1 Day Marketing
How to Get More Google Reviews
Reviews are the first thing a local customer looks at and the last thing most small businesses get around to asking for. Here’s the simple version.
Someone searches for what you do, sees three businesses in the map results, and picks one. Nine times out of ten they pick on reviews — how many, how recent, and how you responded to the ordinary ones. It’s free marketing that works while you sleep, and most owners never ask for it.
Getting more Google reviews comes down to two things: claiming your Google Business Profile so the reviews have somewhere to land, then making it so fast and simple for customers that saying yes takes less effort than saying no.
1. Grab your direct review link
- Log into your Google Business Profile dashboard. If you’ve never claimed it, do that first — you can’t collect reviews properly on a profile you don’t control.
- Find the “Get more reviews” card on the Home tab. It’s right there on the dashboard, not buried in settings.
- Copy the short URL, or download the QR code. That link takes a customer straight to the review box with the stars ready to click. No searching, no scrolling, no excuses.
2. Ask at the right time
- Send it within 24 to 48 hours. While the job is fresh and they’re still pleased with you. A week later the feeling has faded and your message is an interruption.
- Keep it short and personal. “Hi [Name], thanks for choosing us! Would you mind sharing your experience to help others? [Link]” That’s the whole message. Don’t write a paragraph.
- Ask face-to-face when they’re happy. If a customer tells you they’re rapt with the work, that’s the moment. Ask right then, and follow up with the link so they don’t have to remember.
3. Put the link everywhere
- Email signature. A one-line “Happy with our work? Leave us a review” button on every email you send, forever.
- Invoices and receipts. Add it to the bottom of your digital invoice or post-service follow-up.
- Print the QR code. Front counter, tables, business cards, the back of a job sheet. People will scan a code they can see.
- Automated texts. If your booking or job software sends a completion message, put the link in it and it runs itself.
4. Follow Google’s rules
- Never buy reviews or pay for them. No discounts, no freebies, no gift card in exchange for stars. It breaches Google’s policies and can get your profile suspended, which costs you far more than the reviews were worth.
- Reply to every review, good and bad. Politely, professionally, and quickly. Future customers read your replies as closely as they read the reviews.
- Don’t panic about a bad one. A calm, specific reply to a negative review builds more trust than a page of flawless five stars, which most people quietly assume are fake.
The ask is the whole strategy
Most businesses with few reviews don’t have unhappy customers. They have happy customers nobody ever asked.
The hard part isn’t the tactics — it’s doing it every week when there’s a job on. An outsourced marketing manager sets the whole thing up once: profile claimed and tidy, review link built into your emails, invoices and signage, a simple routine for asking, and replies handled so your profile doesn’t sit there ignored.
Want more reviews without chasing them yourself?
Book a free 20-minute discovery call or marketing health check — no pressure, no jargon.
Book your free 20-minute sessionFrequently Asked Questions
How many Google reviews do I actually need?
Enough to look established and active in your area — and recent ones matter more than the total. A steady trickle every month beats a burst of twenty two years ago.
Can I offer a discount for leaving a review?
No. Incentivising reviews breaches Google’s policies and puts your profile at risk of suspension. Ask well and ask often instead.
What should I do about a bad review?
Reply within a day or two, stay polite, acknowledge the issue and offer to sort it offline. You’re writing for everyone who reads it later, not just the reviewer.
1 Day Marketing. One day at a time. Based in Ipswich, serving small businesses across Brisbane and beyond.
