Google review QR code: create one for free and place it well

A QR code just holds an address. The one to put in it is the direct link to the review form, not the address of your profile on Google Maps: with that one, the customer lands on the profile and still has to find the button.

• Open your Google Business Profile, signed in to the account that manages it.
• Choose « Ask for reviews ».
• Copy the short link it shows: that's the one that opens the form, ready to rate.

Paste the link into your phone's browser to check that it opens the form of YOUR business, not a neighbour with the same name.

Any QR code generator will do, but there are two families, and the choice matters more than it seems:

• A static QR code contains your review link as is. Free and with no subscription, it works as long as Google's link works. If you change profile, you have to reprint.
• A dynamic QR code contains the address of an intermediate service that forwards to your link. You can change the destination without reprinting, and count scans. In exchange, it depends on that service: many free generators switch off their dynamic codes at the end of the trial, and your printed material stops working.

If you go dynamic, pick a service whose long-term price you know, and where you stay in control of the destination.

With Abracarda, your page's QR code can be downloaded from your dashboard as PNG or SVG. It opens your page, which asks for a rating before opening Google's form: one extra step, which lets an unhappy customer write to you privately. You change the review link, threshold or profile without touching the printed code, and every scan is counted.

• Scan it with an iPhone camera, then an Android one, with no app.
• Test it printed, at the final size and on the real material: a code that works on screen can fail on glossy paper or under the room's lighting.
• Check where it leads: your business's review form, not a Google home page.
• Test it at the real distance: from the chair for a table, from the queue for a poster.

A simple rule: the side of the QR code should be at least a tenth of the scanning distance. Read at 30 cm on a table, 3 cm is enough; on a window read from 2 m, allow 20 cm. Below 2 cm, many phones struggle to read it.

• Keep a dark code on a light background, with no gradient or image behind it.
• Leave a white margin all around, the width of four of the code's small squares: pressed against a frame or text, it scans poorly.
• Avoid glossy surfaces under direct light, which cause reflections.
• Add a line next to it, such as « Your opinion matters: scan here ». A QR code on its own doesn't say what it opens.

• On the table or the counter, where customers wait.
• On the receipt or invoice, which they hold when paying.
• On a stand next to the card terminal.
• In a thank-you email or text, as a link rather than a QR code: on a phone, you can't scan your own screen.

Avoid places where nobody stops, like a window people walk past: reviews get written when someone has a minute to spare.

A QR code means opening the camera and aiming; an NFC chip opens when the phone comes close. The first reads from a distance and anywhere, the second is faster in hand. A Google review card carries both, and our guide NFC or QR code explains when to prefer each.

• Using the Maps profile address instead of the review link: the customer still has to look for the button.
• Choosing a free dynamic code that expires: printed material stops working without warning.
• Showing the QR code only to satisfied customers: Google's policies forbid choosing which customers to ask. See our guide to getting more Google reviews.
• Offering a discount for a review: also forbidden, even if the review stays free.
• Never checking the code once it's in place: a sticker placed over it by someone else can lead to a fraudulent site.