To create a QR code to collect Google reviews, download it from the Get more reviews panel in Google Business Profile on a computer. For UK local businesses, as of October 2026, the code can only be made in a computer browser, not on a phone, and you don't need a separate QR code generator.
IvI SEO's advice is to put it on business cards, leaflets you leave with customers and a sign in your shop.
How do you get a Google review QR code from Google Business Profile?
To get a Google review QR code, open your Google Business Profile on a computer and select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. The panel that opens shows the code: right-click it and choose Save image as... to download it. As of October 2026, review QR codes can only be generated in a computer browser, not on a phone. Sign in to the Google Account that manages the profile first, and if the business has more than one location, open the profile for the exact location customers will review. You don't need a separate QR code generator, because Google Business Profile makes the code for you.
Only got a phone? Borrow a laptop for five minutes, because tapping round the app won't find it.
The same panel gives you the code and a plain link, and each has its own job:
- The QR code is for print. A Google review QR code belongs on things customers hold or see in person, such as business cards, leaflets left after a job and a sign in the shop.
- The review link is for messages. A Google review link, copied from the Get more reviews panel in Google Business Profile, suits thank-you emails, texts and WhatsApp messages, because someone reading a message on their phone can't scan a code on the same screen.
One small habit saves hassle later: give the file an obvious name, like "google-review-qr", so it doesn't vanish into your downloads folder.
One honest caveat: these steps come from Google's help page as it read in October 2026, and Google moves buttons around. If the labels have changed when you look, go to the reviews area of your profile and find the option to get more reviews.
So why do so many guides send you to a QR code generator first?
Do you need a QR code generator for Google reviews?
No, you don't need a QR code generator for Google reviews, because Google Business Profile makes a free review QR code for you. Some generators make "dynamic" codes that send people through the generator's own web address first, so printed codes can stop working if that service or account ends. A generator only earns its place if you want the code restyled in your brand colours, and even then, test the print before you order. IvI SEO's advice is to use the code from Google Business Profile: it opens your review form directly, there's nothing to sign up for, and there's no extra website in the middle.
Plenty of guides start you off at a generator: paste in your review link, pick some colours, download. It works, but it's a step you don't need, and it's one more thing that can go wrong between a customer's camera and your review form.
If you do restyle it, keep it plain. Every tweak (new colours, a logo in the middle, rounded corners) is another chance to make it harder to scan, which is why the print check matters more than the colour scheme.
Before it goes anywhere near a printer, check it.
How do you check a Google review QR code before printing?
To check a Google review QR code before printing, scan the final proof with a phone and confirm it opens your business's review form. A proof is the sample your printer sends for approval, so scan it at the size it will actually print, not the design file on a screen. Make sure the review form belongs to the right business and, if you have several branches, the right location. Check the code is sharp and hasn't been stretched, cropped or placed over a busy background. If anything fails, fix the file and ask for a new proof before you pay for the full print run.
Here's why each check is worth the two minutes.
Right branch. If you run more than one location, this is the big one. Put a code from the Harrogate profile on the York shop's leaflets and York customers end up reviewing the wrong listing. The code looks exactly the same either way, so the only way to find out is to scan it and read the business name.
Real size, real conditions. Try it on someone else's phone as well as your own, and in normal light rather than under a desk lamp. You want to know how it behaves in a customer's hand, not yours.
Leave the code alone. Designers like to squash things into whatever gap is left on the layout. A QR code isn't a logo. Squash it, chop a corner off or sit it on a photo of your van and it may not scan at all. Give it a plain, light margin round the edge.
What I won't give you is a minimum print size. I haven't tested one, so I'm not going to make one up. Scan the real thing instead.
Is it a faff? Slightly. But a reprint costs far more than a two-minute scan, and a box of leaflets pointing at the wrong place is an expensive way to learn. Scan first, print second.
Once the proof scans properly, the next question is where it goes.
Where should you put a Google review QR code?
Put a Google review QR code where people who've used you will see it: business cards, leaflets you leave with customers and a sign in your shop. Hand business cards over when the job is finished, with a short invitation beside the code. Door-drop leaflets reach people who have never used you, so either keep the code off them or make the line speak only to customers, for example by opening with "Used us?". In the shop, a sign by the till works as long as customers are free to use it or ignore it: inviting a review is fine, but requiring or pressuring one while they're on the premises isn't. None of the three guarantees reviews. IvI SEO still picks those three because each one puts the code in a customer's hand, or in front of them, once the job's done.
Here's how I'd think about each one.
Business cards. The easy one, because the card is already in your hand at the end of the job. Picture a gardener finishing a tidy-up: phone number on the front of the card, code and a one-line invitation on the back. The customer can scan it later with a cup of tea, with nobody watching.
