Get the link right, or the code sends people nowhere useful
The most common mistake with a review QR code is pointing it at the business's Google Maps listing. That lands the customer on your profile, from which they must find the reviews section, scroll, and tap "Write a review" — three steps at which most people give up.
What you want is a link that opens the review dialogue directly. Google provides two forms:
https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJN1t_tDeuEmsRUsoyG83frY4
https://g.page/r/CX1zsu1nbC1MEBM/review
The first uses your Place ID, a permanent identifier for your listing. The second is the short link Google surfaces inside your Business Profile.
To find the short link: open your Google Business Profile, look for "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews," and copy the link it offers. This is the least error-prone route.
To find your Place ID: search your business in Google's Place ID Finder tool, or extract it from your listing URL. It is a stable identifier that does not change when you edit your business name or move within the same location.
Whichever you use, scan the finished code and confirm it opens the star-rating dialogue on your listing before printing anything. A review code that lands on the wrong branch of a multi-site business is worse than no code, because staff will keep pointing customers at it.
Review gating is against the rules
There is a widespread tactic of putting a QR code on a card that first asks "how was your experience?", routes happy customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private feedback form. It is worth being direct about this: it is prohibited.
Google's policies prohibit review gating — selectively soliciting reviews from customers based on their expected sentiment. The FTC has also taken enforcement action against businesses that suppressed negative reviews, and its rule on consumer reviews and testimonials treats this kind of filtering as deceptive.
The penalties are real: review removal, profile suspension, and in the US, financial penalties. Beyond the compliance question, a profile of exclusively five-star reviews reads as bought and reduces trust rather than building it.
What is allowed is asking every customer for a review, without conditioning the ask on how they feel. You can ask at a moment when satisfaction tends to be high — after a successful repair, at the end of a good meal — but you cannot screen people first.
Timing beats every other variable
When you ask matters far more than how the card looks.
The strongest moment is immediately after the value is delivered and while the customer is still present: as the plates are cleared, when the technician finishes and shows the work, at the counter after a good exchange with staff. The experience is vivid and the phone is usually already in hand.
The weakest is a code on a receipt that goes into a pocket. By the time anyone looks at it, the moment has gone.
Also worth knowing: a staff member asking out loud, with the card in hand, converts several times better than the card alone. The code removes the friction of finding your listing; the human ask supplies the motivation. Neither works nearly as well without the other.
Where to put the code
- Table tents and bill folders in hospitality — presented with the bill, mentioned by the server
- Counter cards at the point of payment
- Van and technician folders — handed over at job completion, when satisfaction peaks
- Packaging inserts for online orders, timed to arrive with the product
- Email and SMS follow-ups — a link works better than a code here, since the customer is already on a device
- Staff lanyards or name badges in service businesses, so any positive interaction can convert
- Exit signage in salons, clinics and workshops
Avoid the door on the way out with no human involved. Passive codes in high-traffic positions collect very few scans.
Writing the card
The copy around the code does most of the work. A bare code with "Review us" underperforms badly.
What helps:
- Name the platform. "Leave us a Google review" is clearer than "review us" and sets expectations about signing in.
- State the effort. "Takes 30 seconds" removes the main objection.
- Make it personal where you can. "If Marco looked after you well today, we'd love it if you said so" outperforms institutional phrasing considerably.
- Say why it matters. Small businesses can honestly say that reviews are how new customers find them, and people respond to that.
- Keep it to one action. A card offering review, newsletter, loyalty scheme and social follow gets none of them.
What to avoid: any suggestion of a reward. Incentivised reviews violate Google's policies and, in the US, the FTC's rule on reviews. "Leave a review for 10% off" risks your entire review history.
Practical print considerations
Review links are long. A Place ID URL runs to about 75 characters, producing a moderately dense code.
- Print at 3 cm minimum on a table card. Scanning happens at reading distance in restaurant lighting, which is dimmer than you think.
- Matte finish. Gloss laminate under downlights creates highlights that break scans.
- Test in the actual room, at the actual table, in evening lighting. This catches more problems than any amount of desk testing.
- Consider a short URL on your own domain —
yourbrand.com/review— which shortens the code, lets you switch platforms later without reprinting, and gives you a scan count.
Responding is part of the system
Reviews are a two-way channel and the response rate is visible to every future customer.
- Reply to everything, positive and negative. Prospective customers read the replies as closely as the reviews.
- Reply to negative reviews without defensiveness. Acknowledge, explain briefly, offer to resolve offline. The audience is not the reviewer; it is the person deciding whether to book.
- Do not dispute reviews you simply dislike. Google removes reviews that violate its policies — fake, off-topic, or containing prohibited content — not ones that are unflattering but true.
- Consistency matters more than volume. A steady trickle of reviews reads as authentic; forty reviews in one week after two years of silence does not.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my Google review link?
Open your Google Business Profile and use the "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews" option, which gives you a short link ending in /review. Alternatively, use your Place ID in a search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid= URL. Always scan the finished code to confirm it opens the rating dialogue.
Can I filter out unhappy customers before they reach Google?
No. Screening customers by expected sentiment — review gating — is prohibited by Google's policies and has been the subject of FTC enforcement in the US. Penalties include review removal and profile suspension. Ask everyone, without conditioning the ask on how they feel.
Can I offer a discount for leaving a review?
No. Incentivised reviews violate Google's policies and, in the US, the FTC's rule on consumer reviews. The risk extends beyond the individual review to your whole profile.
When is the best time to ask?
Immediately after the service is delivered and while the customer is still with you — as the bill arrives, as the job is completed. A code on a receipt that goes into a pocket collects very few reviews. A staff member asking out loud while presenting the card converts several times better than the card alone.
Do customers need a Google account?
Yes, they need to be signed in to a Google account to post a review. Most Android users are signed in automatically; iPhone users may be prompted. This is the main source of drop-off and there is no way around it.
Can I use this for platforms other than Google?
Yes — the same approach works for Trustpilot, Tripadvisor, Yelp, Facebook and industry-specific sites. Find each platform's direct review URL rather than its profile page. Pick one platform per card; asking for reviews in two places splits the response.
Can I change the destination after printing?
Only if you routed the code through a URL on your own domain. Encoding the Google link directly fixes it permanently, which becomes a problem if you later want to switch platforms or your listing changes.