How to get more Google reviews for a salon, within Google's rules

When someone looks for a salon on Google Maps or Search, your reviews show right next to your Business Profile. Google displays three things from them:

• your review score, the average of all ratings from 1 to 5 stars
• your top reviews
• the total number of reviews

Reviews also count for where you appear. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that prominence is partly based on how many reviews you have. In Google's words, more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.

That is help, not a guarantee. Google writes that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and your distance from the client is out of your hands. Complete and accurate profile information counts too.

There is no need to chase a perfect 5.0 either. Google notes that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy.

Real reviews come from asking every client, every time, and making it easy to write one. Google suggests a review link or QR code, and the tip below covers when to ask.

Get your review link and QR code

1. 01On a computer, open your Business Profile: review QR codes cannot be made on a phone yet.
2. 02Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. 03Select Copy to copy your review link.
4. 04To download the QR code, right-click it and select Save image as.

Where to use it

Google suggests four places:

• on your receipts
• in your thank-you emails
• at the end of a chat, such as your LINE conversation with the client
• on a printed QR code displayed in the salon

A review sign at the counter

A small sign with the QR code next to the payment terminal asks for reviews all day. Keep the words neutral, such as “Tell us about your visit on Google”, and never ask for 5 stars: Google only allows requests that do not try to influence the rating or the content.

A message after the visit

Keep it to one line of thanks and the link, and send the same message to every client. Clients need a Google Account to post a review, and Google notes they can create one with an email address that is not Gmail.

Google's rules sit in its Maps content policy, under fake engagement and rating manipulation. They apply to the business owner and to every staff member who asks clients for reviews.

The word that matters most is incentive. Google's examples are payment, discounts and free goods or services in exchange for posting any review, so the rule applies even if you never mention stars. We treat loyalty points, a prize draw or a free add-on the same way: if the client gets something for the review, it is a reward.

The table below sums up the rules, with the reason Google gives for each one.

Offers of 5-star Google reviews are easy to find online. Google's policy is clear: reviews or ratings that have been paid for, directly or in kind, are fake engagement, which is not allowed and will be removed.

Google also watches for patterns. Its policy names unusual volumes or patterns of reviews as a sign of rating manipulation, and its figures for 2025 show the scale:

• over 292 million policy-violating reviews blocked or removed
• over 13 million fake Business Profiles removed
• posting restrictions on more than 782,000 policy-violating accounts

Google itself does not pay anyone for reviews: its help says reviews are voluntary. So when a job pays per Google review, the money comes from a business, which is exactly what the policy forbids. The box below shows what Google can do to the profile itself.

No. Only the person who wrote a review can edit or delete it. Google's help says you cannot directly delete someone else's review, but you can ask Google to remove it by reporting it.

Google removes only reviews that break its policies, such as spam, profanity, fake reviews or a review posted by a competitor to hurt your reputation. It also asks owners not to report a review just because they disagree with it: Google does not get involved in conflicts between businesses and customers.

How to report a review

1. 01Go to your Business Profile.
2. 02Select Read reviews.
3. 03Next to the review, select Report.
4. 04Choose the reason, for example spam.
5. 05Select Send report.

You can follow your report in Google's Reviews Management Tool, and appeal once if Google keeps the review. Google's help gives owners no way to turn reviews off, but Google can pause new reviews itself, for example after a sudden spike of spam reviews, with a banner telling clients why.

If someone floods your profile with 1-star reviews and then asks for money to remove them, do not pay or negotiate. Google calls this an extortion scam: keep every message as evidence and report it with Google's merchant extortion report form.

A client says they posted a review, and you cannot find it. Google gives these reasons:

• Google checks reviews against its policies first, which can delay them.
• Reviews removed for breaking the rules, such as spam or inappropriate content, are not restored.
• An old phone or an old version of Google Maps can stop a review from posting, so the client should update the app.
• After two profiles are merged, reviews can take a few days to show.
• Google sometimes turns reviews off for a while on some profiles or business categories.

Google also says its automated spam detection can remove a real review by mistake, and suggests contacting its support if that happens. The figures below show how long Google's checks usually take.

A bad review stings, but your reply is public and every future client can read it. Google notifies the reviewer when you reply, and they can still change their review after reading your answer.

Before you write, open the client file for that visit: the date, the service and who did it. Then follow Google's own advice:

• Reply quickly, to show that feedback matters to you.
• Use the client's name and answer their exact complaint, not a copied thank-you.
• Apologise when it is deserved, and say what you changed.
• Do not take the blame for things outside your control, and explain your limits honestly.
• Never share their personal details or attack them, and invite them to call or message you to settle it in private.
• Keep it short and polite, with no deals or promotions.

An example reply

“Thank you for telling us, Khun Ploy, and we are sorry your Saturday appointment started 20 minutes late. We now leave 15 minutes between weekend bookings. Please call us so we can hear more. Nok, manager”

Only a verified business can reply: open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then select Reply next to the review.

On a busy day, asking every client by hand is easy to forget. With SeeU's automatic Google review requests (Premium), a short, friendly request goes out by itself after the visit.

• A simple request with nothing in return, the way Google wants it.
• You see how many Google reviews you got, month after month.
• Your salon website shows your Google rating and your best reviews, with a link to your Google listing.

SeeU is free for 30 days, then from ฿990/month + VAT, with your website and the online booking system included. The automatic review requests come with Premium.