Review generation strategy
A review generation strategy that stays inside Google's rules
A simple system for asking happy customers for reviews at the right moment.
What this is
Reviews are among the strongest local ranking signals and they are the first thing a customer reads about you. Most small businesses have far fewer than they have earned, because nobody ever asks.
The fix is not complicated. It is a habit, a short message, and knowing when to send it.
What you get
What you get
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01
The right moment identified
For most trades it is immediately after the job, while the customer is standing in front of the finished work and is at their most pleased. A week later the feeling has faded and so has the response rate.
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02
Templates for text and email
Short, personal, and easy to say yes to. Long requests explaining why reviews matter to your business get ignored: the customer is doing you a favour and it should take them a minute.
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03
A direct link
Straight to your Google review form, so nobody has to search for you and land on the wrong listing. A QR code too if you hand something over in person.
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04
Who to ask and who to skip
Asking every customer including the unhappy one is how you generate the review you did not want. Judgement about who to ask is part of the system.
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05
A rhythm you will keep
Something that fits how you actually finish jobs. A process requiring you to sit at a computer on a Friday will not survive a busy month.
The rules this stays inside
No incentives. Offering a discount or entry into a draw for a review is against Google's policy, and reviews obtained that way can be removed along with damage to the profile.
No review gating. Surveying customers first and only sending the happy ones to Google is explicitly prohibited, despite being sold as a feature by several well-known tools. You ask everyone you ask, and you take what comes.
No writing them. Not for customers, not with customers, and not from the office. It is the fastest route to having your reviews removed and your profile flagged.
These constraints are not caution for its own sake. Businesses lose review histories they spent years building, and it is almost always from doing one of the three things above.
What it costs
Quoted after a free consult, because what it takes depends entirely on what you already have. Book a call, I will tell you what is involved, and you get a number before anything starts. Website plan details are on the pricing page.
Usually a one-time setup: the templates, the links and the process, handed over for you to run. Ongoing help with it folds into profile management.
How this differs
Generation is about getting reviews written in the first place: timing, wording and a repeatable ask. Review response management is what happens after one arrives.
Both feed profile management, and reviews are one of the inputs that decide whether you appear in the map pack at all.
Questions
What people ask
Can I offer a discount for a review?
No. Incentivised reviews breach Google's policy and can be removed, taking your profile's standing with them. It is the single most common thing businesses get wrong here.
What about asking only the customers I know are happy?
Filtering customers before deciding who to send to Google is review gating and it is explicitly prohibited. Using your judgement about who to ask in person is different from running everyone through a survey first.
How many reviews do I need?
More than the businesses outranking you, and arriving steadily rather than in bursts. A profile that gained forty reviews in one week and none since looks exactly like what it is.
What if I get a bad one?
You will eventually, and it is survivable. A single poor review among many good ones reads as credible. How you reply matters more than the review does, which is review response management.
Start asking properly
Tell me what is going on and I will tell you whether this is what you actually need. No pitch deck and no pressure.
Book a free consult