The short answer
For a dental group of about 3 to 50 or more offices, create the Google review link and QR code on each office's own Business Profile and store both on the office roster next to that office's office slug. Ask every patient who had a visit, with the same message, after the visit. Maps rules allow that kind of ask. They do not allow an incentive for posting, changing, or removing a review, a filter that keeps unhappy patients off the link, a demand to post on the premises, a request for specific wording, a staff quota, or a review from staff, family, or a competitor. Use one reply standard at every office. The group picks its own reply turnaround. A public reply does not say the person is a patient and does not discuss care.
Report a review that breaks the content rules from that office's profile. Do not copy reviews onto a different office. If the same pattern shows up as fake engagement, Google's restrictions page describes limits it may place on the owner's profile or profiles, on top of removing those reviews. None of the pages below publish a review count to hit, a star target, or a required number of hours for your team to reply.
This guide is for a marketing lead at a dental group that wants the same review habit at every door. It covers the roster, the ask, the reply queue, and the log. A single office can start with getting more Google reviews, a review request system, replies to negative reviews, and flagging reviews that break the rules. The map of the other group jobs is marketing a multi-location practice or DSO. Who can sign in to many profiles is in profile governance.
One review link per office
Google's representation guidelines say not to create more than one profile for each location, in one account or in several. The phone and the website on a profile should be the ones for that location. The review link has to come from that same profile. A link built on Office A and printed for Office B asks patients to review the wrong door.
Google's link and QR code help is the creation path. On a computer browser, open that office's Business Profile, choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Copy the link, or right-click the QR code and save the image. The same page says QR codes are generated in a computer browser, not on a mobile device. You can also send the request by email, a WhatsApp message, or a Facebook post. Put the link on the receipt, in the thank-you email, at the end of a chat, or on a printed QR card in the office. Save the file with the office slug so a reprint cannot mix two doors.
Three offices and fifty offices use the same columns. A larger group has more rows. It does not get a second list that only the vendor can see.
Office slug
The same short label the group already uses on campaign names, links, and the per-office report. Office A and Office B are two rows. The cell is not a patient name.
Which profile
That door's own Business Profile. A second office does not borrow this row. A practitioner profile, when one exists, is a different listing and gets its own row only if you also request reviews there.
Review link
The link copied from that profile's review request screen. Paste the full link. A group homepage, or a link created on a different profile, does not fill this cell.
QR file
The image saved from that same screen, named with the office slug. Google's help says the QR code is generated in a computer browser, not on a phone.
Who may send it
The role that is allowed to put this link in a receipt, a thank-you note, or a chat for this office. One role, written down, so a floating copy cannot point at the wrong door.
Reply owner
Either a person at that office or the central queue. The cell names who types the public reply on this profile, and where the reply log for this slug is kept.
| Field | What the cell holds |
|---|---|
| Office slug | The same short label the group already uses on campaign names, links, and the per-office report. Office A and Office B are two rows. The cell is not a patient name. |
| Which profile | That door's own Business Profile. A second office does not borrow this row. A practitioner profile, when one exists, is a different listing and gets its own row only if you also request reviews there. |
| Review link | The link copied from that profile's review request screen. Paste the full link. A group homepage, or a link created on a different profile, does not fill this cell. |
| QR file | The image saved from that same screen, named with the office slug. Google's help says the QR code is generated in a computer browser, not on a phone. |
| Who may send it | The role that is allowed to put this link in a receipt, a thank-you note, or a chat for this office. One role, written down, so a floating copy cannot point at the wrong door. |
| Reply owner | Either a person at that office or the central queue. The cell names who types the public reply on this profile, and where the reply log for this slug is kept. |
If you generate a new link for that profile, replace the stored link and the QR file the same day. Patient names, emails, and chart numbers do not belong on this sheet. The public label is the office slug. A practitioner profile is a separate listing. Whether one should exist at all is in provider pages and practitioner profiles. If you request reviews on a practitioner profile, that profile gets its own link row. It does not reuse the office link.
