How to Get More Google Reviews as a Tradie in Australia
Ask every customer, on the day the job is finished, with a link that opens the review box for them. That is most of it. Google allows you to ask. It does not allow paying for reviews, or asking only the customers you expect to be happy. Below: where to find your link, what to send, the rules, and how to reply.
Five steps to a steady run of Google reviews
Get your review link
In your Google Business Profile, choose "Ask for reviews" and copy the link. It opens the review box directly, so the customer does not have to search for your business first.
Ask on the day the job is finished
Send the link while the work is fresh. A short text does it: "Hi [name], thanks for having us today. If you have two minutes, a Google review would mean a lot: [link]".
Put the link on your invoices
Every customer gets the invoice. Add the link and one line asking for a review, and the ask goes out on the days you forget to send the text.
Ask every customer, not just the happy ones
Google's rules bar asking only the customers you expect to be pleased, and bar discouraging a bad review. Send the same request to everyone you do work for.
Reply to every review
Thank the good ones and mention the job. For a bad one, stay polite, keep it short and offer to sort it out directly. Google's own advice is to keep replies polite, short and personal.
What you can and cannot do to get a review
Google's test is that a review reflects a real experience with the business. Asking a real customer for one is allowed, and Google provides the link for it.
Three things are not allowed. You cannot offer anything in return: no discount, no gift, no cash. You cannot ask only the customers you expect to be happy, or steer unhappy ones away from reviewing. And you cannot review your own business or have your staff do it. Google can remove reviews that break its rules.
The screen in the picture is where the link lives, inside the profile. If you have not set a profile up yet, start with how to set up a Google Business Profile.
What reviews do for your ranking
Google names three things that decide local results: relevance, distance and prominence. Review count and rating are part of prominence, and Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help a business's local ranking. It does not say how many you need, and anyone who gives you a number is guessing.
What we can show you is a profile. Pro Detailing Sydney carries 4.9 stars from 56 Google reviews, and it appears on page one for local searches like "car detailing Five Dock". Reviews are one part of that, alongside a complete profile and a website that matches it.
On a Leadwave build we set up your direct review link and give it to you to put on your invoices, with a guide to replying to reviews in line with Google's recommendations. The asking is still yours to do. How reviews fit with the rest of the work for a trade is covered in local SEO for tradies.
Your Google Reviews Questions Answered
What's the best way to ask for a Google review?
Send a short text with your direct review link on the day you finish the job, and print the same link on your invoice. The link opens the review box, so the customer has nothing to search for. Ask every customer the same way, whatever you think they will say.
Can I offer a discount or a gift for a review?
No. Google's rules prohibit offering payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for a review, and that covers good reviews and changed ones alike. Buying reviews is banned for the same reason. Reviews that break the rules can be removed. Ask, and leave it at that.
Does the number of reviews matter more than the rating?
Google counts both. It says review count and review score both feed into local ranking, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help. It does not publish how the two are weighed, so there is no number to aim for. Keep asking and both look after themselves.
What if a customer doesn't leave a review after I ask?
Most people mean to and forget. One reminder a week or so later is reasonable, and the link on the invoice does some of that for you. After that, leave it. Chasing a customer for a review costs more goodwill than the review is worth.
Can I get a bad Google review removed?
Only if it breaks Google's policies, for example if it is fake, abusive or about a different business. Report it from your profile and Google decides. A review that is simply unhappy stays, so reply to it calmly and offer to fix the problem. Other customers read the reply.
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