How to get Google reviews for your business
Reviews are the part of local search you have most control over and the part most small businesses never get round to. A trade with fifteen genuine recent reviews will usually sit above one with two, and the gap costs real work.
The obstacle is almost never the customer. Most people are happy to leave one and simply never do, because nobody asked at the right moment or made it easy enough.
Ask on the day, in person, and then send the link
The best moment is the one where the customer is visibly pleased: the job is finished, they have seen it, and they are thanking you. Ask then, out loud, and say it plainly. Most people say yes.
Then send the link straight away by text or WhatsApp while it is still true. Do not ask them to search for you on Google, because that is where the intention dies. Google gives every profile a short review link, and it is in your Business Profile.
Save it as a saved reply on your phone so sending it takes five seconds. One line: thanks again, if you have a minute a review really helps a small business, followed by the link.
What never to do
Do not pay for reviews, and do not use a service that supplies them. They are detectable, they get removed, and profiles get suspended over it.
Do not offer a discount or a prize in exchange for a review. That is against Google's policies even when the review is honest.
Do not write them yourself, and do not ask family who were never customers. Reviewer accounts with no other activity, all appearing in the same week, are exactly what the filters look for.
Do not screen customers by asking happy ones for a review and unhappy ones for private feedback. Review gating is against the rules and it is obvious in the pattern.
A steady trickle beats a burst
Twenty reviews arriving in one week looks like what it is. Two or three a month for a year looks like a business that is quietly working, and it is worth more.
Recency matters too. A profile whose newest review is three years old reads as a business that has stopped, whatever the total says. Keep asking, even when you have plenty.
Reply to all of them
Replies are public, and they are read by people deciding whether to ring you. A short thank you is enough on a good one.
On a bad one, reply calmly, do not argue the detail, and offer to sort it offline. Everybody reading knows that some customers are unreasonable. What they are judging is how you behave when one is.
One measured reply to a harsh review does more for your reputation than five glowing ones, because it is the only place a stranger can see how you handle trouble.
If a review is fake or from someone who was never a customer
You can report it through your Business Profile as violating Google's policies. Success is inconsistent and it takes time, but genuinely fake reviews do get removed.
While you wait, reply to it. Something short and factual that says you have no record of this job, and that you would like to help if you have got it wrong, does the job. Do not accuse, do not escalate, and do not write it while angry.
Common questions
- How many Google reviews do I need?
- There is no threshold. What matters is having more than the businesses you compete with in your area, and having recent ones. In many trades a dozen genuine reviews puts you ahead of most local competitors.
- Where do I find my review link?
- In your Google Business Profile there is a share review form option that gives a short link. Save it somewhere you can reach in seconds, because the whole thing depends on sending it while the customer is still pleased.
- Can I ask for reviews on a printed card?
- Yes, and a QR code on an invoice or a card works well for trades. Asking in person first still works better, because the card on its own usually gets put in a drawer.
- What if I get a bad review I think is unfair?
- Reply calmly and publicly, offer to fix it offline, and report it only if it genuinely breaks Google's policies, which unfair is not the same as. A measured reply is read by everyone who looks at your profile afterwards and it does more good than the review does harm.
- Do reviews affect where I appear on Google Maps?
- They contribute. Google weighs relevance, distance and prominence, and reviews feed prominence along with mentions and links. They also affect whether somebody rings you once they have seen you, which matters just as much.
If you would rather somebody just did it
I build websites for self-employed tradesmen and small businesses across the UK: £249 to build, then £49.99 a month to host, maintain and update it. The sites I have built currently hold 97 page-one Google rankings between them.