What is a Google review link?
It is a web address that takes your customer straight to the box where they pick their stars and write their comment. They do not have to find your business on Google Maps first, or hunt for the button to leave a review.
It is not the same as the link to your profile. A profile link shows your photos, opening hours and existing reviews, then leaves the customer to work out the rest. A review link skips that step. The fewer taps between the ask and the review, the more customers follow through.
Every business has a unique identifier at Google, the Place ID. A review link is always written the same way:
https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid= followed by the Place ID of the business.
The tool above finds that identifier from your business name, puts the link together for you and turns it into a QR code.
How to create a Google review link
There are two ways to get a review link. Both lead to the same place.
With the generator, no sign-in needed
- Type your business name in the field at the top of this page, plus the city if the name is a common one.
- Pick your business from the list.
- Copy the link, then click Test the link to check it opens your own review box.
- Download the QR code as a PNG or an SVG, or print the A5 poster, already laid out with your business name.
From your Google Business Profile
Sign in to the Google account that manages the profile, open it, then click Ask for reviews. Google shows a short link to copy and a QR code. Our guide walks through each screen: how to create and share a Google review link.
| Criteria | Generator link | Google's short link |
|---|---|---|
| Profile access | None needed | Owner or manager |
| What it looks like | Long, with the Place ID | Short, starts with g.page/r/ |
| Where it leads | The review box | The review box |
The generator helps when you do not have access to the profile: an agency preparing print material for a client, a team member asked to make a counter sign, an owner who has lost their login.
Where to share your review link
A review link only works if it reaches the customer at the right moment, which is right after a good experience.
- By text message, within the hour or the day after the visit. It is the most direct channel: the customer already has their phone in hand, and that is where the review gets written.
- By email, after a purchase, a job or a booking. Put the link on a clear button, not in the middle of a paragraph.
- As a QR code, for customers who are still on your premises. The tool creates it along with the link, and the next section covers where to put it.
- In your email signature, on your website and in your social media bio, for the customers you never see in person.
Where to place your review QR code
The QR code is for customers who are still with you. Four spots cover most businesses.
- On the counter or by the till. That is where customers wait, phone in hand. The tool's A5 poster slips into a sign holder and stands next to the card reader.
- On the receipt. Customers take it with them and can scan later. Print the code at least 3 cm wide, white margin included.
- With the bill. In a restaurant, a small card left with the bill lands at the right time: the meal has just ended and the customer has a minute to spare.
- In the window or on the door. Customers see it on their way out. They scan from further away, so the code has to be bigger: allow roughly a tenth of the scanning distance.
Test the link before you print anything, then scan the printed QR code with two different phones. A code stuck on a hundred tables with the wrong link means a reprint.
The QR code generated here is static: it holds your review link as it is, and its destination cannot be changed once printed. To change where it points without reprinting, or to count scans, you need a dynamic QR code like the one on the Up Review platform.
What Google allows, and what it bans
Asking for a review is allowed, with a link or with a QR code. Google itself provides both, as described in its official help.
Two practices are banned by its content policy:
- Offering a benefit in exchange for a review. A discount, a gift, a free product or service: no reward may depend on leaving a review, or on its rating.
- Picking who you ask. Asking only happy customers, or discouraging negative reviews, skews the rating and breaks the same rules.
The risk is real: Google can remove the reviews involved and restrict the profile. Ask all your customers, in the same way, and let them write what they think.
Your link is ready. What if review requests sent themselves?
The Up Review platform automates collecting, replying to and analysing your Google reviews. More than 500 businesses use it, and it is rated 4.9/5 on Google.
What comes after the link?
The link solves the first problem: making the review easy to leave. You still need to know how many reviews you need and how your profile is doing.
The Google review calculator tells you how many 5-star reviews you are missing to reach your target rating. The Google Business Profile audit spots what is holding back your local visibility, beyond reviews.