How to Get Your Google Review Link as a Therapist, and Where It Can Go

To get your Google review link, sign in to the Business Profile you manage on a computer, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link or save the QR code. For a therapist that is the easy part: your ethics code, which restricts asking clients for reviews, decides where it can go.

The service version of this, with prices: what the ethics codes restrict, how to reply, and how to get a review removed.

This guide covers the mechanics Google documents for the review link and QR code, then checks each place Google suggests putting them against the APA, ACA, NASW and AAMFT codes, and ends with a short list you can finish this week.

How do I get my Google review link?

The review link is generated inside the Business Profile you manage, so you need to be signed in with an account that manages it. Google’s help page on creating a link or QR code to request reviews gives the path, and it describes the link as a way to make it easier for people to leave a review on your profile.

1. Open your profile. Go to your Business Profile while signed in to the managing account.
2. Find the review tools. Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. Copy the link. Select Copy. Paste it somewhere you keep practice records so you are not regenerating it later.
4. Save the QR code if you want one. Right-click the QR code and choose Save image as. Google notes that review QR codes can only be generated in a computer browser, not on a phone.
5. Test it. Open the link in a private browser window to check it points to the right profile. If you have an old duplicate listing, this is where you find out.

Anyone who uses the link has to be signed in to a Google Account to post. Google’s tips page on reviews adds that the account can be set up with a non-Gmail email address.

Can I get a Google review link without a Business Profile?

No. The link belongs to a profile, and Google’s guidelines for representing your business allow a profile only if the business has a physical location customers can visit or travels to customers where they are. A therapist who works only by video has neither, so there is no profile and no review link to share.

Two arrangements catch therapists out. A rented mailing address with no practice behind it, which Google calls a virtual office, is not eligible. A room in a co-working space only qualifies if the office has clear signage, receives clients during business hours and is staffed during those hours. If you work online only, your visibility comes from your website and directories instead; the directories worth claiming covers which ones send referrals.

Where does Google suggest putting your review link?

Google’s help page lists four places: on receipts, in thank-you emails, at the end of a chat, and as a printed QR code displayed in your store. Every one of them reaches a person who has just received your service. In a therapy practice that person is a client, which is the group your ethics code tells you not to solicit.

Here is how each suggestion translates into a practice, and why it fails for a therapist even though Google permits it for a bakery:

Google’s suggestion	What it becomes in a practice	Why it fails for a therapist
Include it on your receipts	Invoices, superbills, payment confirmations	Sent to a named current client. That is a request from their therapist.
Include it in thank-you emails	Welcome emails, post-session follow-ups	Addressed to a client at a moment you chose, during treatment.
Add it at the end of a chat	Client portal messages, appointment reminders, texts	Same problem, and if it is automated, it goes to every client without anyone deciding.
Display the QR code in your store	A QR code in the waiting room or on intake paperwork	Everyone who sits in a waiting room is a client or with one. Intake forms are handed to clients as part of starting treatment.

What is left is the place nobody is sent: your own website. A line on the contact page with a link to your profile is available to anyone who goes looking and is addressed to no one. An email signature is a closer call. It is undirected, but every client you email sees it, so if you use one, word it as a notice that the profile exists rather than a request, and if your board’s rules leave you unsure, keep the link on the website only. The Google Business Profile guide covers the rest of the profile setup the link points to.

What do the ethics codes say about asking clients for reviews?

All four main codes for therapists restrict soliciting testimonials from current clients and from others vulnerable to undue influence, and a public review is a testimonial with your practice name on it. The ACA code also names former clients. None of the codes makes an exception for a polite request, a good moment, or a link sent instead of a conversation.

APA Ethics Code, Standard 5.05 (Testimonials):

“Psychologists do not solicit testimonials from current therapy clients/patients or other persons who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence.”

ACA Code of Ethics, Standard C.3.b (Testimonials):

“Counselors who use testimonials do not solicit them from current clients, former clients, or any other persons who may be vulnerable to undue influence. Counselors discuss with clients the implications of and obtain permission for the use of any testimonial.”

NASW Code of Ethics, Standard 4.07(b) (Solicitations):

“Social workers should not engage in solicitation of testimonial endorsements (including solicitation of consent to use a client’s prior statement as a testimonial endorsement) from current clients or from other people who, because of their particular circumstances, are vulnerable to undue influence.”

AAMFT Code of Ethics, Standard 9.2 (Promotional Materials):

“Marriage and family therapists do not solicit testimonials or endorsements from current clients or from other persons who are vulnerable to undue influence.”

The difference between them is former clients. ACA C.3.b names them outright, so a counselor bound by it has no judgment call to make. APA, NASW and AAMFT name current clients and then extend the rule to anyone vulnerable to undue influence, which leaves a former client to be judged case by case. Your state licensing board’s rules sit on top of whichever code applies and can be stricter, so read them before you rely on the narrower reading. The working rule that satisfies all four: you do not ask clients for reviews, past or present.

Does Google allow businesses to ask for reviews?

