Reviews: ask everyone, reply to everyone

Reviews do two jobs. How many you have, how good they are and how recent they are help you climb on Google Maps. The words in them give customers and AI something specific to repeat: same-day service, fair prices, a tidy job.

The way to get more is simple, and most businesses don't do it: ask every customer, every time, right after the job.

The rules

• Never offer anything for a review: no discounts, gifts or prize draws. Google doesn't allow it at all, and the FTC's 2024 rule on reviews bans fake reviews and rewards for positive ones.
• Ask everyone, not just the happy ones. Sending only happy customers to Google (“review gating”) breaks Google's rules.
• Don't review yourself, and don't ask staff, friends or family to review you as if they were customers.
• It's fine to ask customers to mention the job. It's not fine to tell them what to write or what rating to give.

A routine that works

• Get your review link and QR code from your profile: look for Ask for reviews.
• Text it to every customer within a few hours of the job, with their name and the job: “Thanks for having us out today, Sarah! If you have a minute, a Google review mentioning the furnace repair would mean a lot.”
• Print the QR code on invoices and leave-behind cards.

Reply to every review

Reply to every review within a couple of days. Thank happy customers by name and mention the job. For an unhappy one, stay calm and brief: thank them, say you're sorry it went wrong, and offer to sort it out offline. Future customers read your replies, and so does AI.

If a review breaks Google's rules (it's fake, it's from a competitor, or it isn't about a real experience), report it from your profile. Don't argue in public.