Google Review QR Code: Get More Reviews, by the Rules

Most happy customers never leave a review, not because they don't want to, but because nobody made it easy at the right moment. A QR code that opens your Google review form, shown when the job is done, removes the hard part: finding your business on Google and the "write a review" button. Here is how to make one, where it works best, and the rules that keep your reviews safe.

Step 1: get your review link from Google

Google makes both the link and the QR code for you. On a computer (Google says review QR codes can only be made in a computer browser, not on a phone), go to your Business Profile and select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Select Copy for the link; to keep the QR code, right-click it and save the image. Google's help page: https://support.google.com/business/answer/16816815. If your business is not on Google yet, start there: how to create a Google Business Profile.

One thing to know: a customer must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review, and can make one with any email address, not only Gmail (https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474122).

Step 2: check the code before you print

Use the code Google gives you; a code from another generator works too, as long as it holds the same link. Two checks before you print:

Scan it with two different phones, and check it opens your review form, not just your profile.
Leave white space around it, and print it big enough to scan from arm's length: a code squeezed into a corner of a card often fails.

Step 3: put it where the job ends

The best moment to ask is right after the customer sees the result. Google's own suggestions are receipts, thank-you emails, the end of a chat and a printed code in your store. For trades and local services:

On the invoice or receipt, next to "thank you".
On a card you leave after a service call.
On the counter or the door, if customers come to you.
In the text or email you send when the job is done: there, use the link itself, since nobody scans a code on the phone they are reading.

Ask in person too. "If you were happy with the work, a review on Google helps us a lot; this code takes you straight there" is enough.

The rules: what you may and may not do

Google's rules and US law are clear on a few points:

Ask everyone, not only the happy ones. Google's policy on fake engagement does not allow businesses to discourage negative reviews or to ask only customers they expect to be positive (https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114). A "were you happy? if yes, review us on Google" filter breaks that rule.
Offer nothing for a review. Google calls incentives, such as free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for posting, changing or removing a review fake engagement, and strictly prohibits them. The Federal Trade Commission's rule on consumer reviews, in force since October 2024, also bans offering something in exchange for a review that must be positive (or negative), bans fake reviews, and requires reviews from your own staff or managers to say who wrote them (https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers).
Never threaten or pressure someone to remove a bad review; answer it instead. How: how to respond to Google reviews.

Google can remove reviews obtained against these rules and restrict the profile, and the FTC says courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations of its rule.

Keep it going

One QR code gets you a burst; a habit gets you a steady flow. Ask after every job, reply to every review, and keep your profile's photos and details current, so the people reading the reviews find a business that looks alive.

If you would rather not do it yourself, our Local presence plan sets up your review link and QR code, sends a polite request after every job by text from your phone or by email from your business address, replies to every review, and keeps your profile current. It is USD 199 a month and includes your website's monthly plan. Nobody is offered anything for a review, and every customer is asked.

Ask us about your profile.

Written with AI help. Sources: Google's help and policy pages and the FTC page linked above, checked 2026-11-02.