How to make a QR code for Google reviews, and ask customers the right way
A Google review QR code is a QR code of your business's review link, which opens the review form of your Google Business Profile, with the stars ready to tap. Get the link from your Business Profile on a computer: Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Google shows the link and a QR code of it. Use Google's code, or make your own static code of the same link for print. Then ask every customer, not only the happy ones, and offer nothing in return: Google removes reviews that were paid for or filtered.
Make a free QR code for your review link
Step 1: get your review link
You need to own or manage the business's Google Business Profile. Google's help page on creating a link or QR code to request reviews gives these steps:
- On a computer, open your Business Profile. Searching for your business name on Google while signed in to the account that manages it usually shows the profile's controls at the top.
- Choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews (the share icon).
- Copy the link with the copy icon. To keep Google's QR code, right-click it and choose Save image as.
Google says the QR code can be made only in a computer browser, not on a phone. The link itself is a short Google address, often starting with g.page/r/. Open it in a private browser window to check that it shows your business and the review form.
Step 2: make a QR code for print
Google's code works, and it is a static code of Google's own link, so it does not expire. Our generator is useful when you want the code larger, in your brand color or as an SVG for a printer:
- Open our QR code generator and choose Web address.
- Paste your review link.
- Pick a dark color on a light background and download the SVG for print. The generator is free, needs no sign-up, makes only static codes, and nothing you type leaves your device.
- Scan it with an iPhone and an Android phone, from the screen and from a test print, and check that your business's review form opens.
Avoid review QR code
services that put their own short link in the code. That is a dynamic code: it stops working when their trial or subscription ends, and they see every scan. Our guide explains why free QR codes stop working.
Step 3: put the code where customers have a moment
- At the counter or the till, next to the card terminal, where people wait for a few seconds anyway.
- On the receipt or invoice, printed or in the email.
- In the delivery bag or box, on a small card, for businesses that deliver.
- On the table, in a restaurant or café, next to the menu code.
- In the thank-you message after a job, as a link rather than a code: on a phone, a link is easier to tap than a code is to scan.
A code is an invitation, not a request at the till: Google does not allow businesses to require or pressure customers to review while they are on the premises. Next to the code, write what it does in a few words, for example Reviews help us. Scan to review us on Google
, and print it at least 2 cm (about 0.8 inches) wide, with an empty margin. The customer needs a Google account to post a review. Without one, Google asks them to sign in first.
Google's rules: what you may and may not do
Google's rules on rating manipulation allow businesses to ask for reviews that reflect a genuine experience. What they forbid is influencing which reviews are posted or what they say:
| Allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| Asking every customer for an honest review | A discount, gift, free item or prize draw in return for a review, even for any review |
| A code at the counter, on receipts and on packaging | Asking only the customers who seemed happy, or sending only good ratings to Google |
| Replying to reviews, good and bad, in public | Offering something to remove or change a negative review |
| Telling staff they may mention the code | Pressing customers to review while they are still in the shop, setting staff a quota of reviews, or asking for specific content, such as a staff member's name |
| Reviews from real customers, whatever their rating | Reviews by current or former staff, owners, family or competitors, which Google calls a conflict of interest |
Google's own help page puts it plainly: offering free or discounted goods or services for reviews counts as fake engagement and is strictly prohibited. Reviews like these are removed, and the profile can be restricted.
This rules out a popular kind of review funnel
: a page that first asks the customer how it went, sends the happy ones to Google and keeps the unhappy ones for a private form. That is selective soliciting. If you want private feedback too, offer it next to the review code, not instead of it.
For customers: scanning a review code safely
A review code should open a Google address, such as g.page, google.com or the Google Maps app. If a code that claims to be for reviews opens another site and asks you to sign in to Google, close the page: it may be a fake sign-in page that steals the password. Our Android app SafeScan QR shows the address in the code and where its redirects end before you open it, and our guide to fake QR codes covers stickers placed over real codes.
Questions and answers
Where do I find my Google review link?
In your Google Business Profile, on a computer: Read reviews, then Get more reviews. The link and a QR code of it appear there.
Is a Google review QR code free?
Yes. Google gives you the link and a QR code for free, and you can make your own static code of the link for free. You do not need a paid service.
Does the code expire?
A static code of Google's review link does not expire. It works for as long as Google keeps the link and your Business Profile exists. A dynamic code from a QR company stops when its subscription ends.
Can I give a discount to customers who leave a review?
No. Google treats any reward for a review as fake engagement, including a reward for any review, good or bad. Those reviews can be removed.
Why can't my customer post a review?
The customer must be signed in to a Google account. Also check that the code opens your business's form, not another branch, and that the print is sharp and large enough.
Can one code serve several branches?
No. Each branch has its own profile and its own review link. Print a separate code at each branch, so reviews reach the right place.