Your Google review link lives two clicks inside your Business Profile: open the profile, choose Read Reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link Google hands you. It looks like g.page/r/ followed by a string of characters and ending in /review, and it drops a homeowner straight into the review box with the stars already waiting, instead of on a page where they have to go hunting for the place to type.
That is the answer most people are looking for. The rest is what decides whether you actually get reviews.
| Link | What it is | Works for |
|---|---|---|
| g.page/r/…/review | Google’s own short link | Text, email, QR |
| writereview?placeid= | Built from Place ID | Test before printing |
| Maps listing URL | Opens your profile | Not a review ask |
| QR code from Google | Desktop browser only | Trucks, invoices |
The short version. Grab the short link from your own Business Profile, save it somewhere your crew can reach in three seconds, and ask the moment the job is finished and the homeowner is happy. The link is not the hard part. The hard part is that nobody on your crew has it in their pocket when the moment arrives.
How do I get my Google review link?
Use Google’s own path. It produces a link tied to your verified profile rather than one assembled from a guess:
- Sign in to the Google account that manages your business and open your Business Profile, either from Search by looking up your own business name while signed in, or from Google Maps.
- Select Read Reviews.
- Select Get more reviews.
- Choose Copy to put the link on your clipboard, or right-click the QR code and save the image.
Two details worth knowing. Google states that review QR codes can only be generated on a computer browser, not on a phone. If you want the code for a truck wrap or an invoice, do that part sitting at a desk. And the profile has to be verified. If you cannot see Read Reviews, you are usually looking at an unverified or duplicate listing, which is a bigger problem than a missing link.
What does a Google review link actually look like?
There are two formats in circulation, and they are not equivalent.
The first is the short link Google gives you: https://g.page/r/ plus a code, ending in /review. That code comes from your listing, not your business name, which is why it looks like keyboard mashing. It is ugly and it is correct. Use it.
The second is built by hand from your Place ID, using the search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid= format that most free generator tools produce. It is genuinely useful when you cannot get into the profile dashboard, but it has been reported to open the profile rather than the review box on some listings, depending on the device. If you build one this way, test it on an Android phone, an iPhone and a desktop before you print it on five hundred invoices.
You may remember being able to claim a tidy custom link like g.page/YourCompanyName. Google removed custom short names from business profiles in 2021. If a vendor offers you a branded Google review URL, what they are selling is a redirect on a domain they own, pointed at the same ugly link you could have copied yourself.
Why is my Google review link not working?
Nearly every broken review link is one of these:
- It is not a review link at all. Somebody copied the address bar while looking at the Maps listing. That URL opens your profile, so the homeowner has to find the review button themselves, on a phone, in their driveway. Most do not.
- A shortener added a tracking hop. Some link tools insert a redirect page that phones treat as suspicious, or that strips the part of the URL telling Google to open the review box.
- The visitor is not signed in to Google. The link works, but they land on a sign-in prompt and give up.
- You have duplicate listings. The reviews pile up on the version nobody sees. Search your business name and count how many of you come back.
- The profile is suspended or unverified. Then there is no review box to link to, and the link is the least of it.
The test takes a minute. Open the link on your own phone in a private window. If you do not see five stars and a text box within one tap, neither do your customers.
How do I get homeowners to actually use the link?
Most contractors do not have a review problem. They have an asking problem, and the asking usually fails because the link is sitting in an email somebody sent the office manager in March.
- Put the link where the crew is. Saved as a text replacement on every company phone, pinned in the team chat, printed on the invoice. If reaching it takes more than three seconds, it will not happen at the end of a long day.
- Ask in person first, then send the link. “Would you mind leaving us a review on Google? I’ll text you the link right now.” The verbal ask earns the review; the text is just logistics.
- Send it while you are still in the driveway. Satisfaction has a half-life. A link sent three days later competes with everything else in their week.
- One message, one link, no speech. Not a paragraph about what reviews mean to a small business. A sentence and a link.
- Put the QR code on the physical stuff. Invoice, service sticker on the water heater, business card left on the counter.
- Ask steadily, not in bursts. Eleven reviews in one afternoon looks like exactly what it is.
Do not put a thumb on the scale. Google is explicit that offering incentives (a discount, a gift card, free goods) in exchange for reviews counts as fake engagement and is prohibited. The same goes for review gating, where you screen people first and only send the link to the happy ones. Both risk your reviews being removed. Ask everybody, and fix the reason the unhappy ones are unhappy.
Do Google reviews actually help me rank?
Yes, and knowing how changes where you spend your asking energy.
Reviews on your Google Business Profile feed the local map pack, the three businesses shown above the regular results when someone searches a trade plus a town. Volume, recency and the words people use all matter there. Reviews on a lead platform do not. They help you compete inside that platform, and they vanish the day you stop paying for it, which was one of the arguments in our breakdown of what HomeAdvisor actually costs.
So if you have limited energy for chasing reviews, and every contractor does, spend all of it on Google. Same effort, and the result sits on an asset nobody can take away from you.
A review on a platform is a compliment you are renting. A review on your own profile is one you own.
Placed, Vancouver, WA
Be honest about the clock, though. Reviews are one input, not a substitute for correct categories, accurate service areas, and real pages on your website for each service and each town. Profile and map movement often shows up in two to three months. Competitive organic rankings usually take six to twelve.
Where this fits
A review link costs nothing and takes ten minutes, which makes it a good first move whether or not you ever hire anyone. If you want the rest handled, ongoing local SEO at Placed starts at $800 a month including upkeep on your website; where a site needs rebuilding before it can rank or convert, that build starts at $2,500. What the price does not buy: Google Ads management, call tracking, backlink campaigns, or any guarantee about position. We also do not do review gating.
We work mostly with home service companies around Vancouver and Clark County: plumbers, HVAC companies, and electricians. The contractor outranking you is rarely better at the work. He has just been asking for reviews since 2019.
Frequently asked questions
How do I create a Google review link?
Open your Google Business Profile while signed in to the account that manages it, select Read Reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link Google displays. That link opens the review box directly. You can also download a QR code for the same link from that screen, though Google notes the QR code can only be generated on a computer browser rather than on a phone.
Can I customize my Google review link?
Not within Google. Custom short names for business profiles were removed in 2021, so the link you get is a code derived from your listing rather than your business name. You can point a redirect on your own domain at it if you want something tidier to say out loud, but the destination is the same link either way.
Why does my Google review link open my profile instead of the review box?
Usually because the link was copied from the address bar while viewing the Maps listing, which is a profile URL rather than a review URL. It can also happen with hand-built links using the Place ID format on some devices, or when a shortener adds a redirect that strips the review instruction. Test the link on a phone in a private window before you share it.
How do I get a QR code for Google reviews?
From the same Get more reviews screen in your Business Profile, right-click the QR code and save the image. Google states this can only be done on a computer browser. The code points at your review link, so it works on invoices, stickers and vehicle graphics with no extra setup.
Can I offer a discount for leaving a Google review?
No. Google treats incentives offered in exchange for reviews (discounts, gift cards, free goods or services) as fake engagement, and it is prohibited. Screening customers first and only sending the link to the happy ones carries the same risk. Ask everyone the same way.
Do Google reviews help my business show up in the map pack?
They are one of the inputs, alongside relevance and proximity. Review volume, how recent they are, and what customers actually describe in them all contribute to local visibility. Reviews on lead platforms do not carry over, which is why Google is the better place to spend the effort.
