Using customer reviews in marketing: a local business guide

Your best marketing copy is already written. It's in your reviews, in the words of people who hired you: "showed up when he said he would," "didn't leave a mess," "explained everything before touching my car." Using customer reviews in marketing means putting those words where the next customer will see them, on your website, a flyer, the side of your truck or the second page of an estimate.

This guide covers the permission step Google's brand guidance asks for, templates for asking a reviewer's consent, the wording rules for ratings and logos, and channel-by-channel examples for home services, health practices, salons, auto shops, restaurants and real estate agents. It also covers the FTC rules that apply once a review becomes advertising.

You need reviews before you can use them. If you're short, start with how to ask customers for reviews and come back once a few are in.

Using customer reviews in marketing: the short answer

You can use customer reviews in your marketing once the reviewer agrees. Google's brand guidance says reviews belong to the people who wrote them and that you need their consent. Quote them exactly, credit them the way they asked, describe your rating as "on Google" with an "as of" date, and keep your selection honest.

1. 1

   Pick the review

   Choose one that answers a question new customers ask before they hire you.
2. 2

   Ask the reviewer

   Reply to the review or contact them. Say where the quote will appear and how they'll be named.
3. 3

   Keep a record

   Note who said yes, when, how, and where they agreed you could use it.
4. 4

   Quote it faithfully

   Exact words, the credit they chose, the source and the date.

Every business, person, review and number in the examples below is made up. The rules are linked to their sources.

What Google says about using Google reviews in marketing

Google publishes guidance for businesses on how to refer to customer ratings and reviews on Google. Its starting point is one line: "User reviews belong to the person who wrote them, even if they're written on your business's listing." The page says you must get the reviewer's consent to use their review in your marketing, such as your website or print and digital ads. To ask, it suggests replying to the review, and it notes that Google can't give you the reviewer's contact details.

The same page sets rules for how you talk about your rating:

• Describe your rating as being "on Google."
• Don't imply the rating comes from Google, and don't use terms like "Google-rated" or "Google rating."
• Include an "as of" date when you share your overall rating or your number of reviews.
• Don't add stars next to the Google name or logos.
• When you refer to your Google reviews, include one of Google's own logos (the G or the full Google wordmark). Don't use unofficial logos, badges or lockups, and if Google's logo sits in a row with other companies' logos, make them all the same size.

Can I use Google reviews on my website?

Yes, once the reviewer agrees. Google's page names your website as one of the places its consent rule covers. You can retype quotes onto your pages or embed reviews with a widget, and how to add Google reviews to your website walks through both, with the trade-offs.

Is it legal to put Google reviews on my website?

Google's guidance is a brand rule. The FTC adds its own once a review is in your marketing: its questions and answers on the consumer reviews rule say that when a business features reviews in its advertising or marketing materials, "consumer reviews become testimonials." Testimonials must reflect the customer's honest opinion and can't be reworded to distort it. This is general information, not legal advice. State laws differ, and licensed professions can have advertising rules of their own, so ask a lawyer about any campaign that matters to your business.

What about Yelp reviews?

Yelp's brand guidelines say "Feel free to showcase your Yelp reviews," with conditions. Don't take excerpts out of context, and stay faithful to the original wording and syntax. Use only reviews Yelp categorizes as Recommended Reviews. Credit the author with their Yelp user name and the date of the review, credit Yelp as the source ("via Yelp"), and online, link back with Yelp's share or embed feature or a full link. The same page says not to use Yelp's star imagery for your average rating, except through Yelp's dynamic reviews feature.

Yelp's content guidelines also say "Businesses should never ask customers to write reviews." Asking whether you can quote a review someone already wrote is a different request from asking someone to write one. Keep it to exactly that.

How to ask a reviewer for permission

Ask once, say exactly where the quote will go and how the person will be named, and make no an easy answer. You have two routes: reply to the review, as Google's guidance suggests, or contact the reviewer directly if they're a customer whose details you already have.

Here is a good request taken apart.

1. 1

   Thank you for the kind words about the new water heater, Luis.

   Thanks first

   Lead with thanks. Mention only what the reviewer already said in public.

2. 2

   We'd love to share your review with new customers.

   Which review

   Make it clear you mean the review they wrote, word for word.

3. 3

   On our website, our social media and our printed flyers.

   Where it will go

   List the places. A yes for your website is not a yes for a billboard.

4. 4

   Credited as Luis R., Fairview.

   How they'll be named

   Offer first name and last initial, initials only, or no name. Use what they pick.

5. 5

   If you'd rather we didn't, that's completely fine.

