Google reviews · Part of Growth
Getting and answering Google reviews, the honest way.
How to ask, what Google allows, how to answer a bad review and what to do about a fake one. You can do all of it yourself; the Growth plan does the watching and drafting for you.
Sample data · “Your Business”, Oxford, AL
Quick answer
How do I get more Google reviews?
Ask every customer, right after the job is done, and send them your direct Google review link so it takes one tap. Never pay for a review, never ask only the happy customers, and never review your own business. A steady trickle of recent, real reviews does more for you than a large pile of old ones.
How to ask
Ask everyone, right after the job.
Most happy customers will leave a review if it is easy and someone asks. Most never get asked.
Get your review link
In your Google Business Profile, choose the option to ask for reviews. Google gives you a short link and a QR code that open the review box directly.
Ask at the right moment
The best time is when the work is finished and the customer has just said thanks. A week later, most people have moved on.
Ask in person, then send the link
Say it out loud: “Would you leave us a Google review? I’ll send you the link.” Then send it by email, or print the QR code on the invoice.
Make it everyone, every time
Build it into closing out a job so it does not depend on anyone remembering. Send the same link to every customer.
The customer needs to be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review. Do not write it for them, and do not hand them your own phone or tablet to do it on the spot.
Google’s rules, in plain words
Four things that get reviews removed.
The rules are simple once you see the idea behind them: a review should be a real customer’s own experience, freely given.
Paying for reviews
No payment, discounts, free goods or free services in return for a review. That includes a drawing or a gift card, and it includes offering something to change or remove a bad review.
Review gating
Asking only the customers you expect to be happy, or steering unhappy ones to a private form first. Google’s policy says not to discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive ones.
Reviewing yourself
Owners and current or former employees should not review their own business, and nobody should post on a competitor’s profile to hurt it. Google treats both as a conflict of interest.
Pressure and quotas
Do not pressure customers to write a review while they are on the premises, and do not set staff a number of reviews to collect or tell them what the reviews should say.
These are summaries of Google’s published Maps contribution policy, checked in November 2026. Google can remove reviews that break it and can restrict a profile that keeps doing so. Read the current policy before starting any review program.
Recent beats many
Why steady reviews matter more than a big old pile.
Do not chase a number. Build the habit of asking and let the count take care of itself.
- Customers read the newest ones. A review from last month says the business is open and still doing good work. A page of reviews from years ago says less.
- Sudden bursts look odd. Twenty reviews in one weekend, then silence, is the pattern of a bought batch. One or two a month looks like what it is: real customers.
- Details help strangers. A review that names the service and the town tells the next reader, and search tools, what you actually do.
- A perfect score is not the goal. A few honest four-star reviews with thoughtful replies are more believable than a wall of fives.
The bad review
Answer it for the next reader.
You are not writing to the unhappy customer. You are writing to the hundred people who will read your reply before they decide to call.
- 01
Wait an hour
Never reply angry. The reply is public and it stays.
- 02
Thank them and name the issue
A short, calm acknowledgment. Do not argue the details line by line.
- 03
Say what you will do
If you were wrong, say so and say how you are fixing it. If you disagree, say you want to make it right and leave it there.
- 04
Take it offline
Give a phone number and a name to ask for. Never put the customer’s private details, job address or bill in a public reply.
- 05
Follow through
If you fix it, the customer may update the review on their own. You may not offer anything in exchange for changing it.
The fake review
What to do when it is not a real customer.
Google removes reviews that break its policy, not reviews that are merely unfair. A harsh opinion from a real customer usually stays.
- Check your records first. Search the name, the date and the job described. Sometimes it is a real customer under a different name.
- Report it to Google. Use the report option next to the review, or the review tools in your profile, and pick the reason that fits, such as spam or conflict of interest.
- Reply once, calmly. Something like: “We have no record of this job. Please call us so we can look into it.” Readers understand.
- Do not retaliate. No reviews on the other party’s profile and no friends piling on. That breaks the same rules.
- Keep earning real ones. Google decides whether a reported review comes down, and it does not always agree. Fresh real reviews push a bad one down the page.
What it costs
One monthly price, in writing.
Reviews are part of Growth. Your reviews are shown on your website, you get an alert on each new one, and a reply is drafted for you to approve. We also set up your review link and the wording to send with it.
Keeps the site online, safe and backed up. No marketing work.
- Hosting
- Security & updates
- Backups
- Small changes
- A local person to call or text
- Everything in Care, plus:
- Every finished job becomes a post on your site
- Google Business Profile set up and kept current
- Same name, address and phone on every listing site
- 2 new service or town pages a month, plus question pages
- Reviews shown on your site, with an alert and a drafted reply for each new one
- A monthly check on whether ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI mention you
- Weekly scan for broken links and wrong phone numbers
- A plain-English monthly report
Ad spend, photo day, a call tracking number and extra pages are add-ons, quoted when you ask. Verified 501(c)(3) nonprofits get 15% off.
Questions
Review questions, plainly answered.
Can I offer a discount for a review?
No. Google does not allow payment, discounts, free goods or free services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing one.
Can I ask only my happy customers?
No. Google’s policy says not to discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive ones. Ask every customer the same way.
Can my employees or family review us?
Employees should not; Google treats current or former employment as a conflict of interest. A family member who was never a paying customer is not giving a real customer’s experience either.
Should I reply to every review?
Reply to every negative one and to as many positive ones as you can, briefly and in your own words. Avoid pasting the same thank-you on all of them.
Can I get a bad review removed?
Only if it breaks Google’s policy, for example spam, a conflict of interest or content that is off-topic. You report it and Google decides. A real customer’s honest bad opinion stays.
Do you write reviews or replies for us?
We never write, buy or solicit fake reviews. In Growth we draft a reply to each new review, and nothing is posted until you approve it.
Do reviews help me show up on Google?
Google says prominence, which includes review count and rating, is one of the things it weighs for local results. Nobody can promise a ranking from reviews, and we will not.
Contact
Ask for a preview of your new site.
Tell us your business name and your current web address. We build the preview from your public info and text you the link.