Who asks, and when
Google's review tips say you can remind customers with the Google link or the QR code, and that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy to a reader. Customers need a Google Account to post. They can create one with an email that is not Gmail. The prohibited-content page allows a merchant to ask for content that reflects a genuine experience, as long as the ask does not offer an incentive or try to steer the rating or the wording.
The group rule that matches those two pages is simple. The same words go to every patient who had a visit at that office. The link in the message is the link on that office's roster row. The send happens with the receipt, the thank-you note, or the close of a chat, which are the channels on the link page. An office manager can own the send. A central message can own it. Either way, the text does not change because someone seemed pleased, and it does not change because the visit was a cleaning at one door and a limited exam at another.
A QR card at the desk is the display option on that page. It is not a requirement to post before the patient leaves. Staff can point at the card. They do not watch someone write the review, and they do not suggest sentences. People who did not have a visit at that office are not on the list. The single-office pages linked above are where a one-door practice works out the sentence. Here, the test is whether every door is using its own link and the same rule.
What the policy does not allow
The rows below are paraphrases of the prohibited-content page, plus the matching habit for a group. Review gating, an incentivized review, and the review request link are the three terms worth pinning on the roster.
An incentive
What the policy page says
Maps policy does not allow payment, discounts, or free goods or services in exchange for posting a review, changing one, or removing a negative one. The same list covers a review that was paid for, directly or in kind.
What the group does
The receipt, the email, the QR card, and any staff script offer nothing for a review. A drawing, a gift card, or a waived fee tied to posting is the same problem.
Review gating
What the policy page says
Merchants may not discourage or prohibit negative reviews, and may not selectively solicit positive ones. Asking is allowed when the request is for a genuine experience and does not try to steer the rating or the wording.
What the group does
Every patient who had a visit gets the same message and the same office link. A "happy or unhappy" screen, a star tap, or a private form that hides the Google link from unhappy patients is a stop.
Pressure on site
What the policy page says
When asking, a business should not require or pressure someone to leave a rating or write a review while they are on the premises, and should not request specific content.
What the group does
A printed QR in the office is the display option on Google's link page. Handing someone the card is not the same as standing there until they post. The message itself goes out with the receipt, the thank-you note, or the end of a chat.
A scripted review
What the policy page says
The prohibited list includes asking staff to solicit reviews that contain specific content, including content that names a staff member.
What the group does
The message asks for an honest review of that office. It does not hand the patient sentences, a star to tap, or a clinician's name to include.
A staff quota
What the policy page says
The same list includes merchants requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews.
What the group does
No bonus plan, contest, or shift goal counts reviews, five-star reviews, or reviews that name a person. Coaching can cover whether the ask went out. It cannot score the star that came back.
A conflict of interest
What the policy page says
A review based on a conflict of interest is not allowed. The policy's examples include current or former employment, a contract or similar professional tie, competitors, and family relationships.
What the group does
Staff, owners, and their families do not review the office. A competitor's team does not either. The ask goes to patients who had a visit at that door.
| Pattern | What the policy page says | What the group does |
|---|---|---|
| An incentive | Maps policy does not allow payment, discounts, or free goods or services in exchange for posting a review, changing one, or removing a negative one. The same list covers a review that was paid for, directly or in kind. | The receipt, the email, the QR card, and any staff script offer nothing for a review. A drawing, a gift card, or a waived fee tied to posting is the same problem. |
| Review gating | Merchants may not discourage or prohibit negative reviews, and may not selectively solicit positive ones. Asking is allowed when the request is for a genuine experience and does not try to steer the rating or the wording. | Every patient who had a visit gets the same message and the same office link. A "happy or unhappy" screen, a star tap, or a private form that hides the Google link from unhappy patients is a stop. |
| Pressure on site | When asking, a business should not require or pressure someone to leave a rating or write a review while they are on the premises, and should not request specific content. | A printed QR in the office is the display option on Google's link page. Handing someone the card is not the same as standing there until they post. The message itself goes out with the receipt, the thank-you note, or the end of a chat. |
| A scripted review | The prohibited list includes asking staff to solicit reviews that contain specific content, including content that names a staff member. | The message asks for an honest review of that office. It does not hand the patient sentences, a star to tap, or a clinician's name to include. |
| A staff quota | The same list includes merchants requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews. | No bonus plan, contest, or shift goal counts reviews, five-star reviews, or reviews that name a person. Coaching can cover whether the ask went out. It cannot score the star that came back. |
| A conflict of interest | A review based on a conflict of interest is not allowed. The policy's examples include current or former employment, a contract or similar professional tie, competitors, and family relationships. | Staff, owners, and their families do not review the office. A competitor's team does not either. The ask goes to patients who had a visit at that door. |
The Maps user-generated content policy says contributions should reflect real experiences, and that deliberately fake content, copied material, and off-topic reviews violate the rules. Google uses both automated systems and people to find that material, and it may remove content or limit user-generated content for a place, an area, or a category. A central team that runs one risky script at every office is not a safer version of a risky script. It is the same script on more profiles.
