--- title: "How do customers leave a Google review for a business? What to tell yours" url: https://reviewnudge.app/blog/how-to-leave-a-google-review-for-a-business/ published: 2026-11-03 updated: 2026-11-03 author: "Jack Stovell" publisher: "Adapt Progress Evolve Limited" summary: "To leave a Google review, a customer signs in to Google, finds the business on Google Maps, chooses Write a review (or Reviews in the app), taps the stars and posts. Writing text is optional. Your request should make those steps easy and leave the rating entirely to them." language: en-GB --- # How do customers leave a Google review for a business? What to tell yours > To leave a Google review, a customer signs in to Google, finds the business on Google Maps, chooses Write a review (or Reviews in the app), taps the stars and posts. Writing text is optional. Your request should make those steps easy and leave the rating entirely to them. Short answer: every Google review depends on two things going right. The customer has to be signed in to a Google account, and they have to land on your listing rather than someone else's. If your request sorts out both, the rest takes a few taps. Your request only has to get them to the stars. Which stars they pick is up to them. ## The short version: what a customer does, step by step Google's Maps Help page sets out the steps. On a computer, the customer: 1. Signs in to Google Maps. 2. Searches for the place. 3. Scrolls down the panel on the left and clicks **Write a review**. 4. Clicks the stars to give a score, and can also write a review. 5. Posts it. In the Android Maps app, the route is slightly different. The customer searches for the place or taps it on the map, taps the place name at the bottom, taps **Reviews** at the top, then taps the five empty stars. From there they choose a score and can add words under "Share more about your experience". The app may also show a few optional questions about the visit. Google has a separate version of the page for iPhone and iPad. The written part is optional. Google treats the score and the text as separate things, so a star rating on its own is fine. Owners often forget this. If a customer has ten seconds, a request that implies they owe you a paragraph will lose them. ## What the customer sees on a phone and on a computer You see your Business Profile from the inside, with the owner tools. Your customer sees the public listing, and on a phone the review form tells them they are "Posting publicly". Those are two different screens, and it is easy to give directions to the one only you can see. Open your listing on a friend's phone, or in a browser where you are signed out, and walk through the steps above. Note what the button is called and where it sits. Then keep your instructions loose: Google moves things between devices and updates, so "tap the link, then tap the stars" ages better than a description of every button. ## Where customers get stuck (and what you can do about it) **They aren't signed in, or have no Google account.** The steps start with signing in, so this is the first wall. You can't fix it for them, but you can warn them. A line such as "you'll need to be signed in to Google" stops people giving up halfway and blaming you. **They can't find the right listing.** Google's own Android steps allow for this: if a search returns several locations, the customer has to tap the right one. A vague search, a common business name or a chain with several branches all send people to the wrong place. A direct review link skips the search entirely. If you don't have yours yet, the guide to [finding your Google review link](/guides/find-your-google-review-link/) shows where it lives, and the free [Google review QR code maker](/tools/google-review-qr-code/) turns it into a printable card for the counter. **The review doesn't seem to appear.** People post, refresh, see nothing and assume it broke. Google moderates reviews, and its help page gives no timing, so don't promise one. Above all, don't ask them to post it again: Google's policy treats posting the same content multiple times as repetitive content. The guide on [Google reviews not showing](/guides/google-reviews-not-showing/) covers what you can check from your side. ## Why some people can't write a review at all Sometimes the problem is policy. Google says reviews may be removed, most often for violations such as spam or inappropriate content, and that it doesn't reinstate reviews removed for policy violations. Two parts of the policy matter most to owners. A review has to reflect a genuine experience with the business. Google also counts content based on a conflict of interest as rating manipulation, and gives current or former employment and family relationships as examples. So asking your staff, your partner or your mum to review the business is a quick way to have reviews removed. Ask real customers after real visits. For the same reason, never tell a customer their review is guaranteed to appear. You don't control that. Invite the review and leave the outcome to Google. ## Name, photos and edits: what customers should know before posting People hesitate over their name, and Google is clear on this. All reviews are public and you can't add an anonymous