Start with past customers
The people whose jobs you already finished know your work. Send them one honest ask with your link to get things moving.
Guide · Google reviews for contractors
How to get more Google reviews as a contractor
Ask every customer, after every completed job, by text and email, with a direct link to your Google review page. Make it one tap, send it while the job is fresh, and reply to the reviews you get. Do not offer a reward and do not ask only the happy customers: Google does not allow either.
By Blake Ernst, founder of Omnipresent Marketing Updated
The short answer
- Ask everyone. Every completed job gets the same request. Google does not allow selectively asking only for positive reviews.
- Send a direct link. Copy your review link from your Google Business Profile and put it in a text and an email, so leaving a review is one tap.
- Time it to the finish. Ask when the work is done and the customer has seen the result, not at the deposit or halfway through.
- No rewards, no scripts. No discounts or gift cards for reviews, no asking for five stars, no asking customers to mention a tech by name.
- Reply to what comes in. Good and bad, short and personal. Google says “a prompt response shows that you value your customers’ feedback.”
Why it matters
Why Google reviews matter for contractors
When a homeowner looks you up on Google, your reviews are right there. Google says they “show next to your Business Profile in Maps and Search.” They are part of how you get judged whether you work on them or not.
They also feed how Google ranks local results. Google says local results “are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity,” and that prominence is based on info like “how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.” Then, plainly: “More reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking.”
Google is just as plain about shortcuts: “There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.” A steady flow of genuine reviews from real jobs is something you can build every week.
One detail for service businesses. When a customer reviews a service business, Google may ask them which job you did. Those job types come from your Business Profile’s service list, your website or a standard list for your business type. If a job you do is missing, add it to your service list so customers can pick it.
Quotes from Google Business Profile Help, “Tips to get more reviews”, “Tips to improve your local ranking on Google” and “About reviews for service businesses”, read October 2026.
Step 1
Get your Google review link
Google says you “can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code.” The link is what goes in every text and email. Here is where it lives.
Open your Business Profile
Sign in with the Google account that manages your profile and go to your Business Profile.
Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews
Google shows your review link and a QR code. Select Copy to copy the link. Google notes the review QR code can only be generated on a computer browser, not on a phone.
Save it where your office can grab it
Put it in your text templates, your email signature, your invoices and your website footer. Google suggests receipts and thank-you emails. Print the QR code for leave-behinds if you use them.
One thing that trips customers up: they must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review. Google says they can set one up with a non-Gmail email address.
Source: Google Business Profile Help, “Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews” and “Tips to get more reviews”, read October 2026.
Step 2
The system: every job, a text and an email
Asking is easy to forget. The tech is on the way to the next call, the office is chasing invoices, and the job closes without a word about reviews. The fix is to stop relying on memory and make the ask part of closing out every job.
Trigger it from the finished job
Tie the request to the moment a job is marked complete, so it goes out without anyone deciding who deserves one.
Send a text and an email
A text puts the link on the customer’s phone, one tap away. An email gives them the same link again when they sit down. Both carry the same direct link.
Reply to new reviews
Give each new review a short, personal reply. Google: “Your replies are public and help you build good relationships with customers.”
Timing
When to ask, by type of job
Our rule of thumb: ask when the customer can judge the finished work. That moment looks different across trades.
| Type of job | Examples | When we suggest asking |
|---|---|---|
| Service calls | A drain clog, an AC repair, a breaker or outlet fix. | The same day, once the job is closed out and the problem is solved. |
| Multi-day projects | A remodel, a new roof, a repipe, a paver patio. | After the final walkthrough, when the customer has seen the finished result. Not at the deposit and not halfway through. |
| Recurring work | Landscape maintenance, pool service, scheduled HVAC maintenance. | After a visit the customer has had a chance to see, then the same way for every customer on the route. |
Our view: on site, it is fine to tell the customer a quick review request is coming by text. Google says businesses should not “require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises.” Our read for a contractor in someone’s home: mention it, then leave. Do not hand them a tablet and wait.
Templates
Review request and reply templates you can copy
Swap in your details. Every template asks for an honest review and nothing more.
Hi [first name], this is [your name] with [business]. Thanks for having us out for your [job]. If you have a minute, we’d appreciate an honest Google review: [review link]
Short enough to read in one glance. The link does the work.
Subject: How did we do on your [job]?
Hi [first name], thanks for choosing [business] for your [job]. Your feedback helps us, and it helps other homeowners decide who to call. If you have a minute, you can leave an honest review on Google here: [review link]
Thanks, [your name]
Same link as the text, for the customer who would rather type on a computer.
Thanks, [first name]. Glad the [job] came out the way you wanted. [One real detail from the job.] [Your name]
Google’s tips for replies: keep it short, skip the same “thank you” to everyone, and be “conversational, not promotional,” so no deals or promotions in replies.
[First name], I’m sorry the [job] did not go the way you expected. [What happened, and what you can and cannot do, honestly.] I’d like to make this right. Please call me at [phone] or email [email]. [Your name], [business]
Google’s tips for negative reviews: apologize when appropriate, be honest about limitations, never share a reviewer’s private information, and ask them to contact you by phone or email to sort it out privately. Google also says a personal sign-off with your name or initials shows that their experience matters to you.
What these leave out on purpose: a star count, a request to mention a tech by name, and any discount. Google does not allow businesses to request that specific content be included, and it does not allow incentives for reviews.
Reply guidance from Google Business Profile Help, “Tips to get more reviews”, read October 2026. The templates are ours.
Google’s rules
What Google does not allow when you ask for reviews
You will find advice online to offer a small discount for a review. On Google, that is against the rules. Google calls incentives “strictly prohibited,” and incentivized reviews “are not allowed and will be removed from Maps.” Here are the rules that matter when you ask for reviews, in plain terms.
