How to Get Your Google Review Link, With or Without Business Profile Access

Open the review link generatorDownload the review link record sheet (PDF)

What a Google review link actually is

A normal Google Maps link opens your business profile. From there, a customer has to spot the reviews section, find the button to write one, and only then sees the stars. A direct review link skips all of that: it opens the star rating and comment box for your business straight away. Fewer taps between "sure, I'll leave one" and the box itself is the whole point.

You will usually end up with one of two formats, and both do the same job:

• The link from your Business Profile, which looks like https://g.page/r/…/review. Google creates it for you when you manage the profile.
• A link built from your Place ID, in the form https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=…. The Place ID is the code Google gives every business and place on Maps; most start with ChIJ.

One thing no link can change: Google's help page on getting more reviews says customers must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review, and that they can set one up with a non-Gmail address. So a customer who isn't signed in will be asked to sign in first. That is normal, and it happens with every review link, including the one Google gives you.

Way 1: copy it from your Business Profile

If you manage the profile, this is the quickest route. Google's page on creating a link or QR code to request reviews describes it: open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and press Copy to take the link. The same panel offers a QR code, which you can right-click and save as an image.

Two details from that page are worth knowing before you try it. First, the review QR code can only be generated in a browser on a computer, not on a phone. Second, the panel only appears for people who manage the profile. If the profile was set up by a previous employee, an agency you no longer work with, or a family member who has the login, you will not see it, and getting access back can take a while.

That is the situation the second route is for.

Way 2: build it from your Place ID

Every business on Google Maps has a Place ID, whether or not anyone manages its profile. Google publishes a free Place ID Finder: a map with a search box. Type your business name, pick it from the list, and the finder shows the Place ID. Copy it.

A Place ID on its own is not a link, so it needs turning into one. You can type the address format above by hand, or paste the ID into our free review link generator, which builds the link, a QR code and a printable card in your browser. It also accepts a Google Maps link that already contains a Place ID, and the g.page link from your profile.

A few cautions from Google's own documentation on Place IDs. Place IDs can change over time as Google updates its map data, and Google recommends refreshing stored IDs that are more than 12 months old. A Place ID that comes back as not found may be invalid or out of date. So write down the date you looked yours up, and check it again later.

The common snag is the short share link. If you press Share on a Maps listing you get a maps.app.goo.gl address, and those short links don't include the Place ID, so no tool can turn one into a review link. Use the Place ID Finder instead.

Step by step with the free generator

1. Find your Place ID or profile link

Use whichever route above works for you. If you have both, the profile link is fine; if you only have the Place ID, that is fine too.

2. Paste it into the generator

Open the Google review link generator and paste into the first box. The direct link appears at once in the panel on the right. If you paste a short share link, the page tells you so and points you to the Place ID Finder rather than guessing.

3. Copy the direct review link

Press Copy link. The page builds the link in your browser and doesn't use a Google API key, so nothing you type is sent anywhere.

4. Test it signed out

Press Open to test, then repeat in a private browser window and on a phone. The next section lists exactly what to look for.

5. Record it and use it everywhere

Write the link and the Place ID on the record sheet that comes with this post, along with every place you put it. When something changes, you will know what to update.

Test the link before it goes anywhere

A review link that opens the wrong listing is worse than no link, because the customer who tries it gives up. Five checks take about three minutes:

1. Private window. Your own browser is signed in to your Google account and may behave differently. A private window shows what a stranger sees.
2. Name and address. Check both. Businesses with two listings, an old address, or a similar name nearby are the usual source of a wrong link.
3. The box, not the profile. The link should open the stars and comment box, not just the listing.
4. Both kinds of phone. Try an iPhone and an Android phone. Many customers will tap the link inside an email or text app, so try it from there as well.
5. Signed out. Ask someone who is not signed in to Google to try it. They should be asked to sign in and then land on the box.

If any check fails, our guide to a Google review link that isn't working goes through the causes one at a time.

Where the link should live

Google's own suggestions are receipts, thank-you emails, the end of a chat with a customer, and a printed QR code in your shop. Add your email signature and your invoices to that list, because those reach customers at the moment the work is fresh in their mind.

Use the same link everywhere. If you build one from the Place ID and later copy another from the profile, both work, but tracking two versions doubles the work when either changes.

From here, the posts in this series pick up each place in turn: printing a review QR code card, review request email and text templates, and a free routine for getting more reviews without breaking Google's rules. If you want the asking to happen without anyone remembering to do it, Fynl's Starter plan emails the link to the customers you pick, reminds anyone who hasn't clicked, and shows how many did. The link itself stays free either way. More free tools are on the free tools page.

Questions people also ask

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help — Tips to get more reviews
• Google Business Profile Help — Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews
• Google Maps Platform — Place IDs
• Google Maps Platform — Place ID Finder