Of everything you can do in your first few months with a new site, this matters most.
Ten genuine Google reviews moves you from “unproven” to “established” in a customer's mind — and in Google's. Below ten, customers hesitate. Above ten, the hesitation goes away.
The good news is you almost certainly already have ten happy customers. You just haven't asked them yet.
Why Google reviews specifically
You might already have reviews on Checkatrade, Facebook, or in WhatsApps with old customers. Those are nice, but they don't move the needle the same way.
Google reviews show up in three places that matter: on the map listing when someone searches for your trade locally, on your business panel on the right side of Google search, and as star ratings under your website link. Nothing else gets the same triple coverage.
The short version
Ask. After every job. The same way, every time.
That's it. The rest is just making it easy.
How to actually do it
Get your Google review link. Open your Google Business Profile, click “Get more reviews,” and copy the short link Google gives you. It'll look something like g.page/r/abc123/review. Save it somewhere you can find it — Notes app, WhatsApp saved messages, wherever.
Pick your moment. The best time to ask is right after the customer has paid and said “thanks.” They're already feeling positive. The job is fresh. Their phone is probably in their hand.
Send a short message, not a speech. Something like:
Hi [name] — really glad that worked out for you. If you've got a spare minute, a quick Google review makes a big difference to my business: [link]. No worries if you're busy.
Nothing else needed. No long preamble, no apology for asking.
Send it that day. Not “I'll do it Sunday when I catch up on admin.” By Sunday, half of them will have forgotten the job. The window is the same evening.
What if they say they're not sure how?
This is the most common stall. The link takes them straight to the review box on Google, but they may need to be signed in to a Google account on their phone. Most people already are (because of Gmail or Android), but not all.
If they say they're stuck, a short follow-up:
No worries — just needs you signed into a Google account (Gmail counts). Happy to leave it if it's a hassle.
That last sentence matters. Pressuring people for reviews backfires.
What about old customers?
If you've been trading for a while, you've got past customers who'd happily review you if you reminded them. Two ways:
- WhatsApp the last ten you remember being happy. Personal message, same as above. Expect 4–6 to follow through.
- Don't mass-text. Bulk requests look mass-produced and tend to get ignored. Worse, Google can flag a sudden flood of reviews as suspicious.
A steady drip of two or three a week is much better than ten in a day.
What to do with the reviews once you've got them
I link your Google reviews directly into your website at launch, so every new one appears automatically. You don't have to do anything except keep asking. The reviews show up on the site, on your Google listing, and on the map. Same effort, three places.
Last updated: May 2026 · If anything in this guide is out of date or unclear, drop me an email — I'll fix it. nick@neobookworm.uk
If you send me your business name, I’ll point you to the exact place to copy it from.