Quick Answer: Get your review link from your Google Business Profile, then send it to every customer straight after the job, with one friendly line asking for an honest review. Don’t offer anything in return, and don’t pick and choose who you ask. Make it part of finishing every job, so nobody gets missed.
Most good businesses have far fewer reviews than they’ve earned. Customers are happy, they mean to leave one, and then they forget.
That costs you. Google says more reviews and good ratings can help your local ranking, and reviews are what people read when they’re choosing between you and the business next to you on the list.
The fix isn’t clever. You just need an easy way to ask, and the habit of asking.
What does Google allow when you ask for reviews?
Google is happy for you to ask. Its own tips suggest doing it, and its policy allows requests for genuine reviews as long as you don’t offer an incentive or try to influence the rating or what people write.
Here’s where people get into trouble:
- Rewards: a discount, a free service or money in return for a review is banned, and so is offering something to get a bad review changed or removed.
- Only asking happy customers: Google says you can’t selectively ask for positive reviews, or discourage negative ones.
- Staff and family: reviews from current or former employees, relatives and competitors count as a conflict of interest.
- Staff targets: you can’t tell staff to get a set number of reviews, or reviews that name a member of the team.
- Pressure: you can’t require or pressure people to leave a review while they’re on your premises.
How do I get my Google review link?
Sign in at business.google.com, open the reviews section and choose the option to get more reviews. Google then gives you a link to copy and a QR code to save. You’ll need to be on a computer to make the QR code.
Save that link somewhere you can grab it quickly, like a note on your phone. It takes customers straight to the place to write a review, which saves them hunting for you. They’ll need a Google Account, but it doesn’t have to be Gmail.
If you haven’t got a profile yet, start with how to set up a Google Business Profile.
How do I ask for a review without being pushy?
Ask everyone, soon after the work is done, while it’s fresh in their mind. Keep it short, friendly and easy to ignore.
Something like this works, by text or WhatsApp:
“Thanks again for today, Sarah. If you’ve got a minute, an honest Google review really helps a small business like mine. Here’s the link: [your link]”
Notice what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t ask for five stars, and it doesn’t suggest what to write. Google doesn’t want you influencing the content, so leave that to them.
Where else can I share the link?
Google suggests receipts, thank-you emails and the end of a chat with a customer. You can also print the QR code and put it on show.
Some of the places that suit local businesses:
- Mobile and home-visit businesses: a text or WhatsApp as you leave, or a small card with the QR code on it.
- Salons, cafes and shops: the QR code by the till, on the table or on a receipt.
- Appointment businesses: a line in your follow-up or thank-you email.
What’s wrong with asking only my happy customers?
It seems harmless: ask how the customer got on, and only send the good ones to Google. It’s sometimes called review gating, and it breaks Google’s rule against selectively asking for positive reviews.
It also doesn’t help you as much as you’d think. Google itself says a mix of positive and negative feedback often seems more trustworthy. A business with 60 reviews and a 4.7 looks real. A business with 12 reviews and a perfect 5.0 can look like the owner’s mates.
If you do a good job for most people, you’ve got nothing to fear from asking all of them.
Can I have a review station or tablet in my shop?
Google’s policy doesn’t name tablets or kiosks in what I’ve read. What it does rule out is requiring or pressuring people to review you while they’re on your premises.
So I’d skip the tablet on the counter with someone standing over it. A QR code on display is fine, as Google suggests that itself. The cleanest approach is to send the link so people can do it later, on their own phone.
Can I reward my team for getting reviews?
I’d be careful. Google’s pages don’t say anything about staff bonuses as such, but they do ban telling staff to get a set number of reviews, or reviews naming them. A bonus per review is very close to that.
Thank your team when a customer praises them in a review, by all means. Just don’t turn it into a target.
Should I reply to my reviews?
Yes, all of them if you can. Google says replying shows you value feedback, and people reading your reviews will see how you treat customers.
Keep replies short and polite. Avoid pasting the same thank-you everywhere, and don’t use replies to push offers. You’ll need a verified profile to reply.
A bad review needs a bit more thought, so I’ve written a separate guide to bad and fake reviews.
How many Google reviews do I need?
I can’t find a number on Google’s pages, and I’d be wary of anyone who gives you one. The honest measure is your local competition. Search for what you do, look at the businesses ranked above you, and see how many reviews they’ve got.
If they’ve got 30, aim for 30, and keep going after that. I’d also rather see a steady few each month than 20 in one week followed by silence. Google bans unusual patterns or volumes of reviews meant to manipulate a rating, so don’t buy, fake or coordinate a burst.
What happens if I break the rules?
Google can remove the reviews, stop your profile receiving new ones for a while, or unpublish your existing reviews and ratings for a period. It can also put a warning on your profile saying fake reviews were removed. It emails you before a planned restriction, and there’s an appeal form. That banner is about the last thing you want a new customer to read.
Years of honest reviews aren’t worth risking for a few quick ones.
How do I make this happen every week?
Pick one moment in your day and tie the ask to it. For example, you could send the link when you send the invoice, or as soon as the customer leaves.
Better still, don’t rely on remembering. An automatic text after each job means every customer gets asked, even in your busiest weeks.
Want the asking done for you?
That’s part of what Digimill sets up for local businesses across Lancashire and Yorkshire. Customers get a text after the job inviting a Google review, and your reviews then appear on your website, where new customers can see them.
Tell me about your business and I’ll build you a free preview of what your site could look like, with nothing to pay unless you go ahead.