Why Google reviews decide who gets the call
When someone in your suburb needs a plumber, a sparkie or a chippy, they don't ring the first name they see. They open Google, look at two or three local businesses, and compare stars and review counts. 93% of consumers say online reviews influence their choice (BrightLocal), and businesses with 50+ reviews generate dramatically more enquiries than businesses with fewer than 10.
Review count and recency are also two of the strongest local ranking signals. More reviews doesn't just make you look better in the pack of three results Google shows — it's a big part of why you appear there at all.
The good news: most tradies are terrible at this. A steady trickle of two or three reviews a week puts you ahead of 90% of your local competition within a few months.
Step 1: Get your Google review link
If a customer has to search for your business and find the review button themselves, you've lost them. You need a direct link that opens the review box in one tap.
- Search your business name on Google while signed in to the account that manages your Business Profile.
- In your profile panel, hit "Ask for reviews". Google gives you a short share link (it looks like g.page/r/…).
- Save that link in your phone's notes or as a text shortcut. It's about to become your most-used sales tool.
Optional but worth it: turn the link into a QR code and stick it on your invoices and the back of your business card.
Step 2: Ask every customer, every time
The single biggest difference between a 9-review tradie and a 90-review tradie isn't quality of work — it's that one of them asks every customer and the other asks "when I remember", which rounds down to never.
Timing matters more than wording. Ask at the relief moment — when the hot water is back on, the power works, the deck is finished and swept. For most trades that's within a couple of hours of finishing the job, and no later than 24 hours. After that, gratitude fades and life takes over.
Step 3: Ask by SMS, not email
Emails get buried. Texts get read — usually within minutes. Keep it short, personal, and include the link. Here are five templates you can copy straight into your phone:
Hey [name], thanks for choosing [business] today! If you were happy with the job, would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? Takes 30 seconds and helps heaps. [link]
Glad we could get your [hot water / power / leak] sorted today, [name]. If you've got a sec, a quick Google review would mean a lot: [link]. Cheers, [your name]
Thanks again for the work today [name]. We're a small local crew, so Google reviews are how we compete with the big mobs. If you can spare 30 seconds: [link]
Hey [name], no stress if you're flat out — just floating this back up in case you meant to leave that review. Here's the link again: [link]. Thanks either way!
Always good working with you, [name]. You've never left us a Google review — if you rate what we do, it'd be a big help: [link]
Two rules: send one follow-up maximum (nagging costs you goodwill and is a Spam Act headache), and always send from the number they already know.
Step 4: Reply to every review — yes, every one
Around half of Google reviews never get a response from the business. That's a gift to you. Replying to every review does three things: it shows prospects you're switched on, it signals activity to Google, and it makes the reviewer more likely to recommend you again.
Keep replies short, specific and human. Mention the job if you remember it ("Glad the new switchboard's behaving!"). Skip the corporate boilerplate — "We appreciate your feedback and strive for excellence" sounds like a bank, not a tradie.
Step 5: Handle bad reviews like a pro
You will eventually cop an unfair one. Don't panic, and don't fire back. A calm, factual response to a bad review builds more trust with future customers than a wall of perfect 5-star scores — people read the bad ones first, and they're really reading you.
- Respond within 24 hours, politely, without admitting fault or getting personal.
- Take it offline: "Give us a call and we'll sort it out" shows everyone watching that you fix problems.
- If it's fake or abusive, report it through your Business Profile — Google does remove reviews that breach its policies, but it takes persistence.
What NOT to do (this gets tradies burned)
Don't buy reviews. Don't gate. Don't incentivise. Buying reviews or posting fake ones can get your listing suspended, and misleading testimonials breach Australian Consumer Law — the ACCC has prosecuted for it. "Review gating" (only sending the link to customers you know are happy) also breaches Google's policy. Ask everyone, every time — it's both the compliant option and the one that builds a profile people actually believe.
The honest problem with doing all this manually
None of the above is hard. The hard part is doing it every job, every week, forever — while you're quoting, invoicing, chasing materials and actually on the tools. Most tradies run this system flawlessly for about a fortnight.
That's the entire reason ReviewFlow exists. It sends the SMS (and the one polite follow-up) automatically after every job, drafts an AI response to every review in your voice for one-tap approval, and shows your rating, review count and local rank on one dashboard. The system above, minus the remembering.
Want the system without the admin?
ReviewFlow runs review requests and AI responses on autopilot for Aussie tradies. $149/month, 10-minute setup, and if you don't get 10 new reviews in 60 days, you don't pay.
Start my free 14-day trial No credit card. Comparing platforms? See how we stack up against Podium and Birdeye.