Your Google review link works on your laptop, but a customer taps it on their phone and gets nowhere. Before replacing every card or sending another message, identify where the journey stops. A link that opens the wrong business, a page that asks for sign-in, and a review form that never loads need different checks.
Quick Answer
Copy a fresh review link from the correct Google Business Profile and test it directly in a phone browser. Then test the exact message or QR code your customer used. Compare where each route stops, check the business destination, and offer a simple alternative without asking the customer to change security settings or share account access.
Describe the failure before changing the link
“It doesn’t work” leaves too much room for guesswork. Ask one optional question: “Does nothing open, do you see the wrong business, or does the review form stop loading?” That answer gives you a useful starting point without making the customer troubleshoot your setup.
Use your own phone for the longer investigation. Keep a note of the app you opened the link from, the destination displayed, and any visible error. If the customer volunteers a screenshot, ask them to leave out personal account information.
| What appears on the phone | What to compare |
|---|---|
| A different business or branch | The destination against the intended Business Profile. |
| An error before Google opens | The distributed link against a fresh direct Google link. |
| A sign-in screen | Whether this is an account step rather than a broken destination. |
| A page that loads but has no usable review form | The same link in a normal browser and the business listing in Maps. |
Use a fresh Google link as your starting point
Google’s current review-link instructions say to open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link. Confirm you are managing the intended location before doing this. Keep this direct link separate from any shortened or redirected version you distribute.
Paste the copied link into a phone browser and look at the destination. This test does not require you to submit a review of your own business. Stop once you have checked the route and the form presented.
If you need help finding the link itself, our Google review link article covers that starting step. Here, the important comparison is between the fresh link and the one customers actually receive.
Test the message, not just the saved URL
Send your normal template to a device you control and tap the link from the delivered message. If the fresh link works but the delivered version does not, compare the actual destinations and look for an incomplete URL, an extra character, or an intermediate page. This narrows the investigation without assuming a particular service is at fault.
For a link opened inside another app, try the same address in the phone’s regular browser. Treat any difference as a diagnostic clue, not proof that the app always breaks Google links. Record which route worked before you change the template.
If a third-party redirect is involved, test the direct Google link separately. A problem that occurs only through the redirect belongs in a different support request from a problem that also occurs on Google’s own destination. Do not rebuild an otherwise working setup on the basis of one unexplained failure.
Check the printed code separately
A QR code adds a scanning step before the link opens. Scan the actual printed item, rather than relying on the digital design file. If the phone does not recognize a code at all, investigate print clarity, glare, and placement before changing the destination URL.
If scanning succeeds, inspect the address it opens and compare it with the direct link you tested. A readable code can still send someone to the wrong place. Keep those two checks separate when deciding whether a card needs reprinting.
Offer a low-effort alternative
You can thank the customer and explain that you are checking the link. For example: “Thanks for letting us know. You can also find our business by name and location in Google Maps and open the reviews there. Please only try again if it’s convenient.”
Leave any sign-in step under the customer’s control. Do not request their password, use your business account to post for them, or ask them to weaken browser security. The review should remain voluntary and in their own words.
Know when the problem has moved beyond the link
If the customer reached the form and submitted a review that is now missing, stop diagnosing the URL. That is a separate visibility issue, covered in why a customer’s Google review may not appear.
If the direct link and the listing both fail, contact Google Business Profile support with the profile link, device and browser details, time tested, and exact visible result. Explain which routes you compared. Once a fix is in place, test the customer-facing message or printed item again before sending more requests.