   An easy no

   A yes given under pressure isn't worth much. Say no is fine, and mean it.

6. 6

   Just let us know at hello@pipeworks.example.

   One step to answer

   Give them a simple way to reply.

Reply on Google asking to share a review

A public reply is visible to everyone who reads the review, so keep it short, leave out anything the reviewer didn't say themselves and point them to the contact details already on your profile instead of typing an email address or phone number into it. Health practices should skip this route entirely (see the health section below).

Reply to a Google review asking to share it

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Thank you, [First name]. We're glad [the new water heater] is working well.

We'd love to share your review on our website and flyers, with your first name and last initial. If that's OK with you, please get in touch using the contact details on our profile. If you'd rather we didn't, no problem at all.

Thanks again, [Your name], [Business name]

Email or text a reviewer you already know

When the reviewer is on your customer list, an email lets you show the exact quote you want to use, which makes the yes clearer.

Email asking to use a review

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To

[Customer email]

Subject

Can we share your review of [Business name]?

Hi [First name],

Thank you for your review of us on Google. We'd like to share part of it with new customers, and wanted to ask first. Here's the part we'd use:

"[the exact words from their review]"

We'd show it on our website, social media and printed flyers, credited as [First name L., Town]. If you'd prefer initials, no name or a different excerpt, just say.

If that's OK, reply "yes." If you'd rather we didn't, that's completely fine. You can ask us to stop using it at any time.

Thanks again, [Your name], [Business name]

Text works too, but only for customers who agreed to receive texts from you, and what they agreed to should cover a message like this one. The rules for texting customers covers what that permission looks like and how to handle STOP replies. This is general information, not legal advice.

Text asking to use a review (customers who agreed to texts)

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Hi [First name], it's [Your name] at [Business name]. Thanks for your Google review. May we share it on our website and flyers as [First name L.]? Reply YES if that's OK, no worries if not. Reply STOP to opt out.

If you finish jobs in person, a short signed note with the same details (the quote, where it will go, how they'll be named, how to withdraw) works too. Health practices need the authorization form their compliance lead provides instead.

Keep a record of every yes

A simple spreadsheet is enough: one row per quote, with the reply or signed note saved alongside it. This example log is made up.

When someone asks you to stop, mark the row, take the quote off your website and social pages that day, and leave it out of the next print run.

1. The day the review is posted

   Reply with thanks. If it's a quote you'd like to use, ask permission in the same reply or by email.

2. When they say yes

   Add a row to your log with the date, how they agreed and how they want to be named.

3. Before it goes out

   Copy the quote straight from the review, check the credit line and add the date of the review.

4. Every few months

   Update any 'as of' rating, check each quoted review is still posted, and retire quotes that no longer fit.

How to quote a review without changing what it says

Put the reviewer's exact words inside quotation marks. Shorten only where the meaning stays the same, show any cut with an ellipsis, and never join phrases from different sentences into a new one. If a quote needs fixing to read well, pick a different excerpt.

The reason is in the FTC's Endorsement Guides. 16 CFR 255.1 says an ad need not use the endorser's exact words "unless the advertisement represents that it is presenting the endorser's exact words," with quotation marks as the example. It adds that an endorsement "may not be presented out of context or reworded so as to distort in any way the endorser's opinion or experience with the product."

Here is a review a plumber might want to use.

DDana W.

Google

Took almost a week to get on their schedule, they're clearly busy. Once Ray got here he found the leak in ten minutes and the bill matched the quote to the dollar. Would hire again.

How to credit a review

For a Google review, give the name the reviewer agreed to, "on Google" and the month and year, and add one of Google's logos as its guidance asks. For a Yelp review, use the Yelp user name, the date and "via Yelp," with a link online.

1. 1

   "Found the leak in ten minutes and the bill matched the quote to the dollar."

   The quote

   Exact words, in quotation marks.

2. 2

   Dana W., review on Google, March 2026

   The credit

   The name as agreed, the source and the date of the review.

3. 3

   4.8 stars on Google as of October 2026

   The overall rating

   Optional. If you include it, Google's guidance asks for the 'on Google' wording and an 'as of' date.

4. 4

   Read all our reviews: pipeworks.example/reviews

   Where to read more

   A link to your full profile shows you aren't hiding the rest.

How to choose which reviews to feature

Feature reviews that answer the worries people have before they hire you, then check that the overall picture is accurate. For a plumber, a quote about arriving on time does more than a general "great service," because a no-show is what customers fear.

Read your reviews with your own version of this list open and tag each one by the worry it answers.

