How to get Google reviews: a guide for NZ businesses
· 8 MIN READ
How to get Google reviews in NZ: find your review link, when and how to ask, short templates, replying to bad reviews, and the rules that keep you safe.
How to get Google reviews comes down to three things: make it easy, ask at the right moment, and ask everyone. Google reviews influence whether you appear in the map results and whether people choose you once they see you. This guide covers getting your review link, what to say, how to reply, and the rules that can get reviews removed or a listing penalised.
Reviews sit on your Google Business Profile, so set that up properly first. Our Google Business Profile setup guide for NZ covers it field by field.
Step one: get your Google review link
Asking someone to 'find us on Google and leave a review' loses most people. Send a direct link that opens the review box instead.
- Sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile.
- Search Google for your business name, or open Google Maps, so your profile management panel appears.
- Look for an option to ask for reviews. Google moves and renames this occasionally, but it is usually labelled something like 'Ask for reviews' or 'Get more reviews'.
- Copy the short link it gives you. Test it in a private browser window to check it opens your review form.
Save the link somewhere your whole team can find it. Then turn it into a QR code with our free QR code generator for counters, invoices, receipts, business cards and the back of a van door.
Step two: when to ask
Timing matters more than wording. Ask at the moment the customer is most pleased, which is almost always right after the job is done or the product is in their hands.
- Trades: when you hand over, and the customer is looking at the finished work
- Clinics and salons: at the end of the appointment, or a text the same afternoon
- Professional services: when you deliver the result, such as the finished accounts or the signed deal
- Shops and online stores: a few days after delivery, once they have used the product
- Hospitality: a card or QR code with the bill, and a word from staff
Step three: how to ask, with templates
Keep it short, personal and specific. Use their name, mention the job, and include the link. Here are templates you can adapt.
By text:
By email:
In person:
Send the same request to every customer, not just the ones you think will be pleased. That matters for the rules below, and it also makes your reviews more believable.
How to get positive reviews
You cannot ask only for good reviews, but you can make good reviews more likely:
- Do the work well and communicate clearly. Most bad reviews are about surprises, delays or not being kept informed, not the work itself.
- Fix problems before you ask. If something went wrong, sort it out first; a customer whose problem was solved quickly is often your most enthusiastic reviewer.
- Make it a habit, not a campaign. A steady trickle of recent reviews looks more trustworthy than a burst followed by silence.
- Make it easy: one link, one tap, on the device they are already holding.
- Mention it can be short. People put it off because they think it has to be an essay.
Google's rules on reviews
Google's review policies prohibit fake engagement, and breaking them can lead to reviews being removed, review collection being restricted, or warnings shown on your profile. The main points for businesses:
| Not allowed | What that looks like |
|---|---|
| Incentives | Discounts, freebies, prize draws or any reward in exchange for a review, even a positive or honest one |
| Review gating | Asking only happy customers, or sending people to a survey first and only passing satisfied ones to Google |
| Fake reviews | Writing your own, having friends or family post them, or buying them |
| Conflicts of interest | Staff or owners reviewing their own business, or reviewing a competitor |
| Pressure | Asking customers to remove or change a review in exchange for something |
Google's policies change from time to time, so read the current version of its prohibited and restricted content policy for Maps user contributed content before running any review push.
Fake reviews and the Fair Trading Act
This is general information, not legal advice. New Zealand's Fair Trading Act prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct in trade, and the Commerce Commission has said that fake reviews, and selectively publishing only positive ones, can mislead consumers. Posting fake reviews, buying them, or presenting a curated set as representative could create legal risk on top of breaching Google's policies.
If you are unsure whether something you are planning is acceptable, check the Commerce Commission's guidance on online reviews or talk to a lawyer. The safe approach is simple: ask genuine customers, ask all of them, and offer nothing in return.
How to reply to reviews
Reply to every review, good and bad. Replies show the next reader that a real person runs the business and cares how customers are treated.
For good reviews, keep it short and personal. Thank them by name, mention the job, and avoid a copied line that appears under every review.
For bad reviews:
- Wait until you are calm. A defensive reply does more damage than the review.
- Thank them for the feedback and acknowledge the specific problem.
- Give facts without arguing, and do not share private details about the customer or the job.
- Offer to sort it out offline, with a name and phone number or email.
- If you fix it, the customer may update the review themselves. You can let them know they are able to, but do not pressure or reward them.
Does Google let you remove bad reviews?
Not simply because they are negative or unfair. You can only ask Google to remove a review that breaks its policies: for example spam, fake reviews, off topic rants, hate speech, harassment, conflicts of interest such as a competitor or former employee, or personal information.
- Report the review from your Business Profile, choosing the reason that best fits the policy breach.
- Google reviews the report and decides. It may take days or longer, and Google may decline.
- If you think the decision is wrong, Google offers a way to check the status of reported reviews and, in some cases, appeal.
- Do not offer to pay anyone or anything to remove reviews. That breaks the rules and may be misleading conduct.
For a genuine but unhappy review, the reply is your tool. The customer is the only one who can edit or delete it.
How long do Google reviews last?
Generally, Google reviews stay on your profile indefinitely. A review usually disappears only if the reviewer deletes it, Google removes it for breaching policy or because its spam filters catch it later, or the reviewer's Google account is closed. Reviews do not expire after a set time.
That said, recency matters to people reading them. A profile whose newest review is two years old looks less active than one with reviews from last week, which is another reason to make asking a routine rather than a one off push.
If a batch of reviews vanishes at once, it is often Google's spam filters removing reviews that look suspicious, such as several posted from the same place on the same day. That is one more reason to spread requests out naturally.
Reviews are one part of local SEO
Reviews help most when the rest is in place: a complete profile, a website with clear service pages, and consistent business details across the web. The wider picture is in local SEO for New Zealand businesses and our plain English guide to SEO in New Zealand. Reviews and mentions also feed the picture AI tools build of your business, which we cover in our guide to AI SEO.
If you would like help setting up the profile, the review link and the website pages that back them up, our SEO services for Auckland businesses and across New Zealand cover all three. Get in touch for a fixed written quote.