How to Get Google Reviews (And Why They Matter More Than You Think)

Why Google reviews matter more than you think

When we work on local SEO for clients, one of the first things we look at is their Google Business Profile. Time and again, we see businesses with great websites being outranked in the local map results by competitors with simpler sites but more reviews. Google treats reviews as a trust signal - and in local search, that signal carries serious weight.

When someone searches for a service near them - "electrician in Bradford" or "kitchen fitter Leeds" - Google shows a map with three local results at the top. Which businesses appear there depends partly on how many reviews they have, how recent they are, and how good their ratings are. More genuine reviews means a better chance of appearing in that top three - and that spot brings in calls without you spending a penny on ads.

We've had clients tell us that new customers mentioned checking their Google reviews before getting in touch. It's become a standard step in how people choose local businesses - search, check the reviews, then decide whether to call. If you've got no reviews or very few, you're at a disadvantage before the conversation even starts.

The connection between reviews and your website

Your website and your Google reviews work together. A visitor who's already seen a 4.8-star rating on Google arrives at your site with confidence. They're already partway to trusting you. A visitor who found no reviews - or worse, saw a low rating - arrives sceptical, and your website has to work much harder to win them over.

Think of your reviews as the front door and your website as the showroom. If the front door looks neglected, fewer people will bother walking through it. We've written about making sure your website does its job in our guide on how to tell if your website is costing you customers - but even the best website struggles if your review profile isn't backing it up.

This also works the other way around. A strong review profile can drive traffic directly to your site. When someone sees five stars and clicks through to learn more, they're already a warm lead. That's the kind of visitor most likely to pick up the phone or fill in a form.

How to actually get more reviews

The simplest thing you can do is create a direct link to your Google review form and send it to customers after a job. Google lets you generate this from your Business Profile. We recommend saving it as a short link and keeping it ready - on your phone, in your email signature, even printed on a card you hand over with your invoice. The fewer steps between "that was great" and "I'll leave a review," the more reviews you'll get.

The best time to ask is immediately after a positive experience - not three weeks later in a follow-up email. If a customer thanks you or compliments the work, that's your window. A simple "Thanks, that means a lot - if you've got a minute, a Google review would really help us out" is all it takes. Most people are happy to help; they just need to be asked.

Here are a few practical ways to make it part of your routine: add your review link to your email signature so every message is a gentle reminder, print a small card with a QR code that links to your review page and include it with invoices, mention it in your follow-up message after completing a job, and if you have a website, add a "Leave us a review" link somewhere visible. For more on setting up your Google Business Profile properly, take a look at our post on whether small businesses actually need SEO.

What to do when you get a bad review

A business with nothing but five-star reviews can actually look suspicious. A handful of four-star or even three-star reviews among mostly positive ones makes the whole profile more believable. We've seen clients panic over a single less-than-perfect review, but in context it often makes their other reviews look more trustworthy, not less.

How you respond to a bad review matters more than the review itself. A calm, professional reply that acknowledges the issue and offers to make it right tells every future visitor that you take your work seriously. We always advise: thank them for the feedback, apologise if appropriate, and offer to continue the conversation privately. Never argue in a public reply.

Every potential customer who reads your reviews will also read your responses. A defensive or aggressive reply does far more damage than the original complaint. A thoughtful, measured response can actually turn a negative review into a positive impression of how you handle problems.

What not to do

Google has clear rules about reviews, and breaking them can get your reviews removed or your profile penalised. The main things to avoid: don't offer discounts or incentives in exchange for reviews, don't buy fake reviews from online services, and don't "gate" your reviews by only asking customers you know are happy.

It might be tempting to filter out potentially negative feedback, but Google considers review gating a violation of their policies. The goal is to build a genuine, honest profile - not a perfect one. A real mix of reviews with an overall strong rating is far more valuable than a suspiciously flawless score.

Focus on doing great work and making it easy for people to share their experience. That's the only sustainable strategy, and it's the one that actually builds the kind of trust that brings in new business.

Start with your next customer

You don't need a reputation management strategy or an expensive tool. You just need to start asking. Your next happy customer is your next review - all you need to do is make it easy for them.

Set up your Google Business Profile if you haven't already, generate your review link, and start including it in your follow-ups. Do that consistently and within a few months you'll have a review profile that works for your business around the clock - building trust with potential customers before they even visit your website.