How to get more Google reviews as a tradie

Ask every customer, the same day the job is done, with a short text that includes your Google review link. Make it one tap: the link opens the review form. Ask everyone, not just the happy ones, and never offer a discount or a gift for a review. Google bans both, and they put your profile at risk.

Why reviews matter for a trade business

Google says the number of reviews you have and your rating help decide where you show in local results: "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking" (Google). Customers read them too. A plumber with 80 recent reviews looks safer to call than one with 6 from three years ago.

There's no shortcut. Google says there's no way to pay for a better local ranking, so reviews are earned one job at a time.

When to ask

• Straight after the job, while the customer is still pleased the hot water's back on. A day later they've moved on.
• By text. Most customers read a text within minutes. An email can sit unopened.
• Once. One polite ask, maybe one reminder. More than that feels like pressure.

What to send: text templates

Keep it short, use their name, and put the link last so it's easy to tap.

Hi Jo, thanks for choosing JAX Tyres & Auto today. If you have a minute, a Google review would help us a lot: [your review link]

Hi Sam, glad we could sort the switchboard this morning. Would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It helps other locals find us: [your review link]

Hi Priya, thanks again for having us out. If you were happy with the job, we'd love a Google review. If anything wasn't right, reply here and we'll fix it: [your review link]

The third one does both jobs: it asks for a review, and it gives an unhappy customer a way to tell you first. It still goes to everyone, which keeps it inside Google's rules.

Where to get your review link

Your review link comes from your Business Profile: Read reviews, then Get more reviews, then Copy. On a computer you can also save a QR code there. The full steps are in How to find your Google review link and make a QR code.

What Google and the ACCC don't allow

Google's policy lists what counts as manipulating reviews (Google). For a trade business, the ones to watch:

• No incentives. No discounts, freebies or entry into a draw for a review.
• No review gating. You can't ask only the customers you think liked the job.
• No reviews from staff or family. Google treats them as a conflict of interest.
• No pressure or scripts. Don't stand over customers while they write one, and don't tell them what to say.

Break these and Google can stop new reviews on your profile for a while, hide existing ones, or show a warning to customers that fake reviews were removed (Google).

The ACCC is just as clear. Fake reviews are against the law, and so are reviews from family or staff that don't say who wrote them (ACCC). ServiceSeeking, a tradie quote site, was penalised $600,000 for letting businesses draft their own reviews.

The ACCC allows some incentives if they're disclosed and offered whatever the review says. Google doesn't allow any, so the safe rule is simple: offer nothing.

Make it a habit, not a campaign

A burst of 30 reviews in a week, then nothing, looks odd to customers and to Google, which watches for unusual patterns. Steady beats sudden:

1. Ask after every finished job.
2. Use the same short text each time, with the customer's name.
3. Reply to the reviews you get, good and bad. See How to reply to Google reviews.

TapBook sends the text for you. When you mark a job complete, the customer gets a short review request by text and email, with your review link. It goes to every customer, never more than once in 90 days, and never after they've opted out. See how it works.