Reviews courseModule 2 of 7: Asking for ReviewsLesson 2.2
One-Click Easy, With One Reminder
Send a direct link that opens straight into the review box, not a request to "search for us on Google". Then send exactly one gentle reminder to anyone who hasn't reviewed, not a string of nags.
By Morgan King, founder of Reyse Facts checked October 2026 Jump to Your turn
Why it matters
Every extra step between "I'll leave a review" and the review box loses people, and most who don't reply first time simply forgot.
The evidence
Evidence: Official guidance
Google's help pages explain the link and QR code. The single reminder at four to five days is practitioner advice; no UK study has measured it.
Do this first
Get a direct review link and QR code for every branch, test it on a phone, and send one reminder four or five days after the request.
01What it is
Ask a friend into your garden. Point at an open gate and they walk in. Say “find the street, then the house, then the gate” and half of them give up. One friendly reminder is fine. Ten and they start avoiding you.
Think of it like
A direct link is giving someone the postcode and house number instead of "we're somewhere on the High Street". The reminder is a tap on the shoulder, not a siren.
See it happen
The same happy tenant, asked two ways. Count the taps to the stars.
One happy tenant, on their phone, after the keys.
No link
“Please leave us a review on Google”
0
taps
- 1Leave the message and open Google
- 2Search the agency and pick the right one (two Kestrels come up)
- 3Tap Reviews
- 4Tap Write a review
- 5Tap the stars
Direct review link
“An honest review would help us: kestrel.example/review”
0
taps
- 1Tap the link
- 2Tap the stars
Press Next tap and watch both clients.
02Why it matters
To the people searching
Someone willing to review is doing you a favour on their own time. Making them search for you, find the right listing and then the review button is three chances to get distracted. A direct link removes all three. And most people who don't review first time aren't refusing: they're busy. One polite reminder catches some of them without annoying anyone. After one, the returns drop and the annoyance climbs.
buyers
Want to finish in seconds on a phone, and should never feel chased or watched.
tenants
A QR code on the move-in card catches them at the right moment.
sellers
Busy moving, and usually well-disposed. A direct link and one reminder respect their time.
landlords
Often review from a desk. A link in an email they can come back to works well.
To Google, the platforms and AI
Evidence: Official guidanceA direct link isn't a ranking factor. It raises the share of willing clients who actually finish, and review volume counts: Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and in Whitespark's 2026 expert survey the number of Google reviews with text ranked 9th of 187 factors. Google itself recommends sharing your review link or QR code. Asking only for Google reviews won't create Bing reviews: Bing shows reviews from other sites (lesson 4.2).
An agent example
Kestrel Lettings emailed new tenants "please leave us a review on Google", with no link, and few did. It made a direct link from its , shortened it, put a QR code on the move-in welcome card and added one automatic reminder five days later. A tap test showed the old route took five taps and the new one two. It watched requests, clicks and new reviews in its sheet.
03Your turn
Check yours, then fix it
- 1Open your current review request (email, text, completion pack).
- 2Does it include a direct link, or only "leave us a review"? Does it mention stars, staff names or a reward? It should do none of those.
- 1Tap the link in your own request, on your phone, and count the taps to the review box. It should be two or fewer.
- 2Try it in your email app and in WhatsApp, signed in and signed out of Google, on an iPhone and an Android if you can.
- 3Stop at the review box. Never post a test review: it would break Google's rules.
- 1Print the QR code at the size you'll use, and scan it from arm's length in normal light.
- 2Check it opens the right branch. Repeat for every branch.
- 1Find out whether any follow-up goes out at all, including CRM automations, tool sequences and staff chasing by phone.
- 2Count them. The target is one reminder, four or five days after the request.
Here is my review request and my reminder. Count the steps the reader must take. Flag any pressure words, any wording that steers the rating, and anything that could be seen as an incentive. Suggest a shorter version in plain UK English. Do not add rewards, star targets or staff names.
- 1On a computer: business.google.com, then Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Copy the link and save the QR code.
- 2Put the link in every request template, and the QR code on welcome cards, completion packs and the office wall.
- 3Save every branch's link in one shared document.
- 1Make a short link per branch and per channel with a free shortener such as Bitly.
- 2Track the funnel: requests sent, then clicks, then new reviews.
- 3There's no UK data on whether email, text or WhatsApp works best, so test in your own business.
- 1Four or five days after the request, to everyone who got the first one and hasn't reviewed or opted out.
- 2No automation? Add "request sent" and "reminder sent" columns to your sheet and send each Monday.
- 3Check any tool's sequence. One example sends a text at one hour, an email on day three and a WhatsApp on day seven: that's three messages. Set it to one request and one reminder.
- 1Google doesn't tell you who used your link, so check new reviewer names by hand, or use a tool that detects reviews.
- 2If a tool stops reminders after a review, check it does so for any star rating, not only five stars. Anything else is selective.
- 3If you can't tell, write the reminder so it works either way.
- 1"Hi [first name], a quick reminder in case the last few days were busy. If you have a minute, we'd really value your honest feedback on how we did: [link]. If you've already left a review, thank you, and please ignore this. We won't message you about this again. [Opt-out line]"
- 2Never mention stars, never offer anything, never imply a deadline.
Then: After any change to your Business Profile, tap-test the link again. A one-minute test each quarter is cheap insurance.
04Keep it up
Set the link and reminder once. Tap-test the link each quarter, and review the reminder’s timing and tone every few months.
See also
Sources
- 1.Tips to improve your local ranking on Google · Google Business Profile Help
- 2.Local Search Ranking Factors 2026 · Whitespark, 2026
Facts checked October 2026, and re-checked every quarter. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
That's lesson 2.2
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