Google reviews

How do you get more reviews?

Ask. Most happy customers never think to leave a review, and most will if you make it easy. Google's help pages suggest sending customers a link or a QR code that goes straight to your review form. You'll find both in your Business Profile under the option to ask for reviews.

Ask at the moment the customer is happiest: right after the furnace is running again, when the patient is checking out after a good cleaning, when the settlement check clears. A text with the link, sent the same day, works better than a request buried in a monthly newsletter.

Keep it steady. A burst of 40 reviews in one week and then nothing for a year looks odd to customers reading them. A few new reviews every week keeps your profile current, and the newest reviews are the ones people read first.

The customer needs a Google account to leave a review. They can make one with any email address, not only Gmail.

What's against Google's rules?

Google's review policy is strict, and breaking it can get reviews removed or the profile restricted. Ask every customer the same way, and let the stars fall where they fall. One honest three-star review with a calm, helpful reply often does more for a new customer's trust than a wall of perfect ratings.

• No incentives. You can't offer a discount, a gift card, a free service or anything else in exchange for a review.
• No review gating. You can't ask only the customers you expect to be happy, or send unhappy ones somewhere else first.
• No fake reviews, including reviews from staff, family or anyone who wasn't a real customer.
• No pressure on the spot, like standing over a customer's shoulder until they post.

How should you reply to reviews?

Reply to all of them, good and bad. Google lists replying to reviews as one of its tips for local ranking, and customers read your replies to see how you treat people.

Keep good-review replies short and specific: thank them by name and mention the job. "Thanks, Maria. Glad the new water heater is keeping up with the whole family."

For a bad review, reply calmly, own what went wrong, and offer a way to fix it offline with a phone number or email. Don't argue, and never share details about the customer, their health or their case. A dentist or lawyer especially has to watch privacy here, because even confirming someone was a patient or client can be a problem.

Reply within a few days while the job is fresh. The person reading your replies is usually the next customer, deciding whether to call you, so write for them as much as for the reviewer.

Common mistakes

• Offering a discount for a review, which is against Google's policy.
• Sending unhappy customers to a private form and only happy ones to Google.
• Arguing with a bad review in public, or sharing a customer's private details in the reply.