How to get more Google reviews, the honest way

You've got dozens of happy customers. They thanked you at the door. Some of them sent a lovely text afterwards.

But your Google profile has four reviews, and one of them is from your mum.

This is completely normal. Most satisfied customers don't leave reviews, not because they don't want to, but because nobody made it easy at the right moment. Getting more reviews is mostly about fixing that, not about being a better tradesperson.

Quick answer: Ask every customer, at the moment they're happiest, and send them a direct link that opens the review form. Make it one tap. Don't offer anything in return, and don't only ask the customers you think will be positive. Reply to every review you get, good or bad.

Three questions we'll answer:

• When exactly should I ask?
• What do I say without sounding needy?
• What happens if I get a bad one?

Why reviews matter so much for local businesses

Reviews do two jobs at once.

First, they persuade the person reading your profile. When someone compares three electricians on the map, the reviews are often what tips it.

Second, they're part of how Google decides who to show. Google's help page on local ranking says prominence, meaning how well known your business is, is one of the three main factors, and reviews feed into it.

So every honest review helps you twice.

The rules first, because breaking them costs you

Google's policy on fake engagement is clear about what businesses must not do. In plain English:

• No incentives. You can't offer money, discounts, freebies or entry into a prize draw in exchange for a review.
• No cherry-picking. You can't ask only the customers you think will be positive. Google calls this selectively soliciting positive reviews.
• No discouraging bad reviews.
• No pressure on the spot. Google says businesses shouldn't require or pressure customers to review while they're on the premises.
• No fake reviews. Not from friends who've never used you, not from staff, not from paid services.

Google says incentivised and fake reviews can be removed. Losing reviews you've built up, or getting a warning on your profile, is far worse than having fewer reviews to start with.

What you can do is ask every customer for an honest review. That's allowed, and it works.

When to ask

Here's the first question. Timing matters more than wording.

Ask when the customer is happiest. For most trades, that's one of these moments:

• Just as you finish, when they're looking at the new bathroom or the boiler's working again.
• The same evening, in a short text, while it's fresh.
• When they pay, if they've just told you how pleased they are.

Don't wait a fortnight. By then the excitement has faded and the job has become something that just happened.

A good pattern for tradespeople: mention it in person when you finish ("If you're happy with everything, a Google review would really help me"), then send the link by text that evening. The in-person mention makes the text feel expected rather than random.

Make it one tap

This is where most review requests fall down. Telling a customer "search for us on Google and leave a review" loses most people at the first step.

Instead, use a direct review link. Google lets you create one from your Business Profile, along with a QR code that does the same thing. When a customer taps the link, it opens straight to the review form for your business.

Put that link:

• In a short text message after each job.
• In your invoice or receipt email.
• On a printed card or the bottom of a paper invoice, as a QR code.
• In your email signature.

The fewer steps between "I'll do that" and the review box, the more reviews you'll get.

What to say

Here's the second question. You don't need a script that sounds like a marketing department. Keep it short, personal and honest.

For a text after the job:

Hi Sarah, thanks for having me round today. If you're happy with the new radiator, a quick Google review would really help my small business. Here's the link: [your link]. Thanks, Dan

That's it. Notice what it does:

• Uses their name and mentions the actual job.
• Says why it matters (a small business, not a faceless company).
• Includes the link.
• Doesn't mention stars or ask for "five-star" reviews. Asking for a particular rating is trying to influence the review, which is against the rules.

Reply to every review

Replying shows future customers that you're a real person who cares. Google's own guidance encourages it.

For good reviews, keep it short and specific: "Thanks John, glad the new shower's working well. Enjoy it."

For bad reviews, here's the third question. A critical review feels awful, but how you reply often matters more than the review itself.

1. Wait until you're calm. Don't reply angry.
2. Thank them and acknowledge the problem. Even if you disagree, you can acknowledge their experience.
3. Explain briefly, without arguing. Stick to facts. Don't share private details about the job.
4. Offer to put it right. Give a way to contact you directly.

Someone reading a calm, reasonable reply to a bad review often trusts you more, not less. A profile with nothing but glowing reviews can look less believable than one with a few honest mixed ones and thoughtful replies.

If a review is genuinely fake or breaks Google's rules, for example it's from someone who was never a customer, you can report it through your Business Profile. Google decides whether to remove it.

Build it into your routine

Reviews come from habit, not one-off campaigns. A simple routine:

1. Finish the job and mention the review in person.
2. Send the link by text the same day.
3. Check your profile once a week and reply to anything new.

That's a couple of minutes per job. Over a year, it adds up to a profile that looks like what it is: an established local business that people are happy with.

Where reviews fit in the bigger picture

Reviews work best on a profile that's already set up properly, with the right categories, service area and photos. If you haven't done that yet, start with my Google Business Profile guide for tradespeople.

And if your profile is set up and reviewed but you're still not appearing, my guide on why a business doesn't show up on Google works through the other things to check.