How to Get More Google Reviews for Your Business

I see this all the time. A business has been trading for years, does great work, gets plenty of word-of-mouth recommendations. But their Google Business Profile has zero reviews. Meanwhile a competitor with half the experience has 40+ reviews and shows up above them in every local search.

The difference isn’t quality of work. It’s who figured out how to ask.

Most happy customers don’t think to leave a review unless someone prompts them. And most business owners feel awkward about prompting. So the businesses that rank well on Google Maps aren’t always the best. They’re just the ones with a system for asking.

Why reviews actually matter

I’ve written before about getting your business on Google Maps, and reviews are a huge part of how that works in practice.

Google uses reviews as one of its signals for local search ranking. Businesses with more reviews (and better ratings) tend to appear higher in the local pack. That’s the map section with three results that shows up when someone searches for a local service. Being in that pack is incredibly valuable. Being below it means most people never see you.

But it’s not just about ranking. Reviews affect whether people actually click through and contact you.

Think about your own behaviour. If you’re choosing between two plumbers and one has 60 reviews averaging 4.8 stars while the other has 3 reviews and no rating, which one are you calling? The reviews are doing the selling before the customer even visits your website.

How to ask without being awkward

This is the part everyone gets stuck on. Nobody wants to be that business owner who corners a customer and says “PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW.” It feels desperate.

The good news is it doesn’t have to feel like that. Here are approaches that actually work.

Ask at the moment of happiness. The best time to ask is right after you’ve finished a job and the customer is pleased. If someone says “that looks brilliant, really happy with it,” that’s your cue. Something like “Thanks, I really appreciate that. If you get a chance, a quick Google review would be a massive help. Totally understand if you don’t get round to it.” That’s it. No pressure. Most people say “yeah, of course” and about half of them actually do it.

Make it stupidly easy. The number one reason people don’t leave reviews isn’t that they don’t want to. It’s that they can’t be bothered to figure out how. You need to remove every possible step.

Go to your Google Business Profile, find the “Ask for reviews” section, and copy your direct review link. It looks something like a long Google URL. Then use a URL shortener or, better yet, create a simple redirect from your own website (like yourbusiness.co.uk/review). Send that link to customers by text or email. One tap, they’re on the review page, they type a few words, done.

Text beats email. I’ve tested this with a few clients, and texts get roughly three times more reviews than emails. People read texts immediately. Emails sit in an inbox and get forgotten. Keep the text short: “Hi [name], thanks for choosing us! If you’ve got 30 seconds, a Google review would really help us out: [link]. No worries if not!”

Follow up once, and only once. If someone hasn’t left a review after a week, one gentle reminder is fine. “Just a quick nudge about that Google review if you get a chance.” After that, leave it. Two follow-ups makes you annoying.

Ask your regulars. If you’ve got customers who come back repeatedly, they’re the most likely to say yes. They already trust you. A casual “You’ve been coming here for ages and I’ve never asked you this, but would you mind leaving us a Google review?” works well because it acknowledges the relationship.

Responding to reviews (yes, all of them)

Once reviews start coming in, respond to every single one. Positive and negative. Google has confirmed that responses are a factor in local ranking, and it shows potential customers that there’s a real person behind the business.

For positive reviews: Keep it short and genuine. “Thanks Sarah, really glad you’re happy with the garden. It was a good project.” Don’t copy-paste the same response for every review. People notice, and it looks automated.

For negative reviews: This is where a lot of business owners panic. Take a breath. A negative review is not the end of the world. How you respond matters more than the review itself.

Stay calm and professional. Acknowledge the issue. Offer to make it right. Something like: “I’m sorry to hear you weren’t happy with the finish. I’d like to put this right. Could you give me a ring on [number] so we can sort it out?”

What you absolutely should not do: get defensive, argue in public, blame the customer, or write a paragraph explaining why they’re wrong. Even if they are wrong. Other potential customers are reading your response, and they want to see someone who handles complaints well.

One genuinely poor review among 30 positive ones won’t hurt you. In fact, it can actually help. A business with nothing but perfect 5-star reviews looks suspicious. People trust a 4.7 average more than a perfect 5.0.

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying reviews. Don’t. Google is increasingly good at detecting fake reviews and will remove them. In some cases, they’ll penalise your entire listing. It’s not worth the risk, and it’s obvious to customers. Ten reviews all posted on the same day by accounts with no other activity? Everyone can see through that.

Review gating. This is where you ask customers how they found the service first, and only send the review link to the ones who say they’re happy. Google specifically prohibits this. You’re supposed to give all customers equal opportunity to review, not filter out the negative ones.

Offering incentives. “Leave a review and get 10% off your next visit.” Also against Google’s policies. You can ask for reviews. You can make it easy. You can’t pay for them.

Only asking once and giving up. Building reviews is a habit, not a one-time campaign. Work the ask into your normal process. Make it part of how you close out every job. After a few weeks, it becomes second nature.

Ignoring old negative reviews. If you’ve got negative reviews from a year ago that you never responded to, go back and respond now. It’s not too late. A late response is better than no response.

A simple system that works

My landscaper set up something straightforward that got him from zero to 23 reviews in about six weeks.

At the end of every job, while he was packing up his tools, he’d say something like “Really happy with how this turned out. If you are too, I’d massively appreciate a quick Google review.” Then he’d text the customer his review link that evening. Short message, link, done.

That was the whole system. No software. No automation. Just a consistent ask and a convenient link.

He’s now at 45 reviews and counting. He consistently appears in the local three-pack for landscaping searches in his area. He told me last month that at least a third of his new enquiries mention his Google reviews when they first get in touch.

The reviews didn’t just help his ranking. They gave new customers the confidence to pick up the phone.

What I’d focus on first

If you’re starting from scratch, don’t try to get 50 reviews in a month. It’ll look unnatural and you’ll burn yourself out asking.

Set a modest target. Five reviews in your first month. Then two or three a month after that. Consistency matters more than volume. Thirty reviews built up steadily over a year looks far more legitimate than thirty reviews that all appeared in week one.

Make sure your Google Business Profile is fully completed first. There’s no point sending people to a half-empty listing. Fill in your hours, add photos, write a description. I’ve covered all of that in my Google Maps guide if you haven’t done it yet.

And remember: every happy customer who walks away without being asked is a missed review. You don’t need to be pushy about it. Just consistent.

If you want help getting your Google Business Profile into shape, or you’re not sure why your reviews aren’t translating into better local visibility, feel free to drop me a line. I can usually spot the issue pretty quickly.