30%

20%

20%

20%

10%

• Quality of the work. The result: no more leaks, a clean install.
• Price and honesty. Matched the quote, no upselling.
• Timeliness. Arrived in the window, finished when promised.
• Cleanliness and care. Shoe covers, cleaned up, careful in the home.
• Communication. Explained the options and called ahead.

Keep the mix honest

The FTC's consumer reviews rule has a section on review suppression, 16 CFR 465.7. Besides barring threats aimed at stopping or removing a review, it bars a business from misrepresenting that the reviews shown in a part of its website or platform dedicated to receiving and displaying reviews represent most or all of the reviews submitted, when it is hiding reviews because of their rating or negative sentiment. The FTC's questions and answers say that section applies only to reviews shown in such a portion of a site, so it doesn't ban picking positive reviews for marketing. They add that "the use of non-representative consumer reviews in marketing could be deceptive."

The Endorsement Guides section they point to, 16 CFR 255.2(b), says an ad with a customer's experience on a central or key attribute of what you sell will likely be read as typical of what customers generally get. Without substantiation that it's typical, the ad should clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected performance. For a local business, that means:

• Label a page of quotes as a selection ("A few words from our customers") and link to your full Google profile.
• Don't caption hand-picked quotes "What all our customers say."
• Show your overall rating with its "as of" date beside the quotes.
• Skip quotes about results most customers won't get. An HVAC company shouldn't run "Our heating bill dropped by half" unless that's typical or the ad says what customers usually see.

A four-star review that mentions one small flaw can be one of your strongest quotes, because it reads like a real person wrote it.

Where to use customer reviews: channel by channel

Every channel uses the same quote differently. A website has room for a paragraph; a truck panel has room for a few words read from a passing car. These rules of thumb help you size the excerpt.

On your website

Put a short quote near the top of your home page, close to your phone number or booking button. On each service page, use quotes about that service: a drain-cleaning quote on the drain-cleaning page, a bridal quote on the salon's wedding page. Keep a reviews page too, labeled as a selection and linked to your full Google profile. How to add Google reviews to your website covers widgets, embeds and placement.

One technical note: Google's review snippet guidelines say pages using LocalBusiness or other Organization structured data "are ineligible for star review feature" when the business controls the reviews about itself, and "Don't aggregate reviews or ratings from other websites." Marking up quotes copied from your Google profile won't put stars beside your site in search results. Whether reviews help your ranking is covered in do Google reviews help SEO.

On social media

A quote graphic works on Facebook, Instagram and Nextdoor alike: the quote, the credit, "on Google," and your logo. Don't tag the reviewer unless they said you could.

Social post caption (example: a dog groomer)

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We love a calm pup, and we love a happy owner even more.

"[Exact quote from the review]" [Name as agreed], review on Google, [month year]

Book a groom at [booking link] or call [phone number].

In Google Business Profile posts

A recent review quote makes a natural Business Profile update. Google's posts content policy says it may remove posts with unverified contact information, such as phone numbers, email addresses and social media handles, and suggests attaching a Call now button instead, so leave the phone number out of the text.

Business Profile post (example: an auto shop)

CopyPrint

"[Exact quote, for example about showing the old parts]" [Name as agreed], [month year]

We walk every customer through the repair before we hand back the keys. Book a visit with the button below.

Review quotes on flyers, door hangers, menus and table tents

In print a quote stands alone, so give it the full credit line and, with any rating, the "as of" date. Retype the quote instead of printing a screenshot of your listing. A screenshot carries the reviewer's profile name and photo and anything else on screen, and the consent you asked for covered their words only.

On a table tent or menu, where the reader is already a customer, pair the quote with a QR code that opens your review form; Google review QR codes covers making one.

Flyer or door hanger block (example: a lawn care company)

CopyPrint

What your neighbors say

"[Exact quote, for example about edging and cleanup]"

[Name as agreed], [Town], review on Google, [month year]

[Rating] stars on Google as of [month year]. Read all our reviews at [profile link].

Vehicle wraps and yard signs

A wrap is read from the road, so use six to ten words. A contractor's yard sign can carry one line from a customer in the same town, with that customer's consent for this use.

Truck panel or yard sign (example: a roofer)

CopyPrint

"[Six to ten exact words from a review]"

[Name as agreed], [Town]

[Business name] [phone number] [website]

In email footers and signatures

One line under your signature reaches every customer you email. Rotate it every month or so, and link to your full reviews.

Email signature line (example: a cleaning company)

CopyPrint

[Your name], [Business name], [phone number]

"[Short exact quote]" [Name as agreed], on Google. Read more reviews: [profile link]

In estimates, quotes and proposals

The estimate is where a customer decides. Pick two or three quotes from similar jobs (roof replacements in a roofing estimate, kitchen remodels in a remodeling proposal, sales in an agent's listing presentation) and place them before the price.

