Google reviews: how to get them, reply and have them removed

Published on 10/02/2026 · By Blaise Calinaud, Eazyclick. Each rule links to its official source (Google, Belgium's FPS Economy).

Before walking into a restaurant, calling a plumber or booking a hairdresser, most people check the Google rating. This guide explains how to get more reviews within the rules, how to reply (especially to bad ones), and what you can actually have removed. The rules cited come from Google Maps' content policies and the FPS Economy guidelines on online reviews.

Why do Google reviews matter so much?

Google reviews appear at the very moment a potential customer is comparing you: in search results, on Google Maps and in the block of three local businesses. A rating, a number of recent reviews and thoughtful replies reassure people before they even visit your website. They are also among the signals used for local rankings.

Google says it in its help pages: the number of reviews received forms part of a business's “prominence”, and “more reviews and positive ratings can improve your business's local ranking” (Google help: improve your local ranking). Numbers matter, but so do recency and your replies: a profile rated 4,7 with reviews from this week inspires more trust than a 5,0 with three reviews from two years ago.

How do you get Google reviews?

Ask every customer for a review just after a successful experience, with a direct link to your profile. Send the link by email, SMS or WhatsApp, print it as a QR code on your counter or receipt, and mention it in person. Consistency matters more than occasional campaigns: a few reviews each week are better than a sudden burst.

The steps:

1. Get your review link. From your Google Business Profile, create the link or QR code Google provides for requesting reviews (Google help: tips to get more reviews).
2. Choose the right moment. After delivery, an appointment or a meal, not when someone is paying a disputed invoice.
3. Keep it short. One sentence, the link, a thank you. For example: “Thank you for visiting. If you have two minutes, your review really helps us: [link].”
4. Make it visible. A QR code on the counter, menu or receipt, a link in your email signature, a reminder on the invoice.
5. Ask everyone. Not just customers you know will be happy (see below).

What is prohibited when seeking reviews?

Google prohibits offering an incentive for a review (a discount, gift or competition entry), only asking satisfied customers or discouraging negative reviews, having employees or relatives write reviews, and of course buying fake reviews. These reviews may be removed and the profile penalised.

The Google Maps policies explicitly mention “offering incentives (such as payment, discounts, free products and/or services) in exchange for posting a review”, “discouraging or prohibiting negative reviews, or selectively soliciting positive reviews”, and reviews written where there is a conflict of interest (current or former employee, contractual relationship). In Belgium, FPS Economy also asks businesses to prevent, remove and report fake reviews (FPS Economy guidelines).

In practice: do not filter your requests. A system that first asks “are you satisfied?” and only offers Google to customers who say yes is exactly what Google calls selective solicitation.

How should you reply to a Google review?

Reply to all reviews, positive and negative, within 48 hours. Thank positive reviewers by name and mention a specific detail. For a negative review, stay factual and courteous, acknowledge the problem, explain what has been done and offer to continue privately. Your reply is mainly for the future customers who will read it.

To reply, open your Business Profile while signed in to the owner's account, select “Read reviews”, then “Reply” below the review; the reply is published under your business name after Google checks it (Google help: manage customer reviews).

Three templates to adapt:

• Positive review: “Thank you Sophie for your feedback on your bathroom renovation. The whole team is delighted that the work was completed on time. We look forward to seeing you again.”
• Justified negative review: “Hello Marc, you are right: your order was dispatched two days late, and we did not let you know. We have since changed our dispatch process. Could you email us at info@… so we can put this right?”
• Negative review you dispute: “Hello, we cannot find any visit or order under this name on the date given. If we are mistaken, please email us at info@…: we want to understand what happened.”

Avoid replying in the heat of the moment, revealing personal information about the customer, copying the same reply everywhere or threatening legal action in a public reply.

Can you delete a Google review?

You cannot delete a review left by a customer yourself. You can report a review to Google if it breaks its rules: fake reviews, spam, conflicts of interest, hateful or off-topic content, personal information. Google reviews it and removes it if it violates its policies. A review that is simply negative but honest stays online.

Google is clear: “Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it” (Google help: report an inappropriate review).

The process:

1. Report the review from your profile (“Read reviews”, then the report icon beside the review) and choose the most specific reason.
2. Track its status in Google's Reviews Management Tool: “Decision pending”, “Report reviewed – No policy violation” or “Escalated – Check your email”.
3. Appeal once if the review stays online and you have evidence (no record of the customer, a review from a competitor or former employee): the tool offers “Appeal eligible reviews”.
4. Reply publicly in the meantime, calmly: this is what your next customers will read.

Be wary of companies promising to “remove your bad reviews” for a fee: they have no more access to this form than you do.

Why is a Google review not showing?

A review may not appear because Google's spam filters have held it back, because it is being checked, or because it was removed for breaking the rules. Reviews arriving in a burst may be caught by these filters, whose criteria Google does not publish. There is no button to make them reappear.

That is another reason to ask every customer for reviews regularly, instead of running a one-day campaign at the counter.

Can you display Google reviews on your website?

Yes. Displaying your Google reviews on your website reassures visitors when they hesitate, for example beside the contact or booking button. Use a widget showing genuine reviews and their authors, without filtering out everything but the best, and state where the reviews come from.

When a business publishes reviews, FPS Economy recommends preferably publishing all of them, having a clear review policy and identifying sponsored reviews (FPS Economy guidelines). The Reviews & testimonials module displays your synced Google reviews and testimonials on your website, in your design, without third-party scripts slowing the page down.

How do you manage reviews without losing your evenings?

Bring your reviews into one screen, enable an alert for any review of two stars or fewer, and automate review requests after each order or appointment. You keep control of replies, but no longer discover a bad review three weeks too late.

That is what the Local reputation module does, connected to your Google Business Profile and website dashboard:

• a queue of all your reviews, with unanswered bad reviews first, and an alert whenever a review falls below your threshold;
• replies published directly to your Google profile from the same screen;
• a review request sent automatically after every order or appointment to all customers who have consented, without filtering;
• a log ensuring the same customer is never asked twice;
• a QR code to place on your counter or receipt.

For more on local visibility (profile, local SEO, content), see our SEO support.