When a customer in Dubai or Abu Dhabi searches for a clinic, a mover or a software company, the star rating and the number of recent reviews often decide who gets the call. Reviews also feed into local search visibility. Here is how to collect more of them without breaking the rules.

Get the basics right

  • Claim and verify your Google Business Profile for each real location.
  • Copy your review link from the profile, so customers land directly on the review box.
  • Make sure your business name, category and details are accurate. See local SEO and Google Business Profile.

Ask at the right moment

The best time is straight after a good experience: after a delivered project, a resolved issue, an enjoyable visit or a thank-you message. Train your team to ask. Reviews arrive when asking is part of the routine, not a one-off campaign.

Make it easy

  1. QR code on the invoice, the receipt, the counter or the table.
  2. WhatsApp message after service: "Thank you for choosing us. If you are happy with the service, a short review helps other customers find us: [link]". Send to customers who contacted you and are expecting messages.
  3. Email footer or follow-up email with the link.
  4. Arabic and English versions of the request, since customers write in the language they prefer.

What Google does not allow

  • Offering money, discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews.
  • Asking only happy customers and filtering out unhappy ones ("review gating").
  • Writing reviews yourself or having staff, relatives or paid agencies write them.
  • Reviewing a competitor with fake reviews.

Breaking these rules can lead to removed reviews or a suspended profile, and customers can often tell. Check Google's current policy before running a campaign.

Reply to every review

Thank positive reviewers by name and mention something specific. For a negative review, respond calmly, apologise where appropriate, offer to fix it offline and never argue in public. Prospects read your replies as closely as the reviews themselves.

Use the feedback

Look for repeated themes: slow response, unclear prices, delivery delays. Fix them and tell your team what customers said. Track the number and average rating monthly in your CRM or dashboard, and display real reviews on your website with permission. Never invent testimonials.

Sample review request messages

English: Thank you for choosing us today. If you were happy with the service, would you mind sharing a short review? It helps other customers find us. [link]

Arabic: شكراً لاختياركم لنا. إذا كنتم راضين عن الخدمة، نقدّر مشاركة تقييم قصير يساعد الآخرين على الوصول إلينا. [الرابط]

Keep the tone simple and do not suggest a specific rating. Track how many requests you send and how many reviews arrive, so you can improve the timing.

Part of your overall visibility plan, described in SEO for UAE businesses.