In short: most happy customers will leave a review if you ask them at the right moment and make it easy. Ask in person, send a direct link, reply to every review, and never buy, trade for or write your own. Here is how.
When someone searches for what you do, your Google reviews are often the first thing they read about you. A handful of real, recent, well-written reviews does more to settle a decision than anything you could say about yourself. The good news is that you do not need a trick to collect them. You need a habit.
Ask at the right moment
The best time to ask is straight after a job goes well: when the customer has just thanked you, when they have seen the finished work, or when they say something kind. That is when the experience is fresh and the goodwill is high. Leave it a month and the moment has gone.
Asking in person is the most natural way. Something as simple as "If you are happy with it, a quick review on Google would really help us" is usually enough. Most people are glad to help a business they have just had a good experience with.
Make it easy
Every extra step loses a few people. Your Google Business Profile has a link that takes someone directly to the box where they can write a review. Send that link by text message or email straight after the job, put it on your invoice or receipt, or turn it into a QR code that customers can scan from a card or a counter display. If you have not set up your profile yet, start with our simple guide to Google Business Profile.
A message you can adapt
Keep it short, personal and free of pressure. For example: "Thanks again for choosing us. If you were happy with the work, it would mean a lot if you could leave a short review on Google. Here is the link. Thank you." Add the customer's name and mention the job, and it will read like it came from a person, because it did.
Reply to every review
Thank people who leave good reviews, and mention something specific from what they wrote. For a critical review, stay calm and factual. Say sorry if something went wrong, say what you will do about it, and offer to carry on the conversation away from the review. Future customers will read your reply as well as the review, and a measured answer often says more about you than the complaint did.
What never to do
- Never buy reviews or write your own. It is dishonest, customers can often tell, and it risks your profile.
- Never offer a discount or a free gift in return for a review. Reviews given for a reward are against Google's review rules, and they stop being a fair picture of your business.
- Never ask only certain customers to leave a review. The goal is a true picture. Ask everyone who has had a good experience.
- Never argue. You will not win a public argument, and you will not need to.
Using your reviews on your website
A website is a good place to show what customers say about you, as long as the words are real and you have permission to use them. We never invent reviews on the websites we build; the ones on our examples page come from real customers. If you want to see how that works, our how it works page shows where reviews fit into the five stages.
When a review feels unfair
Every business gets one eventually: a review from someone who was never a customer, or who describes something that did not happen. If it breaks Google's rules, you can report it, but do not count on it being removed simply because you disagree with it. Reply politely and factually either way. Readers are good at spotting the difference between a fair complaint and an unreasonable one, and your calm reply is what they will remember.
Where to ask
Think about where your customers already see you. If you are in someone's home, ask before you leave. If you work on a counter, a small card by the till does the job. If most of your contact is by message, add the link to the last message of the job. Pick two or three places and stick with them, rather than trying everything at once.
Make it a habit
Do not try to collect fifty reviews in a week. Ask after every good job, and the reviews will build up steadily and look natural. A steady flow of recent reviews is more reassuring than a burst followed by silence.