review. Other people can see the name on the reviewer's Google About me page, plus other photos and videos they have added to Maps and the other reviews they have written. If a customer asks, tell them it posts under their Google name, and that they can check their About me page beforehand. The good news for nervous reviewers is that nothing is final. After a review is published, the author can edit it, change the rating and the pictures, or delete it. When they edit, the date of the edit becomes the review's post date. If a customer asks how, point them to the guide on [editing or deleting a Google review you wrote](/guides/edit-or-delete-a-google-review-you-wrote/). ## How to word your request so it matches these steps A good request does four things. It names the business, mentions that a Google account is needed, gives the direct link, and says a star rating alone is fine. It says nothing about which stars to choose or what to write. Something like: "If you've got a minute, we'd be glad of a Google review. You'll need to be signed in to Google, and a star rating on its own is fine. Here's the link." Every line of that gets someone from your message to the review form without tripping. None of it touches the rating or the content. Keep it that way. Google's policy specifically rules out asking for particular content to be included, and that covers asking people to name a member of staff. If you send requests by message, the guide to [asking for Google reviews by text](/guides/ask-for-google-reviews-by-text/) covers timing and wording. ## What you must not do while helping people leave reviews Google's contributed content policy is firm on this, and it applies to every business. Merchants must not: - offer incentives such as payment, discounts or free goods or services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative one - discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively ask only happy customers (review gating) - require or pressure customers to leave a rating or review while they are on the premises - ask for specific content, or set staff targets for a number of reviews What Google does allow is asking for reviews of genuine experiences, as long as you offer no incentive and make no attempt to influence the rating or what the review says. UK law adds its own layer. The Competition and Markets Authority's fake reviews guidance explains the consumer protection rules that came in during April 2025, under which fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews are banned content. So: no discounts, no freebies, no prize draws for reviewers, and no deciding who gets the link based on how you think they felt. Everyone gets the same invitation. A QR card on the counter is fine. Hovering beside the customer while they fill it in is not. The guide to [the rules for asking for Google reviews](/guides/asking-for-google-reviews-rules/) covers the edge cases. ## Questions people ask ### How do I leave a Google review for a business? On a computer, sign in to Google Maps, search for the business, scroll and click Write a review, click the stars and post. In the Android Maps app, open the place, tap Reviews at the top and tap the five empty stars. Writing text is optional. ### Why can't I write a Google review for a business? Google's steps start with signing in, so check you are signed in to a Google account. Google also moderates reviews and removes ones that break its content policy, for example spam, reviews not based on a genuine experience, or reviews with a conflict of interest such as from staff or family. It does not reinstate reviews removed for policy violations. ### Can I leave a Google review without my name showing? No. Google's help page says all reviews are public and you can't add an anonymous review. Others can see the name on your Google About me page, so check that page before posting if you want to know what will show. ### Do I need a Google account to leave a review? Yes. Google's instructions start with signing in to Google Maps, and the review is posted publicly under your Google profile name. ### Why hasn't my Google review appeared yet? Google moderates reviews and removes ones it finds break its policies. Google's help page doesn't give a timing for when a review appears, so don't post the same review again, because repeated identical content is itself against Google's policy. ## Sources - [Google Maps Help: Add, edit or delete Google Maps reviews and ratings (computer)](https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6230175?hl=en-GB) - [Google Maps Help: Add, edit or delete Google Maps reviews and ratings (Android)](https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6230175?hl=en-GB&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid) - [Google Maps User Contributed Content Policy: Prohibited and restricted content](https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114?hl=en-GB) - [CMA: Fake reviews guidance (CMA208)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fake-reviews-cma208) - [CMA: Short guide for businesses on publishing consumer reviews](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fake-reviews/short-guide-for-businesses-publishing-consumer-reviews-and-complying-with-consumer-protection-law)