# How to get more Google reviews without being pushy.

> The best time to ask for a Google review is before the truck leaves the driveway. Here is how to ask, and what Google and the FTC do not allow.

Source: https://b-sideprojects.com/shop-talk/seo/get-more-google-reviews/

Most trade businesses with a handful of reviews have plenty of happy customers who were never asked. This page is about asking at the right moment, and staying inside Google's rules while you do it.

![](https://b-sideprojects.com/images/portrait-ryan-2-bw-480.webp)

[Ryan Stogran](https://b-sideprojects.com/about/)Updated October 27, 2026

[SEO](https://b-sideprojects.com/shop-talk/seo/)

The easiest time to get a Google review is the ten minutes before your truck leaves the driveway, while the customer is still looking at the work.

_Drawing: A phone showing a text thread with Tri-City Heating at 4:52 pm. Marco texts Dana that her new furnace is in and the old one is gone, then asks for a Google review with a short review link. Dana replies that it is done and thanks him._

People do write reviews when somebody asks. [A BrightLocal survey](https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/) of 1,002 US adults, published in February 2026, found that 78 percent had been asked for a review in the past year, and 28 percent said they always write one when asked. Your customers are being asked by the dentist and the car dealer, so the shops that never ask fall behind without doing anything wrong.

## When to ask.

Ask in person at the end of the job, and have whoever did the work do the asking. The customer met your tech, not your office, and the furnace is running or the leak has stopped right in front of them. That is the moment they are most likely to say yes, and it is gone by the time the invoice is paid.

For an HVAC install, the moment is after you've walked the homeowner through the new thermostat. For a roofer, it's after the final cleanup, when the yard has been swept for nails and the customer has walked around the house with you.

The ask itself is one or two sentences, said the same way to every customer: "Would you mind leaving us a Google review? It helps a small shop a lot, and I'll text you the link so it takes a minute."

Then send that text before the truck is out of the neighbourhood. A text that arrives the next week is competing with everything else on their phone.

The one exception is the emergency call. A plumber who shuts off a burst pipe at two in the morning should not ask for a review at the door while the homeowner is standing in wet socks. Send the text the next morning instead, once the water is off the floor and they've had a coffee.

## Send a short link by text.

Google gives every Google Business Profile (the box with your hours and reviews on Google Maps and beside the search results) [a short link that opens the review box](https://support.google.com/business/answer/16816815?hl=en). On a computer, open your profile, choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link. The same screen gives you a QR code, and Google only makes that on a computer browser, not on a phone.

Put the link in a text from a number the customer already knows, and say who it's from in the first line. Something like this works: "Hi Dana, it's Marco from Tri-City Heating. Your new furnace is in and the old one is off the property. If you have a minute, a Google review helps us a lot," with the link after it.

[Google's review tips](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474122?hl=en) say customers have to be signed in to a Google account to leave a review. If someone tells you the link didn't work, that is the first thing to check.

For the customer who wasn't home when the tech left, print the QR code on the invoice, or on a card that goes in the envelope with it. A plumber who leaves a paper invoice on the counter after a hot water tank swap can put the code at the bottom with one plain line under it, like "Tell people how we did on Google."

Whatever you use, ask every customer the same way. That part matters more than the wording, and the next section is why.

## What Google and the law don't allow.

[Google's rules for reviews](https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114?hl=en) are stricter than most owners expect. Its policy bans offering anything in exchange for a review, whether it's cash or ten percent off the next service call, and that holds even when you don't ask for a good review.

The same policy bans discouraging negative reviews and selectively asking happy customers for positive ones. That second practice is called review gating. Some review software does it for you, by sending a "How did we do?" message first and only passing the customers who pick five stars on to Google. If yours works that way, turn that part off and send everyone the same link.

The same goes for the job that went sideways. If the roof leaked after the first rain and your crew had to go back, fix it, and then send that customer the same text you would send anyone else. Leaving them off the list is the manual version of review gating, and an honest three-star review that says you came back and fixed it still tells the next customer something useful.

