Get seen for free on Google, Tripadvisor and Trustpilot

1. Google: your Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (formerly “Google My Business”) is the panel that appears next to the search results and in Google Maps: address, opening hours, phone number, photos, reviews. It is free, and it is often the first thing a customer sees.

Verification: proving that the business is yours

Google decides which methods it offers you. Depending on the case:

• Phone call or text message: a code is sent to the business phone number (an automated switchboard cannot receive it).
• Email: only if the address shown is one you have access to.
• Live video call or recorded video: you show the sign, the premises, your equipment and proof that you manage the premises (for example by opening the door with your keys). Google recommends it when it is offered.
• Post: a postcard with a 5-digit code, which usually arrives within 14 days and expires after 30 days.

Google may then take up to 5 working days to review your information. While you wait for a postcard, do not change the name, address or category, and do not request a new code: that cancels the previous one.

Complete your profile: what makes the difference

To edit your profile, go to business.google.com (or search for your business name on Google while signed in) and select Edit profile. In the Google Maps app, tap Business at the bottom right, then Edit profile.

• Categories: one main category (as precise as possible, for example “Thai restaurant” rather than “Restaurant”) and up to 9 additional categories.
• Opening hours: regular hours, special hours (bank holidays, holidays, temporary closure) and additional hours for certain services (delivery, takeaway). Wrong opening hours are the leading cause of avoidable negative reviews.
• Photos and videos: shopfront (so people recognise you from the street), interior, products or dishes, team. Real, recent photos, not stock images.
• Description: what you do, for whom and where, in plain sentences. No list of keywords.
• Attributes: the factual details Google suggests (outdoor seating, wheelchair access, contactless payment, Wi-Fi…). Tick everything that is true.
• Posts: select Posts, then Add post, to publish an update, an offer (with dates) or an event, with a photo and an action button. You can schedule them. Posts older than six months are archived unless a date range is set.
• Customer questions: Google is gradually replacing the old Questions and Answers feature in Maps with a button that answers automatically using AI, based on your profile and reviews (announced in December 2025). Answer any questions submitted to you from your profile, and above all keep your description, attributes and opening hours complete: that is where the AI looks for its answers.

Every change is reviewed by Google before it is published. A change of name or address may require a new verification.

Get your “request reviews” link

This link opens the review window directly, with the stars. Customers no longer have to search for your profile.

1. On a computer, open your profile from business.google.com.
2. Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. Select Copy to copy the link. Google also offers a QR code (right-click, “Save image as…”) and direct sharing by email, WhatsApp or Facebook.

Customers must be signed in to a Google account to leave a review. Google prohibits offering anything in return (discount, free product) and asking only satisfied customers.

Reply to Google reviews

1. On business.google.com, select Read reviews.
2. Next to the review, select Reply, write your reply and select Reply again.
3. Google checks the reply (usually within about ten minutes) and then publishes it in the name of the business. The customer is notified.

Does a review break the rules (insults, fake review, review by a competitor, blackmail)? Do not argue in public: report it to Google. Since April 2026, when a profile receives a sudden wave of fake reviews, Google removes them, pauses new reviews and notifies the owner.

2. Tripadvisor: for restaurants, hotels and activities

Tripadvisor matters mainly for tourism and hospitality: restaurants, bars, hotels, B&Bs, holiday rentals, tours, leisure activities. Your business may already have a page created by customers. Claiming it is free and gives you access to the owners’ management centre.

What you can do for free

• Edit your information: opening hours, contact details, description, type of cuisine or amenities.
• Add photos of the premises, dishes and rooms.
• Reply to reviews publicly, in the name of the business.
• View your statistics on visits and performance.
• Use the free marketing tools: stickers, printable materials, tools to request reviews.

Get your “Write a review” link

1. Open your business page on tripadvisor.com.
2. Select the button for writing a review (usually Write a review).
3. Copy the address of the page that opens from your browser’s address bar: that is your direct review link. You can put it in your thank-you emails or turn it into a QR code.

The management centre also offers tools to request reviews. Their names and locations change regularly: the method above always works.

Reply to Tripadvisor reviews

In the owners’ management centre, open the reviews section and choose to reply below the review. Tripadvisor checks replies before publishing them. Does a review break the rules (fake review, blackmail, review by a competitor)? Report it from the management centre rather than replying in anger.

3. Trustpilot: for online shops and services

Trustpilot is mainly useful if you sell online or provide a remote service (online shop, software, insurance, training, agency). Trustpilot pages are linked to a domain name (your website address), not to a physical address. A customer can create your page without you: it is better to claim it.

Your Trustpilot review link

The link that opens the review form directly always has the same format:

https://www.trustpilot.com/evaluate/your-domain.com

1. Open your public Trustpilot page. Its address looks like trustpilot.com/review/your-domain.com.
2. Copy the domain exactly as it appears after /review/ (with or without “www”, depending on your page).
3. Replace /review/ with /evaluate/: that is your review link.

This link only works if your Trustpilot page already exists. Test it yourself before printing it.

Invite and reply

• Invitations: Trustpilot requires you to invite all your customers in the same way, at the same point in their journey (for example after delivery), whether they were happy or not. Do not pick only satisfied customers.
• Beyond 50 a month: nothing stops you from sharing your review link in your confirmation emails, on your invoices or on a QR code in your parcels.
• Replies: in Trustpilot Business, open the reviews section and reply politely and professionally. Disliking a rating is not enough to flag a review: it must break the rules.

4. Bing and Apple Maps: 15 more minutes, often overlooked

Google is not the only one showing your business. Microsoft’s Bing search engine (also used by the Copilot assistant) and Apple Maps (the iPhone maps app, used by Siri) each have their own business listings. They are free, and few businesses look after them: an easy advantage to take.

