Google reviews: how to get more of them, without tricks

Why they matter so much

Anyone who looks you up on Google sees your name, the stars and the number of reviews before they even see your website. That's where they decide whether to click. And for searches in your area, Google itself lists reviews among the things that help your profile's visibility: the number, the rating and the replies all count.

How to ask for them, in five steps

1. Get the direct link. From your Google Business Profile, in the section for asking for reviews, copy a short link that takes people straight to the window where they write one.
2. Turn it into a QR code to put on the counter, on the receipt, on your business card or on the table.
3. Ask at the right moment: when the customer thanks you, when they collect the finished job, at the end of the treatment. One sentence is enough: “If you were happy with us, a review on Google helps us enormously.”
4. Send the link on WhatsApp to people who have just had the service, with a couple of lines of thanks.
5. Put a button on your website, “Leave a review”, on the contact page.

What never to do

Google's content rules expressly forbid a few things. If you do any of them, you risk having reviews removed or your profile restricted:

• Offering something in return: discounts, freebies, money, even just “a coffee on the house for anyone who leaves a review”.
• Asking for reviews only from happy customers, choosing who to invite, or discouraging negative ones.
• Writing them yourself, or getting relatives, employees or friends to write them.
• Buying them. As well as breaking Google's rules, fake reviews are also illegal under consumer protection law.

How to reply

Reply to every one, even five-star reviews with no text: a thank-you with the person's name is enough. It's mostly future customers who read your replies.

For negative ones: wait until you're calm, say thank you, acknowledge whatever is true in it, explain in a line and take the conversation off Google. No personal details about the customer, no courtroom tone. An example:

Thank you for writing to us, Marco. You're right about the wait on Saturday night: we were short-staffed and that's not the service we want to give. If you call us on 000 000 000, we'd like to make it up to you on your next visit.

Reviews on your own website

Showing a few real reviews on your website helps anyone who's undecided: a name or initials, a short text, a link to read them all on Google. Don't make them up and don't edit them. Bear in mind, too, that since 2019 Google no longer shows the little stars in search results for reviews you publish on your own website: they're there for your customers, not for your ranking.

Ten recent reviews with replies are worth more than a hundred reviews that are years old.

Your Google Business Profile and your website work together: we explain it step by step in the guide on how to get found on Google.

Further reading

• Getting found on Google as a local business
• Websites for hairdressers and beauticians: what they need
• Is Instagram enough, or do you need a website too?