Restrictions on a profile
Google's restrictions page is the consequence page for fake engagement. It says a business that violates that policy may face restrictions if Google decides the activity happened on the owner's profile or profiles. Removing the reviews that broke the rules is separate. The restrictions are in addition to that removal.
The examples on the page, which it says are not the full list, are these. The profile may be unable to receive new reviews or ratings for a set period. Existing reviews or ratings may be unpublished for a set period. The profile may show a warning that fake reviews were removed. Google says it will email the business owner if it plans to apply a restriction. The page does not name a dental group, a count of offices, or a number of days.
The same page says the business can appeal. Google then reviews the profile again, along with any added context, and says whether the restriction should come off. The page refers to the owner's profile or profiles, so a shared ask that ran on more than one door is part of what that review can see. It does not say how many doors are included. It also does not say the notice will land in a marketing inbox unless a group owner is the address on the profile. Read the live page before you describe the penalty in a contract.
Reply operations
Google's manage-reviews help says you verify the business before you can reply. After that, open the profile, choose Read reviews, choose Reply, write the reply, and send it. Google checks replies against its content policies. If a reply is not approved, you are asked to edit it. The page says replies usually take up to 10 minutes to review, and sometimes a review can take up to 30 days. That clock starts after you submit. It is not a deadline for how fast your team must draft the reply, and it is not a service target you can paste into a contract.
An approved reply is public, under the review, and it appears as the business. Your personal name is not shown. The person who wrote the review is notified. They can still edit the review, and the date on it changes to the latest update. You can edit or delete your own reply from the same screen. Reviews themselves are offered only in some countries, regions, and categories, and that availability can change. Do not treat a missing reply box on a new acquisition as a staff failure until the profile is verified and the category is one Google currently shows reviews for.
The tips page asks for replies that are professional, short, and specific to the note in front of you, rather than one thank-you pasted under every review. It says not to use the reply to offer deals or promotions. For a negative review, it says not to share the reviewer's private information and not to make a personal attack. A complicated case can be moved to a phone call or an email. Those are Google's writing tips. The group's standard adds a line Google does not write for you: the reply never says the person is a patient, and it never discusses care, a procedure, or a chart. Ask your own counsel if a contract needs a privacy clause.
Each office replies
When it fits
An office manager, or a named backup at that door, replies on that profile. They already know which link belongs to the door. The group's written standard is still the one they follow.
Tradeoff
The risk sits at the keyboard. Someone who just saw the visit can slip a procedure or a chart detail into a public reply. The log has to be copied to the group sheet, or the central team cannot see it.
A central team replies
When it fits
One queue opens each office profile, uses the same standard, and writes the reply log with the office slug. Google shows the reply as the business. The personal name of the person who typed it is not what the public sees.