Yes. Google’s prohibited and restricted content policy lets businesses solicit reviews that reflect a genuine experience, as long as they offer no incentive and do not try to influence the rating or the content. So Google’s rule is looser than your code, and your code is the one that binds you.

The same policy closes the workarounds that come up once the client route is shut. Google does not allow businesses to:

• Offer incentives. Payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative one.

• Ask selectively. Discouraging negative reviews or selectively soliciting positive ones. Sending the link only to people who seem pleased with their care is exactly this.

• Pressure people on the premises. Requiring or pressuring people to leave ratings or write reviews while they are at your location.

• Script the content. Requesting that specific content be included, including content that names a staff member.

• Fill the profile from inside. Content based on a conflict of interest, which Google says may include current or former employment, a contractual or consultory relationship, or professional or personal affiliations such as family. Reviews from your staff, your relatives or a colleague who never used your services fail this test.

Should I put my Google reviews on my website?

There is little search benefit and a real ethics cost. Google’s review snippet guidelines say that when a business controls the reviews about itself, its pages are ineligible for star ratings in Search, and they name embedded Google or Facebook review widgets as an example. So a widget on your site will not put stars next to your listing.

The ethics side is sharper. ACA C.3.b requires counselors to discuss the implications with the client and obtain permission before using any testimonial. NASW 4.07(b) goes further and counts soliciting consent to reuse a client’s earlier statement as a testimonial as solicitation itself. Asking a client whether you can repost their Google review is therefore the conversation the codes are written about. A plain link from your site to your profile lets visitors read reviews where they were left, without republishing anyone’s words. The HIPAA website checklist covers what else on a practice site touches client information.

How should a therapist reply to a Google review?

Reply in a way that confirms nothing: no name, no detail of care, nothing that tells a reader the person was ever seen. Google’s own reply tips suggest addressing reviewers by name and acknowledging their specific feedback. For a therapist covered by HIPAA, that is the disclosure to avoid, because a reply can reveal a treatment relationship the review only implied.

This has been enforced against a mental health practice. HHS’s Office for Civil Rights settled with Manasa Health Center, a New Jersey provider of adult and child psychiatric services, after a complaint that it disclosed a patient’s protected health information in a reply to the patient’s negative online review. The practice paid $30,000 and agreed to a corrective action plan. HHS also listed a second potential violation: failure to implement policies and procedures for protected health information. A written reply policy is part of the fix, not paperwork.

A reply that works under five stars and under one star alike:

Example reply: “Thank you for taking the time to write. Confidentiality means this practice does not discuss anyone’s care, or confirm who it sees, in a public forum. Anyone with a concern is welcome to contact the office directly.”

Google’s tips page also says never to share a reviewer’s private information, so this is stricter than Google’s advice rather than opposed to it. If a review breaches Google’s policies, for example by posting someone’s personal information or coming from a person with a conflict of interest, you can report it. Google says only reviews that violate its policies are eligible for removal, and a flagged review that does not qualify can get one appeal.

What can I set up this week?

Six steps for a solo practice, none of which involves asking anyone for anything:

1. Generate the link and QR code on a computer. Save both with your practice records and test the link in a private window.
2. Put the link on your contact page. One neutral line that says where the profile is, addressed to nobody and attached to no request.
3. Audit everything that reaches clients. Intake packet, portal messages, appointment reminders, invoices, superbills and email templates. Remove any review link or review request you find.
4. Check your software. If your scheduling, billing or messaging tools can send automated review requests, confirm the feature is switched off.
5. Write a one-paragraph reply policy. Who replies, the template they use, and what never goes in a reply: names, dates, diagnoses, or anything confirming a person was seen.
6. Set a monthly reminder. Read new reviews, reply with the template, and report any review that breaches Google’s policies.

FAQ

Do clients need a Gmail account to leave a Google review?

No. Google says a person must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review, and that account can be created with a non-Gmail email address. That is worth knowing for your own testing, not something to explain to clients, because walking a client through it is a request.

Can I text my review link to a client after a good session?

No. APA 5.05, ACA C.3.b, NASW 4.07(b) and AAMFT 9.2 all restrict soliciting testimonials from current clients, and a text with a review link is a solicitation. Choosing the client because the session went well also matches what Google’s policy calls selectively soliciting positive reviews.

Can I offer a discount for a Google review?

No. Google prohibits incentives such as payment, discounts and free goods or services in exchange for a review, and it removes reviews posted because of one. The ethics codes already rule out asking clients, so an incentive breaks both sets of rules at once.

Can I ask a former client for a review?

Not under the ACA code, which names former clients directly. Under the APA, NASW and AAMFT codes it turns on whether the person is still vulnerable to undue influence, and your state board may be stricter than any of them. The working answer for every license is the same: do not ask.

Do Google reviews help a therapy practice rank?

They are part of it. Google’s help page on local ranking says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help. Distance and relevance do not depend on reviews at all, which is where local landing pages for your city come in.

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External Resources for Therapists

• Google: Create a link or QR code to request reviews
• Google Maps: Prohibited and restricted content
• Google Business Profile guidelines
• HHS: Manasa Health Center settlement over replies to online reviews