Not allowed
- Rewards for reviews. No payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative one.
- Asking only the happy customers. Google does not allow businesses to discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or to selectively solicit positive ones. Our read: sending a survey first and passing only the happy customers on to Google (often called review gating) is selectively soliciting positive reviews.
- Pressure on site. No requiring or pressuring customers to leave a review while on the premises.
- Scripts and quotas. No asking for specific content. Google names two examples: telling staff to collect a certain number of reviews, and asking for reviews that name a staff member.
- Conflicts of interest. No reviews from current or former employees, family members or competitors.
- Fake engagement. No reviews that are not based on a real experience, and no content posted from multiple accounts by or at the request of one person.
Allowed
- Asking for an honest review. Google’s words: businesses may “solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives to do so or attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review.”
- Sharing your review link or QR code. On receipts, in thank-you emails, or directly with the customer.
- Reminding customers. Google lists “Remind customers to leave reviews” as a best practice.
- Replying to every kind of review. Google: “A mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy.”
What breaking the rules can cost. Beyond removing the reviews, Google says it may restrict a Business Profile that violates its fake engagement policy. Its examples: the profile cannot receive new reviews for a set period, its existing reviews are unpublished for a set period, or it shows a warning that fake reviews were removed.
It is not only Google. The FTC’s guidance on its consumer reviews rule addresses asking only happy customers directly: “The rule does not contain a specific prohibition against such conduct. But this practice could violate the FTC Act.” Asking every customer the same way avoids the selective asking that both address.
Sources: Google Maps “Prohibited & restricted content” policy; Google Business Profile Help “Tips to get more reviews” and “Business Profile restrictions for policy violations”; FTC “The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers”. All read October 2026. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Bad reviews
What to do about a bad review
Reply, and keep it calm. Use the negative reply template above. Google notes the reviewer is notified when you reply, and “Customers can still change their review after reading your reply.”
Reach out to fix it. Contacting a customer who left a negative review to resolve the problem is not prohibited by the FTC’s consumer reviews rule. Do it without offering anything in exchange for changing or removing the review, which Google does not allow.
Report only real violations. You can report any review, but per Google only those that violate its policies are eligible for removal. Google is direct: “Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it.” If a review looks fake, Google’s policy says “Fake engagement is not allowed and will be removed,” including “Content that is not based on a real experience.” Flag it, and if you reply in public, keep it calm and factual.
Never pay to make reviews go away. If a wave of 1-star and 2-star reviews arrives with a demand for money, goods or services to remove them, Google calls that an extortion scam. Its advice: do not engage or pay, gather the evidence, and report it through Google’s merchant extortion report form.
Keep the new ones coming. The best answer to one bad review is a steady stream of honest ones from your other jobs. After a new review, Google says “it may take up to 2 weeks to get an updated review score.”
Sources: Google Business Profile Help, “Manage customer reviews”, “Report inappropriate reviews”, “Report negative review extortion scams” and “Understand review scores”; Google Maps “Prohibited & restricted content” policy; FTC rule Q&A (linked above). Read October 2026.
Your options
Do it yourself, or have it done
Everything above works if someone runs it after every job. The real question is who that someone is.
| Option | Who asks for reviews | Who replies | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself | You or your office, from the templates above, after every job. | You. | Every week, on top of running jobs. |
| Review software you run | The tool, once you set it up and keep your customer list current. | Depends on the tool. | Setup, then managing the tool. |
| Omnipresent | A kickoff campaign to past customers, then a text and an email after every completed job. | We reply to your new Google reviews. | About 5 to 10 minutes to set up. |
Done for you
How we run it for contractors
This guide is the method we run for home service contractors: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, remodeling, landscaping, and more. Every account is built and run from San Diego.
Set up in about 5 to 10 minutes
Fill out a short intake form, connect your Google Business Profile once and share your customer list. We never need your website login or your Google password.
Kickoff campaign to your past customers
We start with a review campaign to the customers you already have.
A text and an email after every completed job
Every completed job triggers a text and an email asking for a Google review, with a direct link. Nobody on your crew has to remember to ask.
Replies to your new reviews
We reply to your new Google reviews, and we audit and optimize your Google Business Profile and keep it active with posts, offers, updates, photos and videos.
Reports on what changed
A Day 1 snapshot, a progress report every two weeks and a monthly report with a ranking heatmap.
“Great customer service and reliable . I’m someone that really doesn’t reach out to someone online without knowing them through referral and I must say this company was very much on point with all my needs. Thanks again. I plan on doing business with you guys in the future”
Try it free for 10 days. We guarantee more Google reviews and a higher Google ranking, or your money back.
FAQ
Getting more Google reviews, answered.
How do I get more Google reviews for my contracting business?
Ask every customer after every completed job, by text and email, with a direct link to your Google review page. Copy the link from your Business Profile under Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Reply to the reviews you get, and never offer a reward or ask only the happy customers.
When should a contractor ask for a review?
Our recommendation: ask when the customer can judge the finished work. For a service call, that is the same day the job is closed out. For a multi-day project like a remodel or a new roof, it is after the final walkthrough, not at the deposit or halfway through.
How many Google reviews does a contractor need?
Google says prominence in local results is based partly on how many reviews you have, and that “More reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking.” Our view: aim for a steady flow of honest reviews from every completed job, not a target number.
Can I offer a discount or gift card for a Google review?
No. Google does not allow incentives such as payment, discounts, or free goods or services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative one. Incentivized reviews are removed, and Google may restrict the Business Profile.
Can I ask only my happy customers for reviews?
No. Google does not allow businesses to discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive ones, and the FTC says asking only customers you think are happy could violate the FTC Act. Ask every customer the same way.
Can my techs and crew ask for reviews?
Yes, for an honest review. