Google Review Request Email and Text Templates That Stay Inside Google's Rules

Get your review link freeDownload the review request templates (PDF)

What a good review request does

Most customers who would happily leave a review never do, for a simple reason: nobody asked at a moment when it was easy. A good request fixes exactly that. It arrives soon after the work, while the experience is fresh. It is short enough to read on a phone. It names the customer and the job, so it doesn't read like a mass mailing. And it has one link, the one that opens the review box, so there is nothing to search for.

Before you use any template, get that direct link. Our guide on how to get your Google review link covers both ways, and the free review link generator turns a Place ID into the link in a few seconds.

The rules every template here follows

Google's prohibited and restricted content policy for Maps allows businesses to ask for reviews that reflect a genuine experience. It also lists what a business must not do, and four of those points shape the wording of a request:

1. No incentives. No payment, discount, free product or service, prize draw or gift in exchange for a review. Google's tips page calls this fake engagement and says it is strictly prohibited.
2. Ask everyone. The policy rules out selectively asking for positive reviews. So no "If you were happy, please review us", and no sending the request only to customers you expect to be pleased. Sending an unhappy customer to a private feedback form while sending the happy ones to Google is known as review gating, and it falls under the same rule.
3. No requested content. Don't ask for a star rating, and don't ask people to mention a product, a phrase or a staff member by name.
4. No pressure. One request and at most one reminder, with no suggestion that anything depends on it.

In the US there is a legal layer too. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews, 16 CFR Part 465, makes it unlawful for a business to offer compensation or other incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment, positive or negative.

Email templates you can copy

Replace the parts in square brackets. Keep the first line specific: the job, the date, the item. That one detail is what makes the email read as written by a person.

1. After a service

Subject: How did we do, [first name]?

Hi [first name],

Thanks for choosing us for [the job]. If you have a minute, we'd be grateful for an honest review on Google. It helps other people decide whether we're right for them.

[review link]

Thanks,
[your name]

Why it's worded this way: "honest" and "whether we're right for them" make clear that any review is welcome, which keeps the email on the right side of the selective-asking rule.

2. After a purchase

Subject: A quick question about your order

Hi [first name],

Your [product] should be with you now. Once you've had a chance to use it, would you share what you think in a Google review? Good or bad, it helps us and the next customer.

[review link]

Thank you,
[your name]

Send this one a few days after delivery rather than at dispatch, so the customer has actually used the thing.

3. For a long-standing client

Subject: Would you write a few words about working with us?

Hi [first name],

We've worked together for [time] now, and I'd value an honest review on Google from someone who knows how we work. It takes about a minute: [review link]

Either way, thank you for [the specific thing].
[your name]

4. The reminder

Subject: One small favour

Hi [first name], just a gentle nudge in case last week's email got buried. If you'd like to leave a Google review of [the job], this link opens the review box: [review link]. No need to reply. Thanks again.

Text message and WhatsApp templates

Texts need to be shorter, and they need to say who is writing, because the customer may not have your number saved.

Hi [first name], it's [your name] from [business]. Thanks for having us for [the job]. If you have a minute, an honest Google review would help us a lot: [review link]

Thanks again for coming in today, [first name]. If you'd like to share how it went, here's our Google review page: [review link]. [your name], [business]

Google's help page on creating a review link mentions email, WhatsApp messages and Facebook posts as ways to share it, so a WhatsApp message is a normal route. Only text customers who gave you their number for that kind of contact, and keep it to one message plus one reminder at most.

When to send, and how many reminders

The timing that works is the boring one: send the request on the day the work is finished, or the next day. For products, wait until the customer has had it a few days. Send one reminder about a week later to anyone who hasn't reviewed, and then stop. A third message starts to feel like pressure, which is exactly what Google's policy warns against.

5. Keep a simple log

A list with four columns (customer, request sent, reminder sent, reviewed) is enough to stop you reminding someone twice or forgetting a whole week of jobs. The PDF with this post has one.

If keeping that log by hand is the part that slips, this is what the Review requests panel in Fynl's Starter plan does, as the video above shows. You tick the customers in your contact list and choose Ask for a review. You set how long to wait before the first email, how often to remind and how many reminders at most, plus the subject and message. The message box starts with sample wording that includes "If you were happy"; replace it with one of the templates above so the email asks every customer the same way. Each email carries a tracked link to your Google review page, reminders stop as soon as the customer clicks, and the panel shows how many were sent and clicked.

For customers you see in person, a printed card does the same job; see how to make a review QR code card. And for wording to use face to face, our guide on how to ask customers for reviews has the lines. More free tools are on the free tools page.

Questions people also ask

Sources

• Google Maps — Prohibited and restricted content
• Google Business Profile Help — Tips to get more reviews
• Google Business Profile Help — Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews
• eCFR — 16 CFR Part 465, Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials