Reviews
Google reviews for trades — build a system, not a begging campaign.
Genuine reviews help prospective customers decide whether to ring you. We won't promise a precise ranking benefit from them — what we can tell you is how to build a steady, honest flow of them without risking your profile.
Timing
Ask at the right moment, not any moment.
After successful completion
Once the job is genuinely finished, not mid-way through, and not the moment you hand over the invoice before the customer's had a chance to live with the work.
After the customer confirms satisfaction
A quick 'happy with everything?' conversation first. Asking for a review only once someone has actually said yes avoids awkward asks and weak, reluctant reviews.
After snagging is resolved
If there was a follow-up visit or a small fix needed, ask after that's sorted, not before. A review written mid-snag reads differently to one written once everything's right.
Wording that works
- "Really glad it's all sorted for you. If you've got two minutes, a Google review would genuinely help us — here's the link."
- "Thanks for having us. If you were happy with how it went, a quick Google review makes a real difference to a small business like ours."
Make it easy
Friction is the main reason people don't leave one.
Most people mean to leave a review and never get round to it, not because they weren't happy but because finding your business on Google from memory is more effort than it's worth to them. A direct review link, sent by text or email straight after the job, removes nearly all of that friction.
A QR code on invoices, or on the van for jobs where customers are standing around at the end, works the same way for people who'd rather scan than type. Neither of these is a trick — they just remove the one step that stops a genuinely happy customer following through.
Never do this
Manufactured reviews cost more than they're worth.
Buying reviews
Paid review services are against Google's policies, detectable through pattern analysis, and put your whole profile at risk if caught — not just the fake reviews.
Staff-written fakes
Reviews written by employees or family members posing as customers. Easily spotted by customers reading closely, and against platform rules.
Review swaps
Agreeing with another local business to review each other. This creates an obvious, traceable pattern and breaches guidelines just as directly as buying reviews outright.
Rule-breaking incentives
Discounts or prizes explicitly for leaving a review breach Google's policies. A general 'we appreciate reviews' mention is different from 'leave a review, get £20 off' — the second is the problem.
False customer accounts
Creating accounts to post reviews for work that never happened. Beyond the policy breach, it's straightforwardly dishonest to the people relying on those reviews to make a decision.
Responding
Reply professionally, especially on the bad ones.
A calm, specific reply to a negative review often does more for your credibility with future customers than the review itself does damage.
- Acknowledge specifically what went wrong, without getting defensive.
- Say what you did or will do about it, in concrete terms.
- Invite them to get in touch directly to resolve it properly.
- Keep it short and calm — other prospective customers read this more than the original reviewer does.
On the website
Surface genuine reviews, don't just collect them.
Reviews sitting only on Google are doing half the job they could. Pulling genuine reviews through to the website — as we did on Four Oaks Decorating's site — puts them in front of someone at the exact moment they're deciding whether to enquire, rather than relying on them finding their own way to your Google profile first.
Before you ask
Google reviews — common questions
Next step
Want a proper review system, not just a reminder?
We'll help you build the habit, honestly.
Tell us what your business does and what you need the website to achieve. We'll come back to you personally with honest thoughts — and a clear proposal if it's a good fit.