Request, monitor and respond to Google reviews

Purpose

Reviews influence both local rankings and whether a searcher picks up the phone. This procedure builds a simple, compliant habit of asking every customer for a review, replying to every review within two business days, and dealing with negative or fake reviews calmly and correctly. It is finished when the review request process is live and every existing review has a reply.

Scope

In scope

• Getting and shortening the profile's review link
• Requesting reviews after a completed job or sale
• Replying to positive, neutral and negative reviews
• Reporting reviews that break Google's policies

Out of scope

• Reviews on other platforms (Trustpilot, Facebook, industry directories)
• Legal action over defamatory reviews
• Automated review software set-up

Roles and responsibilities

Role	Responsibility
Customer-facing staff	Ask for reviews after each completed job or sale.
Review owner	Replies to reviews weekly and escalates complaints.
Business owner	Handles complaints raised in negative reviews.

Prerequisites

• Manager or Owner access to the verified profile (WW-010).
• A list of the points in the customer journey where the job or sale is complete.
• Agreement on who replies to reviews and who handles complaints.

Procedure

Get the review link

Make leaving a review as easy as possible.

1. Open the profile, find Ask for reviews (or Get more reviews), and copy the review link.
2. Test the link in a private window: it should open the review box for the business directly.
3. Save the link in the team's shared templates, and create a QR code for printed materials if useful.

Ask every customer

Ask consistently and fairly at the moment of satisfaction.

1. Send a short request within 24 hours of the job or sale being completed, by email or SMS, using a template like:

   Thanks for choosing us, [first name]. If you have a minute, a quick Google review helps other local customers find us: [review link]. Thank you.

2. Send the request to every customer, not only those you expect to be happy.

   [!WARNING] Never offer discounts, gifts or entry to prize draws in exchange for reviews, and never filter requests so only happy customers are asked. Both break Google's policies and can lead to reviews being removed or the profile being restricted.

3. Never write reviews on behalf of customers, and don't ask staff, family or friends to review the business.

Reply to every review

Replies show future customers how the business treats people.

1. Check new reviews at least weekly, and reply within two business days.

2. For positive reviews, thank the customer by first name, mention the specific service if they did, and keep it short and genuine. Vary the wording.

3. For negative reviews, reply calmly: acknowledge the experience, apologise where appropriate, avoid sharing private details, and invite the customer to continue the conversation directly with a named contact.

   [!IMPORTANT] Never argue publicly or disclose personal information about the customer in a reply, even if the review seems unfair.

4. If the issue is resolved privately, the customer may choose to update their review. You may ask once, politely; never pressure them.

Handle policy-breaking reviews

Report only reviews that break the rules, not those you disagree with.

1. If a review contains spam, hate speech, personal information, conflicts of interest or clearly isn't about a real experience, open it and choose Report review, selecting the closest reason.
2. Track the report status in Google's Reviews management tool, and appeal once if the decision seems wrong.
3. Reply professionally to the review in the meantime so readers see the business's side.

Quality checks

• The review link opens the review box directly and is saved in team templates.
• A review request is sent to every customer within 24 hours of completion.
• No incentives or filtering are used in requests.
• Every review has a reply within two business days.
• Reported reviews are tracked in the Reviews management tool.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Customer's review doesn't appear	Google's spam filters held it, often after many reviews arrive at once	Keep requests steady over time rather than in large batches.
Report declined	Review is a genuine opinion that doesn't break policy	Reply professionally and focus on earning more recent reviews.
Sudden flood of one-star reviews	Review bombing after a news story or dispute	Report the reviews as off-topic and keep evidence for an appeal.

Records

• Keep the review request template and the list of who replies to reviews in the client record.
• Log reported reviews with dates and outcomes.

References

• Tips to get more reviews (Google Business Profile Help)
• Read and reply to reviews (Google Business Profile Help)
• Prohibited and restricted content (Google Maps user-contributed content policy)
• Manage reviews for your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help)