Getting Google reviews without being a pest

Two hundred happy customers and eleven reviews is normal, and it is entirely a problem of asking. Here is when to ask, what to say, and what you must never do.

Reviews are the single strongest thing on a Google Business Profile that you can influence directly, and almost every trade under-collects them by an order of magnitude.

The timing

The evening of the job, not a week later. The customer still remembers being relieved. A week later they remember the invoice.

The wording

Short, specific, and with the link doing the work. Something like:

Thanks again for today — glad we got it sorted. If you've got 30 seconds, a quick Google review really helps a small business like ours. [link]

Two rules on that message: send the direct review link, not the words "search us on Google", and never send it twice. One ask, and if nothing comes, let it go.

The thing you must never do

Do not offer anything in return — no discount, no entry into a draw, no free callout. In Australia, incentivised reviews are treated as misleading conduct and the ACCC has taken action over exactly this. It also gets reviews removed, so you lose the review and take the risk.

Ask everyone, not just the ones you think loved you. Selecting only your favourites is how a business ends up with eleven reviews and a story about how they are all real.

What to do with a bad one

Reply once, publicly, calmly, with the facts and an offer to sort it offline. You are not writing to the reviewer — you are writing to the next hundred people who read it, and a measured reply under a harsh review has converted more customers than a perfect score ever did.