Short answer
Ask every customer, the day you finish the job or the day after, with a short text that has a direct link to your Google review form. Most happy customers will leave a review if it takes a minute and they don’t have to search for you. Don’t pick and choose who you ask, and never offer anything in return, because Google’s rules ban both. Then reply to the reviews that come in.
Why most tradies don’t get many reviews
It’s rarely because customers were unhappy. The job gets done, you’re off to the next one, and nobody asks. Or you ask at the front door, the customer says “yeah, will do”, and it’s forgotten by dinner. Even the ones who mean it have to find your business on Google first, and plenty give up there.
Fix those three things and the reviews come.
1. Ask every customer, not just the happy ones
Google’s review policy says businesses must not “selectively solicit positive reviews from customers”. That’s called review gating: a “how did we go?” step that only sends happy customers to Google. The ACCC has also warned that steering unhappy customers away from public reviews can mislead the people reading them. Send the same ask to everyone and you stay on the right side of both.
2. Ask while the job is fresh
The best time to ask is the day you finish, or the day after. The customer still remembers your name, the tidy job and the fact you turned up on time. Leave it a few weeks and the moment has gone.
3. Send a direct link to your review form
Google lets every business share a link that opens its review form, so customers don’t have to search for you. Put that link in the text. One tap should take them straight to the stars.
4. Keep the text short and from you
Say who you are, thank them, ask once, give the link, and include a way to opt out. Something like this:
Hi Sarah, it’s Mick from Bayside Pipe Co. Thanks for choosing us. Would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It helps other locals find us.
ratingsrocket.com.au/r/a9K2x7Qm1Z
Reply STOP to opt out.
Naming yourself and the business matters. A text from an unknown number with a link in it looks like a scam, and Australian spam law requires you to say who the message is from. Our guide on whether it’s legal to text customers for a review covers the rules.
5. Make the asking automatic
Anything that relies on you remembering after a long day won’t happen every time. If you run jobs in ServiceM8, the ask can go out when you mark the job complete. Here’s how that works.
6. Reply to the reviews you get
A quick thank-you on a good review and a calm, fair reply on a bad one both show the next customer you care. People reading reviews notice how a business handles a complaint as much as the complaint itself.
What not to do
- Don’t offer a discount, gift, prize draw or payment for a review. Google removes reviews given for an incentive.
- Don’t only ask the customers you think are happy.
- Don’t write reviews for yourself, or get staff, family or mates to do it.
- Don’t stand over a customer while they write one. Google says not to pressure people to review on the spot.
- Don’t send texts to people who never became customers, or to anyone who has replied STOP.
How Ratings Rocket does it
- You finish the job. Mark it complete in ServiceM8, or send a request from your phone in about 10 seconds.
- Ratings Rocket texts the customer, by name, from you: about a day after a ServiceM8 job is completed, or straight away from your phone, and only between 9am and 7pm.
- The link opens your Google review form straight away. Every customer gets the same ask, with nothing filtered out.
- When a review comes in, AI drafts a reply for you to tweak and post on Google.
It’s A$19 a month to start, with 30 days free and no credit card. See pricing or read Google’s own tips on getting reviews.