A practical way to get G2 reviews compliantly is to run a G2 review campaign or Review Refresh and ask all eligible users at product-success milestones, not just your happiest customers. Follow G2's community guidelines and the FTC's rule on incentives and disclosure. Build a short list of verified eligible users and choose your campaign type.
TL;DR:
- Connect review requests to onboarding completion, first outcomes, or usage milestones in your CRM, and invite every eligible customer regardless of survey score.
- G2’s Review Refresh automatically contacts past reviewers whose reviews are seven months to four years old, with one initial email and one reminder monthly.
- Offer every invitee the same reward regardless of sentiment, disclose the incentive through G2’s labeling, and budget only for approved reviews; rewards cannot exceed $100.
- Track approvals rather than submissions: moderation can take up to three full working days, and reviews remain hidden until they pass verification.
Table of Contents
- What should you do first to get more G2 reviews?
- When is the best time to ask customers for a G2 review?
- How do G2's campaign options work?
- What are the rules on incentives and disclosure?
- How do you make leaving a review easy?
- What should you measure after reviews start coming in?
- Why does review collection belong inside a growth engine?
- Want help building review-ready customer journeys?
- FAQ
- Sources
What should you do first to get more G2 reviews?
Start with this checklist. Each item maps to a section below, so you can come back for detail.
- Build a verified reviewer list. Include real customers who have used the product. Leave out employees, partners with a conflict of interest, and contacts you cannot verify.
- Pick a collection method in G2. Your options are a self-service campaign, an incentivized campaign, Review Refresh, or an event with a QR code.
- Set an incentive policy and budget. Keep it inside G2's limits and the FTC's rules before a single email goes out.
- Wire the ask to a success trigger. Connect it to a CRM or onboarding workflow so timing is automatic.
- Prepare your assets. You need a campaign landing page, screenshot instructions, and a QR code if you run events.
- Track approvals, not submissions. Plan to share reviews publicly only once they are approved.
When is the best time to ask customers for a G2 review?
Ask when a customer has just seen value. Strong triggers include a completed onboarding, a first successful outcome, a usage milestone, or a closed-won deal. Generic timing hacks, like "send on Tuesday morning," matter far less than catching someone right after a win.
Resist the urge to ask only your top-scoring customers. The FTC's guidance and G2's guidance both warn against cherry-picking, and the FTC's rule Q&A points toward soliciting feedback from your whole eligible base rather than a satisfied slice. A balanced invite list also produces more credible reviews, which buyers can sense.
To make timing automatic, set the trigger inside your CRM or onboarding flow. When a customer hits the milestone, the workflow sends the invite and logs the date, so you can later show exactly who was asked and when. Our guides on SaaS onboarding milestones and NPS-based workflows show how to find those moments.
Pro Tip: Send the same invite to every customer who hits the milestone, regardless of their last survey score. Consistency is both your best compliance record and your best source of honest reviews.
How do G2's campaign options work?
G2 gives you four main routes. Choose based on who you want to reach and how much control you need.
- Self-service review campaigns. You build a branded landing page, choose whether G2 or your team sends the emails, pick an incentivized or non-incentivized flow, and track results. G2's documentation on self-service campaigns notes that incentives are billed only for approved reviews.
- Incentivized campaigns. These are the same campaign type with a reward attached. You pay only for approved reviews, and you will need a payment method on file. A reviewer must submit through an active campaign that offers a reward, and the review must pass moderation, as explained in G2's gift card eligibility page.
- Review Refresh. This re-engages past reviewers whose reviews are between seven months and four years old. According to G2's Review Refresh documentation, it runs automatically each month once activated and sends one initial email plus one reminder per cycle. It suits teams that want steady, low-effort freshness.
- Self-serve events. You get a branded landing page and a QR code, which works well at conferences and customer meetups. G2's events documentation describes delayed login, which lets attendees submit first and verify later, and only verified, approved reviews are published and rewarded.
Events can be a useful alternative to email when you have a room full of customers and their full attention.
What are the rules on incentives and disclosure?