Leaflets. This is where people trip up. A leaflet through every door on the street is marketing, and most people reading it have never used you. Put a review request on it and you're asking strangers to review a business they don't know. Put the code on the leaflets you leave behind after a job instead (a price list, an aftercare sheet, a "what happens next" note). That's a much better home for it.
In the shop. A small sign by the till or on the counter. You can mention it too: "There's a code there if you fancy leaving us a review" is a perfectly normal thing to say at checkout. What crosses the line is making it feel compulsory, like standing there until they've done it or having staff work the queue phone in hand. Nobody writes an honest review with you watching.
Is one of the three better than the others? Honestly, I don't know, and I'm not going to pretend I've measured it.
SCHEMATIC ONLY: example layouts for illustration.
The [ QR ] boxes are placeholders, not real or scannable codes.
1. BUSINESS CARD (back), handed over when the job is done
+------------------------------------+
| [ QR ] Used us? We'd value an |
| honest Google review. |
| Scan here. |
+------------------------------------+
2. LEAFLET left with a customer after the job
+------------------------------------+
| AFTERCARE TIPS |
| (the rest of the leaflet) |
| |
| [ QR ] Used us? We'd value an |
| honest Google review. |
+------------------------------------+
3. COUNTER SIGN by the till, free to use or ignore
+------------------------------------+
| [ QR ] |
| Used us? We'd value an honest |
| Google review. Scan here. |
+------------------------------------+
Schematic: where the code and invitation could sit on a business card, an aftercare leaflet and a counter sign. Not a real design and not a working code.
A code on its own doesn't tell anyone what it's for, so it needs a line beside it.
What should you write beside a Google review QR code?
Beside a Google review QR code, write one plain line inviting every customer to leave an honest Google review, with nothing that steers the rating. "Used us? We'd value an honest Google review." is enough. Leave out discounts or freebies, wording aimed only at happy customers, requests for five stars, suggested phrases or keywords, and prompts to name a member of staff. A plain invitation in the shop is fine, but requiring or pressuring a review while the customer is on the premises isn't. These limits come from Google Maps' policy on fake engagement and rating manipulation. The code opens the review form; what goes in the review is the customer's call.
Here's a good line:
Used us? We'd really value an honest Google review. Scan here.
And some bad ones (all made up):
Loved it? Leave us a review.
Five stars would make our day.
Leave a review and get money off your next visit.
Mention Dave by name in your review.
Tell everyone we're the best plumber in Leeds.
The first one looks harmless, which is exactly why it's sneaky. "Loved it?" only invites the happy customers, so it filters who reviews you before anyone has even scanned. The second asks for a rating. The third is an incentive, and incentivised reviews get removed. The fourth puts a staff name in the customer's mouth. The last one writes the review for them, keyword and all.
The plainer the better. Anything cleverer is usually an attempt to manage the score, and the score isn't yours to manage.
The same goes for every review request, not just the printed ones: ask everyone the same way, then step back. I've covered that in more detail in how to ask customers for Google reviews.
And if someone scans it and gets stuck, here's what to check.
What should you check if customers can't leave a review after scanning a Google review QR code?
When customers can't leave a review after scanning a Google review QR code, check three things: their Google Account sign-in, where the code goes and the print itself. Scanning only opens the review form, and customers must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review, though they can create one with a non-Gmail email address. Next, scan the code yourself and check it opens the review form for the right business and location; if it doesn't, download the code again from the correct profile and reprint. Then look at the printed code, because a worn, faded, torn or covered code may not scan. Those are the common blockers, not every possible cause.
The sign-in one is worth knowing about because your own print check won't catch it. You were probably signed in when you scanned your proof. Your customer might not be.
If a customer says the code opened a different branch, or a business they don't recognise, take it seriously. Download a fresh code from the right location's profile and reprint everything that carries the old one. Don't stick a new code over half the leaflets and hope for the best.
Signs wear out too. Shop windows fade them in the sun and counter cards pick up coffee rings. If you struggle to get yours to scan, a customer won't bother trying.
One thing not to do: take the customer's phone off them to sort out their account at the counter. Point them to the link, thank them and leave it there. One invitation is plenty.
Want a hand with your Google reviews?
You can get a hand with your Google review QR code and review requests, or set both up yourself from your Google Business Profile. For businesses that would rather hand the job over, IvI SEO's local SEO service covers the review link, the line beside the code and the rest of the Google Business Profile. The QR code itself is free either way, because Google Business Profile makes it.
Everything here is a job you can do yourself. If you'd rather someone else sorted the review link, the wording and the rest of your profile, that's part of IvI SEO's local SEO service.
Your call.