Keep exactly the same name, address and phone number on Google, Bing, Apple, Tripadvisor and your website: search engines and AI assistants cross-check this information.

Why you do not need the paid versions of Tripadvisor and Trustpilot

Both platforms will soon offer you a subscription. Before you sign, look at what you already have for free. For Google, the question does not arise: the Business Profile has no paid version (Google Ads advertising is a separate product).

Reply to reviews with free ChatGPT or Gemini

Replying to every review takes time, especially negative ones. A free AI can write a first draft in seconds. You keep the final say: always read and correct the reply before publishing it.

How to use them

1. Choose the prompt that matches the review (positive, justified negative, unfair or fake) and select Copy.
2. Paste it into ChatGPT or Gemini.
3. Just below it, paste the text of the customer’s review, then send.
4. Read the reply, correct anything that does not sound like you, then publish it on the platform.

Never paste personal data along with the review (full name, phone number, address, order number). Conversations are stored by the AI service.

You are the customer relations manager of a small business. After this prompt, I will paste a positive review left by a customer on Google, Tripadvisor or Trustpilot.

Write a public reply to this review, following these rules:
- Reply in the language of the review.
- Keep it short: 2 to 4 sentences at most.
- Use a polite, warm and professional tone, addressing the customer formally.
- Thank the customer and mention one or two specific points from their review to show it has been read.
- End by saying you will be happy to welcome them again, without any pushy sales language.
- Do not invent any facts, promises, offers or discounts.
- Do not include any personal data: no first name or surname of the customer, no phone number, address or email, no order or booking details.
- Sign “The team”. If the name of the business appears in the review, sign “The team at” followed by that name.
- Give only the text of the reply, with no title or comment.
I will read your reply before publishing it.

Here is the customer’s review:

You are the customer relations manager of a small business. After this prompt, I will paste a negative review left by a customer on Google, Tripadvisor or Trustpilot. Assume the criticism is justified.

Write a public reply to this review, following these rules:
- Reply in the language of the review.
- Keep it short: 3 to 5 sentences at most.
- Use a polite, calm, sincere and professional tone, addressing the customer formally.
- Thank the customer for their feedback and apologise sincerely for the specific problem they describe, without long justifications and without blaming them.
- Say that their comment has been passed on to the team to prevent it from happening again. Do not invent any specific measure, explanation, goodwill gesture or refund.
- Invite the customer to contact the business directly, using the contact details shown on the page, to talk about it. Do not write any phone number, email address or link yourself.
- Do not include any personal data: no first name or surname of the customer, no order or booking details.
- Sign “The team”. If the name of the business appears in the review, sign “The team at” followed by that name.
- Give only the text of the reply, with no title or comment.
I will read your reply before publishing it.

Here is the customer’s review:

You are the customer relations manager of a small business. After this prompt, I will paste a negative review left on Google, Tripadvisor or Trustpilot that seems unfair, exaggerated or fake to us.

Write a public reply to this review, following these rules:
- Reply in the language of the review.
- Keep it short: 3 to 5 sentences at most.
- Use a polite, calm, factual and professional tone, addressing the author formally. No irony, no aggressiveness, no accusation of lying, no threats.
- Thank the author for taking the time to write.
- Explain soberly that we cannot match this review to a visit, an order or a situation we know of, or that the description does not match the way we work, without stating any fact you cannot check.
- If the review contains an obvious error on a general point (for example opening hours or a service we do not offer), correct it in one neutral sentence, only if the information appears in the review.
- Invite the author to contact the business directly, using the contact details shown on the page, so we can understand what happened. Do not write any phone number, email address or link yourself.
- Do not include any personal data and do not reveal any information about a customer.
- Sign “The team”. If the name of the business appears in the review, sign “The team at” followed by that name.
- Give only the text of the reply, with no title or comment.
I will read your reply before publishing it.

Here is the review:

Does a review really seem fake (unknown person, competitor, blackmail)? Reply calmly, but above all report it to the platform: it is the only way to get it removed. Here is how to do it on each one.

Report a fake review, platform by platform

Disagreeing with a rating or finding a review harsh is never enough: the review must break the platform’s rules (non-existent customer, competitor, former employee, insults, personal data, blackmail, advertising, review about another business). Before reporting, take a screenshot of the review and note the date: it will be useful if the review is edited or if you take things further.

Is a competitor posting fake reviews in bulk? That is an unfair commercial practice: as well as reporting the reviews, you can alert your national consumer protection authority. In the UK, you can report it to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice ↗.

A QR code that leads straight to your reviews

The best time to ask for a review is right after a good experience: at the till, on the table, in the parcel, on the invoice. A QR code saves customers from searching for your page: they scan it and land directly on the stars.

1. Get your review link: Google, Tripadvisor or Trustpilot (see above).
2. Open our free QR code generator and choose the “Reviews” tab.
3. Paste the link, choose your colours, add your logo if you like, then download the QR code as PNG (to print it) or SVG (for a printer or layout software).
4. Scan it yourself with two different phones before printing.
5. Add a simple sentence next to it: “Your review helps us, thank you!”. Do not promise any reward.

The QR code is created in your browser. It contains only the link: it never stops working and does not go through any redirect service.

Useful links and sources

Information checked on 18 October 2026. Platforms often change their menus, plans and prices: if in doubt, the official page prevails.

See also

Links to official websites only. KSPNAI is not affiliated with Google, Tripadvisor, Trustpilot or OpenAI. The names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners.