How to Ask for a Google Review by Text (With Templates)

By Jack Stovell · 2026-07-29 · Guides

You finished the job, the customer was clearly pleased, and you said something like "if you could leave us a review, that'd be great." They meant to. They never did. That's the gap a text message closes — and this post gives you the exact messages to send, word for word.

Why a text beats an email or an in-person ask

An in-person ask relies on the customer remembering to do something later, on a different device, with no link in front of them. Almost nobody does. An email has to fight its way past a crowded inbox and often lands in a promotions folder, where it dies quietly.

A text lands on the one device your customer is already holding — the same device they'd leave the Google review on. There's no app to open, no login, no searching for your business. They tap the link, they're on your review page, done. The whole thing takes under a minute, which is exactly as much effort as most happy customers are willing to spend.

The other advantage is timing. You can send a text at the precise moment the experience is still fresh — a couple of hours after the meal, the day after the boiler's fixed — rather than whenever your email tool gets round to it.

Before you text: consent and opt-out basics for UK businesses

You don't need a law degree to text your customers, but you do need to stay on the right side of UK rules on electronic marketing (PECR) and data protection (UK GDPR). The conservative, keep-you-safe version:

• Only text actual customers. People whose number you collected in the course of a sale or booking with your business. Never a bought list, never numbers scraped from anywhere.
• Tell them at the point you take the number that you may text them, and give them the chance to say no. A line on your booking form or a sentence at the counter is enough.
• Include a way to opt out, and honour it immediately. "Text STOP to opt out" is the standard. If someone opts out, they come off the list that day — no exceptions, no "one last message".
• Keep a record of who's opted out so it never happens by accident.

If you're unsure whether a particular customer would expect to hear from you by text, that hesitation is your answer: don't send it. One review is never worth a complaint to the regulator or a customer feeling spammed.

Anatomy of a review request text

Every good review request has the same four parts, in this order:

• Their name. "Hi Sarah" gets read; "Dear valued customer" gets deleted.
• Who you are. Business name, and ideally your first name too — a text from "Dave at DW Plumbing" feels human; an anonymous number feels like phishing.
• A thank-you and one sentence of ask. One. Not a paragraph about how much reviews mean to small businesses.
• One link, at the end. The link goes last so it's the natural next tap after reading. Never two links — a second link just makes it less likely either gets tapped.

Aim to keep the whole thing within one standard SMS — 160 characters — so it arrives as one clean message rather than a broken-up essay, and costs you one text instead of two. Whether it fits depends on the real details you substitute, not the template: a long business name or a long review link can tip any message over the limit. So once you've swapped in your actual names and link, count the characters and trim words if you need to. Google's own review share link (from your Google Business Profile) is short enough to help here.

One thing that matters more than any wording: ask everyone, not just the customers you think were happy. Google's review policies prohibit review gating — selectively steering only your happy customers towards public reviews. Ask every customer the same way and you're on solid ground.

Copy-and-paste templates by business type

These are written lean so that, with typical names and a short review link, each sits around a single text — but always check the length once your own details are in, and cut wording (never the link) if it runs long.

Trades and home services

Hi [name], it's [your name] from [business]. Thanks for having us round. Happy with the job? A quick Google review really helps: [link]

Tradespeople live and die by local reputation, so the personal "it's Dave from" opening does real work here — it's the same voice they heard on the job.

Salons and spas

Hi [name], thanks for coming in today, lovely to see you! If you've a spare minute, a Google review would make our day: [link]

Warm and light. It should sound like the person who did their hair, not a marketing department.

Clinics, dental and medical

Hello [name], thank you for visiting [practice] today. If you were happy with your care, we'd be grateful for a short Google review: [link]

More measured, as befits the setting. Note it asks about their experience of care generally — keep clinical detail out of it entirely.

Restaurants and cafés

Hi [name], thanks for dining with us at [restaurant] this evening. Enjoyed it? We'd love a quick Google review: [link]

Sent the same evening, while the meal is still a pleasant memory rather than last week's dinner.

