has no specific ban on asking only happy customers, but that practice could still violate the FTC Act (FTC Q&A). Google bans it directly, so the safe rule is to ask everyone.

This is not legal advice. If you are unsure, ask a lawyer or your state's consumer office.

How to ask for a Google review in 4 steps

1. Get your review link

In your Google Business Profile, find the option to ask for reviews and copy the link or QR code. Google's help page points to its "Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews" article for the setup. Save the link in your phone as a text shortcut.

2. Send it within 24 hours

Ask soon after the job is finished, while the work is fresh. For a big job, ask after the final walk-through. For a repair, ask the same evening.

3. Ask everyone

Send the same message to every customer. Do not pick and choose. If someone gives you a low rating, that is information you can use, and a reply from you can show other readers how you handle problems.

4. Reply to every review

Google recommends staying professional, polite, short and relevant, and personalizing replies, for example by using the reviewer's name (Google Business Profile Help).

Review request texts you can copy

Keep them short. Use your own voice. Change the names and the job.

After a repair (same day):

Hi Mark, it's Dave from Hill Plumbing. Thanks for letting us fix the kitchen leak today. If you have a minute, would you leave a quick Google review about how it went? Here's the link: [link]. Thanks, Dave

After a big job (next day):

Hi Linda, Dave here. Your new roof is done and we've cleaned up. How does everything look? A Google review would help other homeowners find us: [link]. If anything isn't right, call me at 555-0100 and I'll come back.

Warm and short:

Hi Sam, thanks again for choosing us. Your feedback helps us and the next customer. Would you share it here? [link]

Follow-up if they did not reply (5 days later, once):

Hi Sam, one quick reminder in case it got buried. A Google review takes about a minute: [link]. No pressure. Thanks again.

Email version:

Subject: How did we do on your fence? Hi Priya, thanks for choosing Hill Fencing. If you have a minute, would you share your experience on Google? It helps other homeowners in town find a contractor they can trust. [link] Thanks, Dave

Printed card or QR code on the invoice:

Thanks for hiring us. Tell us how we did: scan the code to leave a Google review.

Notice what these do not say. None offer a gift or discount. None say "give us five stars." None name a staff member to praise, which Google lists as an example of requesting specific content.

What should you avoid saying?

These lines break the rules above. Do not copy them.

"Leave us a 5-star review and get $25 off your next job." That is an incentive.
"If you are happy, leave a review. If not, call me." Sent only to people you think are happy, it can amount to gating, which Google does not allow. If you send this wording to everyone, it still steers the unhappy customer away from reviewing, so write it neutrally.
"Please mention how great Jake was." Asking for specific content is not allowed.
Asking your own crew or your cousin to post a review is not allowed.

What about Yelp, Facebook and other sites?

Each site has its own rules. Yelp's content guidelines say businesses should never ask customers to write reviews (Yelp content guidelines). So for Yelp, do not send a request. You can tell customers you have a Yelp page, but do not ask them to review you there. For Google, which allows requests, use the templates above.

How many reviews do you need?

There is no magic number, but the gap is wide in one study. Zarla looked at 1,851 listings for ten trades and services in ten US cities in August 2026. Businesses named by ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode had a median of 444 Google reviews, against 192 for those not named, while the median rating was 4.9 against 4.8 (Zarla, 2026). That points to review count as the visible difference. It does not prove that more reviews cause more mentions.

A steady weekly flow looks more real than a burst. Google also treats unusual volumes or patterns of reviews as possible manipulation (Google review policy), so do not send 200 requests in one day. Spread them across jobs as you finish them.

See how many Google reviews you need to get named by AI for more. For trade-specific wording, see plumber review request texts, electrician review request texts and roofing review request texts.

Examples of good review replies

A reply shows that you read the review. Keep it short and do not offer deals in the reply, since Google advises avoiding promotions in replies.

To a five-star review:

Thanks, Linda. It was good to work with you and we're glad the new roof looks good. If you ever need anything, call us. Dave

To a mixed review:

Thanks for the feedback, Tom. You're right that we ran a day late on the start. I'm sorry for the delay. I'd like to hear more, so please call me at 555-0100.

To an unfair or angry review:

We're sorry this was not what you expected, Greg. We don't have a record under this name, so we can't find the job. Please call the office and we'll look into it.

For negative reviews, Google suggests protecting the reviewer's privacy, avoiding personal attacks, acknowledging mistakes you made without accepting blame for things outside your control, and moving complex disputes to a phone call or email (Google Business Profile Help).

If a review breaks Google's rules, you can flag it. Do not threaten the reviewer, which the FTC rule treats as suppression when the threat is baseless.

How do you make it a habit?

Put the link in your phone as a text shortcut.
Add "send review text" to the last step on every job.
Train every person on your crew to say the same thing.
Check your profile once a week and reply to anything new.
Put your best reviews on your website too. Our guide to what a contractor website should include shows where.

If you're working through this list, these guides cover the next steps: What Numbers Should a Contractor Watch in Google Search Console? and What Are the Best Lead Sources for Contractors? Google LSA, Angi, Thumbtack, Yelp, Nextdoor and Your Own Site Compared.

Common questions

Can I ask customers for Google reviews?

Yes. Google allows you to ask for reviews and to give a direct link or QR code. You cannot offer anything in return, and you should ask everyone, not only the customers you think are happy.

Can I give a discount for a review?

No. Google prohibits offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for reviews, and the FTC rule bans incentives tied to a positive or negative review. Thank customers for their time, but do not pay for it.

When should I ask for a review?

Soon after the job is done, ideally within a day. The customer remembers the work, and the review will mention real details. Send one reminder if they do not reply, and then stop.

Can I delete a bad review?

No, but you can reply to it and flag it if it breaks Google's policies, for example if it is fake or from a competitor. Do not offer anything to get a customer to remove it, since Google prohibits that.

Should I use a review request service?

You can use software to send the texts, but the same rules apply to it. Make sure it sends to every customer and does not screen out low ratings before they reach Google. If it hides unhappy customers from your public profile, that is gating.

Next step

If you want a site that shows your reviews next to your services, see a free demo site.

Sources

About the author

Ansh Singh runs Contractor Websites. He builds websites for electricians, plumbers, roofers and other home service trades, and writes the guides on this site. More about Ansh Singh.

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