Tradeoff
The team needs a user on each profile. A local complaint waits until that queue reaches the row. The wait is the target the group wrote down. It is not a number from Google.
| Who replies | When it fits | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Each office replies | An office manager, or a named backup at that door, replies on that profile. They already know which link belongs to the door. The group's written standard is still the one they follow. | The risk sits at the keyboard. Someone who just saw the visit can slip a procedure or a chart detail into a public reply. The log has to be copied to the group sheet, or the central team cannot see it. |
| A central team replies | One queue opens each office profile, uses the same standard, and writes the reply log with the office slug. Google shows the reply as the business. The personal name of the person who typed it is not what the public sees. | The team needs a user on each profile. A local complaint waits until that queue reaches the row. The wait is the target the group wrote down. It is not a number from Google. |
Write the turnaround in the standard as the group's own target, and put that target next to the log so every office is measured the same way. Google does not supply that target. Tone for a tense reply at a single office is the negative-review guide. The group job is to make Office A and Office B sound like the same standard, and to keep the log when the person who typed the reply changes.
Reporting and missing reviews
Google's reporting help says you can report any review, and only reviews that violate the content policies are eligible to be removed. A flagged review that violates the policies is removed from Maps and Search. Do not report a review because you disagree with it or dislike it. Google says it does not get involved in a conflict between a business and a customer, and that a negative review is not automatically a sign of poor service.
On the profile, open Read reviews, choose Report next to that review, pick a reason, and send it. The page's examples of reasons include spam and profanity. The Reviews Management Tool is the other path: confirm the email on that profile, or switch account, select that business, and report from there.
Evaluation typically takes several days. The tool's statuses are decision pending, report reviewed with no policy violation, and, after an appeal, escalated with a note to check email. A one-time appeal is available when a flag is not removed. The appeal screen lets you select up to 10 reviews. If the appeal finds a violation, the review comes down. If it does not, the review stays. For a group, the log line is the office slug, the date, the reason you selected, and the status you saw later. Each office gets its own line, so every report names the office.
The same page says Google uses automated spam detection, and that the system can also remove a legitimate review by mistake. If that happens, contact support. Third-party reviews from non-Google sites can appear on a profile. The page says merchants in the European Economic Area can report those directly on Google.
Google's missing-reviews page is the list to read before anyone recreates a review on a different profile. A review can be delayed a few days while it is checked against the policies. After a profile merge, reviews from both profiles can take a few days to show. An old Maps app can fail when someone tries to post, and the page recommends updating it. Reviews removed for policy violations are not restored. Google may also turn off user-created content, including reviews, for some profiles or categories for a time. The page says reviews are sometimes removed after a profile is reinstated, and that support is the contact if that happens. None of those reasons is a license to post the text again under another office. The single-office flagging guide walks one profile. The group log is what keeps fifty reports from becoming one inbox.
Reviews stay on that office
Do not copy reviews from one office profile onto another, and do not ask patients to repost a review onto a different door. The prohibited-content page says a contribution should reflect a genuine experience at a place, and the Maps policy calls out copied content and off-topic reviews. Office A's patients did not have that experience at Office B.
Google's move-reviews page is narrower than a multi-office cleanup. It says that when a business changes, you can ask to move reviews from an old profile to a new one, or Google might move them, and that significant changes can lead Google to remove reviews that no longer fit. Not every change qualifies. The page also says not to create a new profile because the physical location changed or the owner changed.
- A duplicate of the same business. If a new profile was created and verified by mistake because the location or the owner changed, the page says to contact Google about transferring reviews from the old profile to the new one.
- A relocation that keeps the name. If the business moves and keeps the same name, Google transfers the reviews. The page says some categories, such as hotels, golf courses, and scenic attractions, might not move automatically. It does not publish a dental exception or a dental promise. Read the live page for that door before you describe what will happen.
- New management, same name. Reviews stay. The page says you can reply to older reviews to explain changes. A minor name change, or a name change at a business with multiple locations, also leaves the reviews in place. A name change that does not meet the page's test is treated as a new business.
- A closed profile. Reviews remain. People can still review a temporarily closed business. They cannot post new reviews on a permanently closed one.
Two offices that are both open are two locations. The move page is not a tool for pouring the smaller office's reviews into the larger one, or for pooling every door onto a brand profile. A name decision after an acquisition is a different worksheet: rebrand, co-brand, or keep the local name. Use it before you assume a name edit will carry reviews anywhere.
