A happy customer who means to leave a review can easily forget by the time you’ve driven off. The fix isn’t nagging. It’s asking every customer once, at the right moment, with a link that takes one tap. Here are seven ways to do that, Google’s rules on what you can’t do, and a worked example of how many reviews it takes to move your rating.
- Ask every customer, not just the ones you think are happy.
- Ask when the job is done, while it’s fresh.
- Send a short, personal message with one link in it.
- Use your direct review link, so customers land on the stars.
- Put a QR code on invoices, dockets, the counter or the van.
- Reply to reviews, because the next customer reads your replies.
- Make the asking automatic, so nobody has to remember.
When to ask
Ask as the job wraps up: when you hand over the invoice, finish the install or the customer collects their car. They’ve just seen the result, and the request arrives while they still remember the details. A request a week later competes with everything else in their inbox.
Mention it in person if it feels natural, then send the link so they can do it in their own time. Google’s policy says businesses shouldn’t require or pressure customers to leave a review while they’re on the premises, so don’t stand over anyone with a phone. And ask everyone the same way: Google doesn’t allow asking only the customers you expect to be positive, or discouraging negative reviews.
Ask once, and don't chase
One request per job is enough. A customer who ignores it has made a choice, and a string of reminders turns a thank-you into a chore for both of you. Put the effort into the timing and the link instead.
What to send
Keep it short and make it sound like you. Name the customer and the job, say thanks, include one link, and stop. Here’s an example to adapt:
“Hi Priya, thanks for having us out today to replace the switchboard. If you’ve got a minute, a Google review would really help a small business like ours: [your review link]. Thanks either way. Dan, Ridgeline Electrical”
- Send it the same day, by email or text, whichever your customers actually read.
- Don’t offer anything for the review: no discount, freebie or gift.
- Don’t ask for five stars or tell them what to write, such as your suburb, a service or a staff member’s name. Google doesn’t let businesses request specific content.
- Include your business name and a way to opt out of further messages, as the Spam Act expects of commercial emails and texts.
- If they’ve never left one before, send them our guide on how to leave a Google review.
Review links and QR codes
Your direct review link opens straight onto the box where the customer picks the stars, with no searching. Google gives one to every verified business: open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and select Copy. On some profiles the button is called Ask for reviews. The QR code is on the same screen, but Google says it can only be made in a computer browser, not on a phone: right-click it and save the image. Google: review link or QR code
Google suggests putting the link or code on receipts, in thank-you emails, at the end of a chat and on a printed sign in store. For a trade or service business, add it to:
- Invoices and quotes, next to the total.
- The docket or job sheet you leave behind.
- Your email signature.
- The van, the counter or the waiting room, as a QR code printed at least 2 cm across.
Can’t get into your profile right now? Our free Google review link generator builds the same link and a printable QR code from your Place ID, inside your browser. Whichever you use, test it on a phone that isn’t signed in as you, and check the business name and address on the review box before you print anything.
Reply to reviews
The reviewer is notified when you reply, and every future customer reads the exchange. Aim to reply to every review. Google’s tips: keep replies short, polite and personal, use the reviewer’s name, respond promptly, and say something more useful than the same thank-you every time. For a bad review, stay calm, keep personal details out of it, and apologise where it’s warranted. A customer can update their review after reading your reply. Google: tips to get more reviews
Google's rules, and Australian law
Google encourages businesses to ask for reviews. Its Prohibited and restricted content policy, checked on 09/10/2026, doesn’t allow:
- Incentives: money, discounts, or free goods or services for a review, or for changing or removing one.
- Filtering who you ask, called review gating: discouraging bad reviews, or asking only the customers you expect to be positive.
- Fake or conflicted reviews: not based on a real experience, or from staff, family, competitors, or one person on several accounts.
- Pressure on the spot: requiring or pressuring customers to review while they’re on the premises.
- Scripts and quotas: asking for specific content, or setting staff a review target.