First-ever text to a customer

If this is the first text you've ever sent someone, add the opt-out line and accept that it will probably cost you a second SMS segment:

Hi [name], it's [your name] from [business]. Thanks for today! Happy? A Google review helps loads: [link] Text STOP to opt out

That version suits trades, salons and restaurants. For clinics and other more formal settings, keep the measured template above and simply add the same "Text STOP to opt out" line at the end.

When to send it (and when not to)

Timing is the difference between "oh, that was quick and thoughtful" and "why is my plumber texting me at 7am".

• Quiet hours are non-negotiable. Nothing before 8am or after 9pm, ever. Late-night texts get reported, not reviewed.
• Restaurants: around two hours after the meal — home, settled, still glowing.
• Salons and spas: two to three hours after the appointment, once they've had time to enjoy the result.
• Clinics and dental: a few hours after the visit, once they're home and comfortable.
• Trades and home services: the next day. Right after a job, the customer is often still tidying up or getting on with their day; the following morning, the fixed tap or freshly painted room is the proof in front of them.
• Retail: the same day, within an hour or so, while the purchase is still exciting.

And when not to send: don't text weeks after the job (the moment's gone and it reads as odd), don't text mid-complaint, and don't text someone twice about the same visit beyond the single follow-up below.

Following up once, politely, then stopping

Plenty of people genuinely mean to leave a review and simply get distracted. One gentle follow-up, around three days later, catches them:

Hi [name], just a gentle nudge from [business], if you meant to leave us a Google review, here's the link again: [link] No worries if not!

The "no worries if not" matters. It signals this is the last message, takes the pressure off, and keeps the goodwill you earned doing the job. After this one nudge, stop. Two unanswered requests is a customer telling you their answer; a third text turns a happy customer into an annoyed one.

Mistakes that get your number ignored or reported

• No name, no business name. Anonymous "leave us a review" texts look like scams and get blocked.
• Asking for "5 stars". Ask for a review, full stop. Asking for a specific rating looks manipulative to customers and to Google.
• Offering anything in return. A discount, a prize draw, a free coffee — incentivised reviews violate Google's policies, and fake or bought reviews can also fall foul of UK consumer protection law. Never.
• Only texting the customers you liked. That's review gating — see above. Everyone gets the same ask.
• Walls of text. Three sentences maximum. If your request needs a scroll, it needs an edit.
• Two or three links. One link, last thing in the message.
• Ignoring STOP replies. The fastest possible route to being reported. Opt-outs are sacred.
• Texting at random hours or long after the job — see the timing section above.

Avoid those, and the rest largely takes care of itself: even a modest, steady trickle of genuine reviews compounds month after month into the thing customers actually check before they ring you.

FAQ

Is it against Google's rules to ask for reviews by text?

No — Google allows businesses to ask customers for reviews, provided you ask everyone rather than hand-picking the customers you know were happy. What is against the rules: steering only happy customers to the public review page, incentivising reviews, or buying fake ones.

Where do I find my Google review link?

Sign in to your Google Business Profile, and look for the option to share a review link (Google labels it along the lines of "Ask for reviews"). It gives you a short URL that takes customers straight to the leave-a-review box — that's the link to paste into your texts.

Can I offer a discount or freebie in exchange for a review?

No. Incentivised reviews violate Google's review policies, and in the UK fake or misleading reviews can also breach consumer protection law. A genuine, unrewarded ask sent at the right moment works — and it's the only version that's safe.

What if someone replies to say they were unhappy?

Treat it as a gift. Reply personally, quickly, and try to put it right — an unhappy customer who's heard back from the owner within the hour often ends up more loyal than one who never had a problem. Ideally you'd hear about problems privately before they become public reviews, which is exactly why a private feedback route alongside your review ask is worth having.

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If you'd rather not send every one of these texts by hand, ReviewNudge does the whole loop automatically — a friendly SMS at the right time for your trade, a private feedback route for unhappy customers, one polite follow-up, then it stops. You can try it free for 14 days and have it running in about five minutes.