How to get more Google reviews without breaking the rules

Recent Google reviews do two jobs at once. They are one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide who appears in the map box above the search results, so they pull in new patients who would otherwise never find you. And they are the first proof a nervous patient looks for before booking — a steady stream of recent, genuine reviews says "this practice is busy, current and trusted" far more convincingly than anything you can write about yourself.

A practice sitting on a dozen reviews from years ago loses on both counts: it ranks below the practice down the road, and the patient who does find it quietly wonders whether it is still any good. The good news is that you are allowed to ask patients for reviews. The catch is that almost every "clever" way of doing it breaks a rule — Google's or the HPCSA's — and Google tightened its rules sharply in early 2026. Start with what is allowed, because it is simpler than most people fear.

What you're allowed to do

Ask any patient for an honest review. Google explicitly permits asking, as long as you are inviting a genuine experience rather than a particular verdict.
Send a follow-up text or email after the visit. A short message a day or two later, while it is still fresh, is the single most effective prompt.
Hand over a card with a QR code. It takes the patient straight to your review page in one tap, with no searching.
Put a small sign at reception. A quiet, standing reminder that you welcome reviews is completely fine.

None of that crosses a line. The trouble starts with the shortcuts — and there are five worth knowing, two of them specific to a healthcare practice.

What crosses the line

No incentives, ever. No discount, freebie or loyalty points in exchange for a review — and that holds whether you ask for a positive one or simply an "honest" one. Google removes incentivised reviews and can suspend the profile.
Ask everyone, not only the happy ones. Selectively asking the patients you expect to be pleased, and steering unhappy ones elsewhere, is "review gating" — a violation Google now actively enforces.
Don't pressure on the premises, or script it. Google's early-2026 update bans pushing patients to review while they are still in the practice — the waiting-room tablet is out — and bans asking them to name a specific dentist or use set wording.
Don't repost "best dentist" testimonials on your site. A review calling you the best, reproduced as advertising, is canvassing under Rule 3 of the HPCSA's rules. Showing your honest Google rating is fine; curating superiority claims is not.
Reply without breaching confidentiality. Never confirm in a public reply that someone is your patient, or name their treatment — "So glad your implant healed well, Jane!" discloses Jane's private health information, a POPIA problem. Keep replies warm and generic.

Across the practices we audit, the pattern is the same every time: a website showing a single review from years back, while the Facebook page is full of recent, genuine praise. The proof exists; it is just not where it counts, and the steady stream has usually dried up. The fix is not a clever tool. It is a simple front-desk habit — every patient asked the same way, with a card to hand over or a text that goes out after the visit, no cherry-picking and nothing offered in return. Done consistently, that one routine will do more for your ranking and your credibility than anything else here.

We set up the honest version of this — the request flow, and a tidy way to show your real rating on the site — as part of a build. But the habit itself costs nothing and is yours to start on Monday.

General guidance on Google's and the HPCSA's published rules, not legal advice; both are worth checking against current guidance before you rely on them.