Reviews that break the rules are removed, and Google can also restrict the profile: blocking new reviews for a period, unpublishing existing ones, or showing customers a warning that fake reviews were removed. Google: Prohibited and restricted content · Google: profile restrictions
Australian law points the same way. The ACCC says it’s against the law for a business to write fake or misleading reviews, or to arrange for others to. Reviews from family, staff or paid writers can mislead when the connection isn’t disclosed, and hiding genuine bad reviews may mislead too. The ACCC says any incentive must apply to good and bad reviews alike and be clearly disclosed, but Google bans incentives outright, so for Google reviews the answer is no. General information, not legal advice. ACCC: online reviews
How many reviews will it take? A worked example
Google’s review score is the average of all the ratings on your profile, so you can work out how many new five-star reviews it takes to reach a target. The free Google review calculator does it for your own numbers. By hand: multiply the gap between your target and your current rating by your number of reviews, divide by the gap between five and your target, and round up.
4.3 stars from 40 reviews, which is 172 stars in total
4.6 stars
0.3 of a star × 40 reviews = 12 stars
0.4 of a star of the gap (5 minus 4.6)
12 ÷ 0.4 = 30
172 + (30 × 5) = 322 stars, and 322 ÷ 70 reviews = 4.6
The same move from 4.3 to 4.6 takes 150 five-star reviews if you start with 200, and reaching 4.8 from 4.3 with 40 reviews takes 100. The closer the target gets to five, the steeper it gets. The sum assumes every new review is five stars, so treat the answer as a minimum, and allow for Google’s note that a new review can take up to two weeks to show in your score. Google: how review scores work
Automatic review requests
Everything above works by hand. The hard part is remembering, every job, every day. An automatic request goes out whether or not anyone thinks of it, and it goes to every customer the same way, which is what Google’s rules expect anyway. Here’s how review requests work in LeadGenie, by plan. Prices are per month, ex GST, month to month with 30 days’ notice to cancel.
You ask by hand: your review link, QR codes with scans counted, and a branded email you send yourself. No set-up fee, and nothing goes out automatically.
A review request email goes out by itself when you mark a job done in your calendar or pipeline. One request per job, and a customer who ignores it isn’t chased. One-time A$999 set-up fee.
Requests can also go as a text from your business’s own Australian mobile number, which comes with the plan. Texts cost A$0.11 each, itemised. One-time A$1,999 set-up fee; the price is locked in for your first 12 months.
Every plan from Get Found up emails you when a review lands, drafts a reply in your tone for you to approve, and shows your live rating on your own website with the review widget. On Starter and Growth, only jobs marked done get a request, and every customer gets the same one: we don’t set it up to skip customers who might be unhappy.
Where to start: Get Found, A$29 a month with no set-up fee, if you’ll do the asking and want the alerts and drafted replies. Starter, A$199 a month plus A$999 set-up, if you want the request to go out by itself. See Get Found →
Questions about getting more Google reviews
How can a tradie get more Google reviews?
Ask every customer once, on the day the job is finished, with your direct Google review link. Mention it as you pack up, send the link by text or email that afternoon, and print a QR code on your invoices or dockets. Don’t offer anything in return or ask only the happy customers, because Google allows neither. If remembering is the problem, LeadGenie’s Starter plan sends the request by itself when you mark a job done. How the asking works
Can I offer a discount for a Google review?
No. Google’s policy prohibits offering payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing one, and Google can restrict a profile that does it. In Australia, the ACCC also says any incentive for reviews must apply whether the review is good or bad and be clearly disclosed. The simplest safe approach is to ask every customer and offer nothing at all.
Can I ask only my happy customers for a review?
No. Google doesn’t allow businesses to selectively ask for positive reviews or to discourage negative ones, and the ACCC warns that suppressing genuine negative reviews may mislead consumers. Ask every customer the same way. A few honest four-star reviews are part of a believable profile.
How many five-star reviews do I need to raise my rating?
It depends on your current rating, your number of reviews and your target. With 40 reviews at 4.3 stars, reaching 4.6 takes 30 five-star reviews; with 200 reviews it takes 150. Try the free Google review calculator
Can I ask customers to mention my suburb or a staff member in their review?
No. Google’s policy says businesses shouldn’t ask for specific content to be included in a review, and that covers asking staff to collect reviews that name them. Let customers write in their own words. A review that describes the job the way the customer saw it is more useful to the next reader anyway.
Should I send a reminder if a customer doesn't leave a review?
We’d send one request and leave it there. Google’s policy doesn’t mention reminders, but repeated messages can feel like pressure to a customer who has already decided not to. Put the effort into asking on the day with a one-tap link instead. LeadGenie’s automatic requests send one email per job and never chase a customer who doesn’t reply.