Two rule sets apply, and both are simple once you write them down.
The FTC finalized a rule in 2024 aimed at fake and misleading reviews. In its announcement, the agency makes clear that incentives cannot be conditioned on a particular sentiment, and that material connections must be disclosed.
G2 caps incentives for reviews at $100 USD. Paying around that limit, or off-platform without disclosure, violates the G2 community guidelines and may also conflict with FTC rules.
Build these controls into your process:
- Offer the same reward to every invitee, whatever they write.
- Pay incentives only for approved reviews, and use G2's labeling so rewards are visible.
- Document each offer and keep complete records of who was invited.
- Never segment the list to include only happy users.
- Audit your outreach lists before every send.
How do you make leaving a review easy?
Every extra click costs you reviews. Remove friction wherever you can.
- Link straight to your campaign landing page from product UI prompts and post-onboarding emails, so customers reach the form in one click.
- Preview your event landing page before launch, use delayed login when it helps, and have someone onsite who can help people verify.
- Keep email copy short. Include one clear call to action, a line about moderation, a link to the reward terms, and the verification steps.
- Explain screenshots. Tell reviewers exactly what to capture, since G2 uses screenshots as a verification signal.
- Remind everyone that only approved reviews earn rewards. That sets expectations and heads off support tickets later.
G2 also relies on manual moderation, required logins, and conflict-of-interest checks, which G2 describes in its authenticity documentation. Telling reviewers up front what verification looks like prevents rejections.
Pro Tip: Send a short reminder a few days after the first invite. It can help reach customers who intended to review but forgot.
What should you measure after reviews start coming in?
Track approved reviews and your approval rate, not raw submissions. Moderation typically takes up to three full working days, according to G2's submission timeline, and the review stays hidden until it clears.
- Budget on approvals. G2's status documentation flags planning around total submissions as a common mistake, since you pay only for approved incentivized reviews.
- Get opt-in before republishing. Ask customers before quoting them elsewhere, and link back to the original G2 review.
- Put approved reviews to work. Refresh product pages and case studies, and test review quotes in ad creative. Our notes on Google Ads for SaaS and content strategy show where social proof pays off.
- Prepare your published assets carefully. If you use AI to draft pages built on reviews, this Authority Engine guide to ChatGPT SEO covers checks worth running first.
Why does review collection belong inside a growth engine?
Most teams treat reviews as a one-off campaign, and that is the mistake. Regular, compliant collection keeps trust signals fresh for every channel that depends on them, from paid ads to organic landing pages. The strongest setups connect review asks to onboarding milestones, NPS signals, and paid acquisition reporting, so reviews stop being a side project and become a measurable input. Our client results show what a repeatable system looks like in practice.
— Admin
Want help building review-ready customer journeys?
If you would rather have a hands-on partner set this up, we build the systems that produce customers ready to review. Our team works on acquisition, onboarding, and retention for SaaS companies, so the review ask lands at the right moment. A scoped engagement with us can cover:
- Workflow setup that triggers review requests from product-success events
- Cadence automation across email, in-app prompts, and CRM
- Guidance on incentive budgeting within G2 and FTC limits
See what we do and how to start on the SaaSLaunch services page, or book a conversation with our team today.
FAQ
Is G2 a big company?
G2 is one of the better-known software review marketplaces, and buyers use it to compare tools. We do not cite a size figure here, so check G2's own pages for current numbers. What matters for your team is that your prospects likely see your profile.
What are G2 Rewards for reviews?
They are incentives, such as gift cards, offered through an active campaign. A reviewer qualifies only if the review passes moderation and is approved, and G2 issues a gift card once per review. Incentives are capped at $100 USD under the community guidelines.
How long does it take for a G2 review to go live?
Moderation typically takes up to three full working days. The review is not public during that time, and the reviewer gets an email when moderation finishes, according to G2's submission timeline.
Can we offer a reward only to happy customers?
No. Incentives cannot depend on the sentiment of the review, and soliciting only satisfied customers is the cherry-picking that the FTC and G2 both warn against. Invite every eligible user and offer the same reward to all.