Estimate or proposal page (example: a remodeler)

CopyPrint

What past clients say about projects like yours

"[Exact quote about a similar project]" [Name as agreed], [Town], review on Google, [month year]

"[Exact quote about cleanup or schedule]" [Name as agreed], [Town], review on Google, [month year]

Read all our reviews at [profile link].

In paid ads

Facebook and Instagram ads, search ads, the local paper, radio: the FTC treats a review featured in your ads as a testimonial, so the consent, exact-words and honest-mix rules above all apply. Ad platforms have their own policies on claims and testimonials, so read them before you launch.

Matching channels to your type of business

Most businesses don't need every channel. Start with the two or three places your customers make the decision.

The guide to getting Google reviews as a realtor and the salon reviews guide go deeper on those two trades.

Using patient reviews in health care marketing

Dentists, chiropractors, physical therapists and other practices covered by HIPAA have an extra question to settle first. The Privacy Rule, at 45 CFR 164.508, says a covered entity "must obtain an authorization for any use or disclosure of protected health information for marketing," with narrow exceptions for face-to-face communication and promotional gifts of nominal value. The same section lists what a valid authorization has to contain.

A review on your website or flyer, credited to a patient, tells the world that person is your patient. Before you reuse one, ask whoever handles HIPAA compliance for your practice whether you need a signed authorization and what it must say. State law and licensing boards can add rules of their own. This is general information, not legal advice.

The same caution applies to any reply to a patient review. HIPAA-compliant review responses has examples that thank a reviewer without confirming anything.

Testimonials vs reviews under the FTC rules

The FTC draws a line between the two, in its questions and answers on the consumer reviews rule.

Once a review is a testimonial, the FTC's Endorsement Guides apply. Three points matter most to a local business, on top of the no-distortion and typical-results rules covered above:

1. It has to be real. Section 255.1 says "Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experience of the endorser," and an endorser presented as a user must have been a real user.
2. You may feature customers. The FTC's endorsement guides FAQ says "You can ask your customers about their experiences with your product and feature their comments in your ads." If they had no reason to expect a benefit before they gave their comments, you don't need to disclose a later payment.
3. Expectations get disclosed. If customers were told in advance that their comments might be used in advertising, the FAQ says to disclose that, even if you told them no payment was coming, because the chance to be featured might be seen as having value. Its example wording is "Customers were told in advance they might be featured in an ad."

The third point may apply if you record video testimonials, since a customer in front of your camera knows they might be in your ads. Ask a lawyer how to word the disclosure. Separately from the Endorsement Guides, the FTC says its consumer reviews rule lets courts impose civil penalties for knowing violations; the FTC fake review rule covers that rule.

Common mistakes with review marketing

Most problems come from skipping the permission step or from editing a quote until it says what you wished the customer had said.

Two more are easy to miss: quoting a Yelp review that isn't in Yelp's Recommended Reviews, which Yelp's brand guidelines rule out, and letting a permission request turn into a review request. "Can we quote you?" shouldn't come with "and would you review us on Yelp too?"

Checklist before a quote goes out

Using a review in your marketing

• The reviewer agreed, and you saved how and when
• They agreed to this channel (website, print, truck, ads)
• The quote matches the review word for word, with cuts that keep the meaning
• The credit line uses the name they chose, the source and the date
• Any rating says 'on Google' and carries an 'as of' date
• No stars beside the Google name or logo, and only official logos
• Yelp quotes come from Recommended Reviews, with user name, date and 'via Yelp'
• The selection is labeled as a selection, with a link to all your reviews
• No quote promises results most customers won't get
• Health practices: authorization checked with your compliance lead
• The review is still posted and says the same thing

0 of 11 done

Where Reputation Beam fits

Picking quotes is easier when every review is in one place. Reputation Beam shows your Google and Yelp reviews together in one feed in the dashboard, a handy place to scan for reviews that answer price, timing or cleanliness worries. You can post replies to Google reviews from there, including a thank-you that asks permission to share; Yelp reviews are read-only. For new reviews, it sends requests by text and email, each with its own link that expires after 72 hours.

Keep going

Good quotes start with good replies. How to respond to positive reviews has thank-you replies you can pair with the permission request above, and how to respond to negative reviews covers the ones you won't be quoting. To get more reviews worth featuring, read how to ask customers for reviews, and before you put a review link on printed material, check how to find your Google review link. For what Google allows and removes, see the Google review policy guide.