Asking for reviews without breaking the rules

Reviews do two jobs for a local business. They help customers decide whether to call you, and Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. That makes it tempting to cut corners. Don’t. Google’s own policy, and in the US the FTC’s Consumer Review Rule, draw clear lines. The safe way to ask is also the simplest one.

The short version

• Ask every customer, the same way, after every job.
• Don’t offer anything in return for a review.
• Don’t tell people what rating to give or what to write.
• Never write, buy or trade reviews.
• Keep employees, relatives and anyone with a business tie off your own reviews.

What Google allows and bans

Google’s policy for Maps content lets you ask customers to review their genuine experience, as long as you don’t offer an incentive or try to influence the rating or what they write. Beyond that, it bans:

• Incentives of any kind. No payment, discounts, free goods or free services for posting a review, changing one or removing one. Google’s help pages call this fake engagement and say it’s strictly prohibited.
• Selective asking. You can’t discourage negative reviews or ask only the customers you expect to be happy. A “rate us first” survey that sends only happy customers on to Google, often called review gating, is exactly the kind of selective asking this rule covers.
• Pressure. You can’t require or pressure customers to review while they’re on your premises.
• Scripted content. You can’t ask for specific content, including asking customers to name a staff member.
• Staff quotas. You can’t require staff to collect a set number of reviews.
• Conflicts of interest. Reviews from current or former employees, contractors, consultants, family members or competitors aren’t allowed.
• Fake or paid reviews, including reviews posted from several accounts run by one person.

Google removes reviews that break these rules. For fake engagement it can also restrict your profile: blocking new reviews for a set period, hiding existing reviews, or showing customers a warning that fake reviews were removed. Google emails the owner before applying a restriction, and there’s a form to appeal it.

The FTC Consumer Review Rule (US)

The FTC’s rule took effect on October 21, 2024. For a local business, the main prohibitions are:

• Fake reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated ones, and buying or sharing reviews you knew or should have known were fake.
• Incentives tied to sentiment. You can’t make a reward depend on a positive or negative review, whether you say so outright or imply it. FTC staff say offering a reward for a 5-star review breaks the rule even if you disclose it.
• Undisclosed insider reviews. Reviews from employees, managers, agents or relatives must clearly disclose the connection. The rule also covers owners and managers asking employees or relatives for reviews, though a general request sent to all customers is exempt.
• Review suppression. You can’t use unfounded legal threats, intimidation or certain false accusations to stop or remove negative reviews.
• Fake “independent” review sites that you secretly control, and buying fake followers or views.

Two points matter most for how you ask:

1. The rule itself doesn’t specifically ban asking only happy customers, but FTC staff say that practice could violate the FTC Act.
2. The FTC rule doesn’t ban every incentive, only ones tied to sentiment. Google’s policy is stricter and bans incentives for Google reviews outright. When you’re asking for Google reviews, Google’s rule is the one to follow.

The rule lets courts impose civil penalties for knowing violations. When FTC staff sent warning letters to 10 companies in December 2025, the agency cited penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. Check the FTC’s site for the current figure. Advertising agencies and reputation management companies aren’t immune either, so hiring someone else to handle reviews doesn’t put you in the clear.

Canada

In Canada, the Competition Bureau deals with misleading reviews under the Competition Act. In a January 2024 notice, it warned that anyone who writes reviews, or allows them to be written, that give a false or misleading impression could be liable. It said employees who review their employer must disclose every connection to the business, even when their opinion is honest, and shouldn’t post if they can’t make that connection clear. The Bureau recommends training staff, setting up a compliance program and monitoring for problems.

Its earlier guidance on online reviews warns against presenting a company’s own marketing as the opinions of impartial customers, and against reviews with an undisclosed connection to the business. Google’s review policy applies on top of all this, so the same no-incentive, ask-everyone approach works on both sides of the border.

A simple process that stays inside the rules

1. Get your review link. On a computer, open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link or download the QR code. Google says QR codes can only be made from a computer browser. The steps are on Google’s page about review links and QR codes.
2. Ask everyone after the job. Put the link on your invoice, receipt, thank-you email or follow-up message. Set it to go out automatically from your booking or invoicing software, so nobody gets filtered out.
3. Keep the wording neutral. For example: “Thanks for choosing Smith Plumbing. If you have a minute, we’d appreciate an honest review on Google.” Then the link. Don’t mention stars, don’t name a technician, and don’t hint at a reward.
4. Remember customers need a Google Account. Google says they can create one with an email address that isn’t Gmail.
5. Reply to reviews, good and bad. Google’s tips on reviews suggest short, polite, specific replies, not copy-and-paste thank-yous, and no promotions. For a negative review, don’t share private details or attack the reviewer. Own real mistakes, apologize where it fits, and invite them to contact you directly.
6. Flag, don’t fight. If a review breaks Google’s policies, flag it. Don’t threaten the reviewer. Under the FTC rule, intimidation and unfounded legal threats used to suppress reviews are prohibited.

Rules change, so check the source

Google updates its policies, and regulators publish new guidance. Before you change how you ask for reviews, reread Google’s Maps content policy and, in the US, the FTC’s questions and answers on the rule. This article isn’t legal advice. If you have a specific question about your business, ask a lawyer.