Google Maps reviews: how to get genuine reviews and handle them

Google shows three things for each business: the review score, the total number of reviews and top reviews. The score is the average of all ratings published on Google for that business, on a scale from 1 to 5 stars.

• Example: 10 reviews, six with 5 stars, two with 4 and two with 3, add up to 44 stars, so the score is 4.4
• Every new review changes the average, but Google says the updated score can take up to 2 weeks to show
• A business with few reviews feels each one more. Four 5-star reviews followed by one 1-star review give an average of 4.2
• Customers need a Google Account to leave a review, and they can create one with a non-Gmail email address

That is why reviews from many ordinary customers help more than a few enthusiastic ones. Google itself says a mix of positive and negative reviews often feels more trustworthy to new customers.

Google gives the owner of a verified profile a direct link that opens the review window, plus a QR code for the same link:

1. 1Open your profile at business.google.com with the Google Account that manages it
2. 2Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews
3. 3Copy the link with the copy button, or right-click the QR code and choose Save image as

For now the QR code can only be generated in a computer browser, not on a phone. The link works anywhere, and Google suggests sharing it by WhatsApp, email or a post.

Google lets you ask customers for a review that reflects their real experience, as long as you offer nothing in return and do not try to steer the rating or the wording. Places Google suggests for the link and QR code:

• On the invoice or receipt
• In the thank-you message after a visit or order
• At the end of a WhatsApp chat with the customer
• A printed QR code in the shop, at the counter or on the table

Pick the moment that fits your business: with the bill or on the table stand in a restaurant or café, a message after the appointment in a salon or clinic, at handover in a car wash, on the receipt in a shop. What matters is asking everyone the same way, not only the customers who smiled.

The Google Maps content policy is clear, and many violations happen with good intentions. Do none of these:

• Anything in return: a discount, a free item, a gift or money for posting a review, changing it or removing a negative one
• Asking only happy customers, or discouraging or blocking negative reviews
• Pressuring customers to rate while they are on the premises, or asking for specific words in the review
• Asking staff to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews that name a staff member
• Paid reviews, several accounts run by one person, or reviews from staff and relatives with a conflict of interest
• Reviews on a competitor's profile to damage its reputation

Ads selling Google Maps reviews, or offering to raise a rating with Saudi accounts, are common. Google treats them as fake engagement and removes them, and if it decides the owner broke the policy it can restrict the profile, for example:

• No new reviews or ratings for a set period
• Existing reviews unpublished for a set period
• A warning telling customers that fake reviews were removed

Google emails the owner before applying a restriction, and the owner can appeal so Google reviews the profile again. But a warning in front of customers costs a business more than any bought review could earn.

Google uses automated filters that remove reviews that look like spam or fake, and it admits some genuine reviews may be removed by mistake. So your review count can drop without you doing anything.

• A business owner cannot delete a customer's review
• If a review breaks Google's policy, such as insults, personal information or a competitor's review, flag it from your profile
• A negative review that describes a real experience respectfully is allowed and will not be removed by flagging
• The answer to a genuine negative review is a calm, respectful reply, and asking every customer for reviews so the average reflects their experience

How to reply to a negative review, step by step, is in the guide to negative Google Maps reviews. Read the negative review guide

Replies are public and everyone who opens your profile reads them. Google's tips for replies:

• Short, polite and to the point
• Personal, picking up what the customer said, instead of the same thank-you for everyone
• No offers or discounts inside the reply
• No personal information about the customer; settle complex cases by phone or email
• A genuine apology when it fits, without taking the blame for what is outside your control
• A quick reply, because speed shows you care

Reply examples in Saudi dialect and the rules behind them are in the full guide to replying to Google Maps reviews. Read the Google Maps reply guide

Repma does not sell, write or delete reviews, and it promises no stars and no map rank. Its job starts once a customer has written a review:

• Badr, Repma's digital employee, replies to every new review automatically: Saudi White Dialect for Arabic reviews, English for English ones, with no gift or discount promises
• Repma sorts the complaints inside your reviews by area, such as waiting time, cleanliness or price, so you know what to fix first
• In Repma's digital menu for restaurants and cafés, a Review on Google card at the end of the menu shows to every guest the same way

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