Reviews and the per-office report
The per-office marketing report does not put a review total in its seven columns. Those columns are calls, qualified calls, form leads, online bookings, Business Profile actions, ad cost for a campaign named as one office, and new patient starts from the practice's own records. Business Profile actions, as that guide defines them, are the interactions in the profile performance view: call-button clicks, website clicks, direction requests, and messages or bookings when that profile shows them. A review count is not that cell. Adding the two together would mix a public comment with a click.
If leadership wants reviews on the same read, keep a separate column. Pull it from each office's own profile for the same start date and end date as the other rows, and label it with the office slug. Sort by the slug, the way that report sorts the office block, so a loud door does not become the sort order. Leave the cell empty when you could not read that profile. Do not estimate it from asks you sent. The report's exception block is where a shared link, a blank slug, or a total you cannot tie to one door belongs.
Red flags
These are operations checks for a proposal or a monthly review of the work. They do not name or rank any firm or any review product.
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1. A filter sits in front of the Google link.
Any "happy or unhappy" question, star tap, or survey that sends only the pleased patients to the review link is selective solicitation. The Maps rules disallow that pattern. The private complaint path can still exist. It cannot be the gate that hides the link.
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2. The ask mentions a reward.
Payment, a discount, free goods, or a free service for posting, changing, or removing a review is on the prohibited list. A raffle entry or a waived fee for a review is the same shape. So is a reply that offers a deal.
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3. Review counts sit in a bonus plan.
Asking staff to collect a certain number of reviews is prohibited, and so is asking them to collect reviews that name a staff member. A bonus, a contest, or a leaderboard that scores those counts is that request in payroll form.
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4. One link is used for every office.
The link and the QR code are created on a specific Business Profile. A card that sends Oak's patients to Pine's profile asks for a review of the wrong place. The roster should show a different link on each slug.
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5. The firm is the only holder of the link and the reply log.
When the relationship ends, the group still has to know which URL each office sends and what was posted in public. A log that lives only in a vendor inbox is not a deliverable. Ownership of the profiles themselves is a separate handoff.
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6. Reviews are copied onto another office.
A contribution is supposed to reflect a genuine experience at a specific place. Pasting Office A's reviews onto Office B is not that experience. Google's move-reviews page is about the same business, not a transfer between two open doors.
Questions for an agency
Put the same questions in the RFP. A useful answer names a sheet, a profile, or a person at the group. A weak answer describes a review program without saying which link is sent. These are procurement questions. They are not legal advice and not a template. A wider scorecard, without a ranking of firms, is in how to choose a DSO dental marketing company. Taking the log with you when you leave a firm is part of switching a dental marketing agency.
1. Where is each office's review link stored, and which profile created it?
A useful answer names
A roster row per office slug: the profile, the copied link, the QR file, and the person who may send it. You can open the sheet without the firm's inbox.
Ask a follow-up if you hear
One group link, a QR on a shared drive with no office name, or "we will text it from our tool."
2. Is there any screen before the Google link?
A useful answer names
No. Every patient who had a visit at that office receives the same message and that office's link. Concerns are handled in the office's normal follow-up, not by withholding the link.
Ask a follow-up if you hear
A happy-or-unhappy button, a score cutoff, or a private form that replaces the Google link for low scores.
3. Does any script, receipt, or offer mention a reward for a review?
A useful answer names
No payment, discount, free service, gift, or contest entry is tied to posting, editing, or removing a review. The firm will show the live message, not a description of it.
Ask a follow-up if you hear
"A small thank-you," a drawing, or a reply that offers a deal to the reviewer.
4. Do bonus plans or contests count reviews?
A useful answer names
No target for a number of reviews, a star level, or reviews that name a staff member. Training can check that the ask went out. It does not score the rating that came back.
Ask a follow-up if you hear
A leaderboard, a bonus, or a quota "just for the front desk."
5. Who replies, and what turnaround did the group write down?
A useful answer names
A named office role or a named central queue, one written standard, and a turnaround the group chose. The reply log uses the office slug. Google's 10-minute and 30-day notes are how long Google may take to check a reply after you submit it.
Ask a follow-up if you hear
"We respond quickly," with no owner, no log, and no distinction between your target and Google's check.
6. What is a reply allowed to say?
A useful answer names
The public reply follows the written standard: polite, short, no offer, and no statement that the person is a patient or any description of care. The firm can show a redacted log entry that meets that bar.
Ask a follow-up if you hear
A sample that confirms the visit, names a procedure, or argues the clinical facts in public.
7. Who owns the review link and the reply log if we change firms?
A useful answer names
The group. Profiles stay under a group owner. The roster and the log export without the vendor. Profile access at a handoff is the agency-switch guide, not a promise in a slide.
Ask a follow-up if you hear
The links and the log are "in the platform" and cannot be exported.
8. Will you move or copy reviews between office profiles?
A useful answer names
No. Each office keeps the reviews written on its profile. A relocation of the same business, or a duplicate profile of that same business, is read from Google's move-reviews page before anyone contacts support. Two open offices are not that case.
Ask a follow-up if you hear
"We will move the reviews to the flagship," or a new profile created so the old reviews can be transferred as a routine.
| Question | A useful answer names | Ask a follow-up if you hear |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Where is each office's review link stored, and which profile created it? | A roster row per office slug: the profile, the copied link, the QR file, and the person who may send it. You can open the sheet without the firm's inbox. | One group link, a QR on a shared drive with no office name, or "we will text it from our tool." |
| 2. Is there any screen before the Google link? | No. Every patient who had a visit at that office receives the same message and that office's link. Concerns are handled in the office's normal follow-up, not by withholding the link. | A happy-or-unhappy button, a score cutoff, or a private form that replaces the Google link for low scores. |
| 3. Does any script, receipt, or offer mention a reward for a review? | No payment, discount, free service, gift, or contest entry is tied to posting, editing, or removing a review. The firm will show the live message, not a description of it. | "A small thank-you," a drawing, or a reply that offers a deal to the reviewer. |
| 4. Do bonus plans or contests count reviews? | No target for a number of reviews, a star level, or reviews that name a staff member. Training can check that the ask went out. It does not score the rating that came back. | A leaderboard, a bonus, or a quota "just for the front desk." |
| 5. Who replies, and what turnaround did the group write down? | A named office role or a named central queue, one written standard, and a turnaround the group chose. The reply log uses the office slug. Google's 10-minute and 30-day notes are how long Google may take to check a reply after you submit it. | "We respond quickly," with no owner, no log, and no distinction between your target and Google's check. |
| 6. What is a reply allowed to say? | The public reply follows the written standard: polite, short, no offer, and no statement that the person is a patient or any description of care. The firm can show a redacted log entry that meets that bar. | A sample that confirms the visit, names a procedure, or argues the clinical facts in public. |
| 7. Who owns the review link and the reply log if we change firms? | The group. Profiles stay under a group owner. The roster and the log export without the vendor. Profile access at a handoff is the agency-switch guide, not a promise in a slide. | The links and the log are "in the platform" and cannot be exported. |
| 8. Will you move or copy reviews between office profiles? | No. Each office keeps the reviews written on its profile. A relocation of the same business, or a duplicate profile of that same business, is read from Google's move-reviews page before anyone contacts support. Two open offices are not that case. | "We will move the reviews to the flagship," or a new profile created so the old reviews can be transferred as a routine. |
Checklist
Twelve checks for the link, the ask, the reply, and the log. Ticks stay in this browser only.
Review operations checklist
12 items
What DDS Web Solutions builds
DDS Web Solutions builds practice websites. Our team has been building websites since 2014, and we have served 100+ practices. Offices are in Sacramento and San Mateo. The products are Smyly, SmileTrak, and ToothRank. The planning page is DSO and multi-location marketing.
Sources
Wording on these pages can change, so confirm the live page. This is marketing guidance, not legal advice.
- Maps User Generated Content Policy: Prohibited and restricted content
- Maps user-generated content policy
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews
- Google Business Profile Help: Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews
- Google Business Profile Help: Manage customer reviews
- Google Business Profile Help: Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile
- Google Business Profile Help: About missing or delayed reviews
- Google Business Profile Help: Business Profile restrictions for policy violations
- Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google
- Google Business Profile Help: Move your reviews across Business Profiles