Your crew and your family are out too. Google's policy counts current and former employees as a conflict of interest. In Canada, [the Competition Bureau says](https://www.canada.ca/en/competition-bureau/news/2024/01/online-reviews-posted-by-employees-businesses-could-be-liable.html) employees who review their employer must disclose the connection, and should not post at all when they can't, which is the case for a star rating with no text.

In the US, [the FTC rule on consumer reviews](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers) took effect on October 21, 2024. It bars fake reviews and incentives that come with an expectation that the review will be positive, and courts can fine businesses that break it knowingly. The FTC also says that asking only satisfied customers could break the FTC Act, even though the rule doesn't name it. For most trade businesses, Google's policy is the one to follow, since it is the stricter of the two and Google is the one that can take reviews down.

Want a second look at how your crew asks?

In 30 minutes on the phone, I look at your reviews and how your shop asks for them, and tell you what I would change first.

[Book a 30 minute call](https://b-sideprojects.com/book/)

## Why recent reviews count.

[Google's page on local ranking](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en) says the number of reviews you have and your rating can both help your local ranking. It doesn't say anything about how recent they are, but your customers care. In the same BrightLocal survey, 74 percent said they look for reviews written in the last three months, and 32 percent look for reviews from the last two weeks.

Picture two HVAC shops in the same town at the start of furnace season. One has 90 reviews and the newest is from 2023. The other has 40, and six of them came in this month. A homeowner with a cold house reading both on a phone at 7 am sees one shop that is busy right now and one that might have closed.

So aim for a few reviews every week, all year. A once-a-year push, where the office texts every past customer in one afternoon, gets you a pile of reviews with the same date on them and a quiet profile again by the fall. A tech who asks at the end of every job gets you a steady line of them without anyone setting aside an afternoon.

## Answer every review.

Your replies are part of what the next customer reads. BrightLocal found that 80 percent of people are likely to use a business that replies to all of its reviews, and half are put off by generic or templated replies. "Thanks for the review!" pasted under forty reviews counts as templated.

[Google notifies the customer](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474050?hl=en) when you reply, so use their name and mention the job. A reply like "Thanks Dana, glad the new furnace is keeping up with the cold" takes thirty seconds to write, and it reads like a person wrote it.

The bad reviews need answering too, and there is a right way to do it. [What to do with a bad Google review](https://b-sideprojects.com/shop-talk/seo/remove-bad-google-reviews/) covers which ones Google will take down and how to answer the rest.

If the asking keeps slipping once the season gets busy, [monthly SEO](https://b-sideprojects.com/services/seo/) includes getting reviews coming in and answered, so the steady supply doesn't depend on who remembers on a Friday afternoon.

![Ryan Stogran](https://b-sideprojects.com/images/portrait-ryan-2-bw-480.webp)

Ryan Stogran

Ryan runs B-Side Projects. He is a heavy duty tech and elevator mechanic who spent years building crane trucks before he started building websites for trade businesses.

[More about us →](https://b-sideprojects.com/about/)

## Common questions.

**Can I offer a discount for a Google review?**

No. Google bans offering anything in exchange for a review, including discounts and free service, even when you do not ask for a good one. The US FTC rule is narrower, but Google is the one that can take the reviews down.

**Should I only ask the customers I know were happy?**

No. Asking only happy customers is called review gating, and Google bans it. Ask every customer the same way, and fix the jobs that went wrong.

**Can my staff or family leave us reviews?**

Google treats reviews from current and former employees as a conflict of interest. In Canada the Competition Bureau says employees must disclose the connection, and should not post if they cannot. Keep your crew and family out of it.

**How many Google reviews does a trade business need?**

There is no number Google publishes. Recent ones matter to readers: in a 2026 BrightLocal survey, 74 percent said they look for reviews from the last three months. A few a week beats a big pile from years ago.

**Why can some customers not leave a review?**

Google requires the customer to be signed in to a Google account to leave a review. If someone says the link did not work, that is the first thing to check.

## Start asking on the next job.

Thirty minutes on the phone, and I'll look at your reviews and how your crew asks for them.

[Book a 30 minute call](https://b-sideprojects.com/book/)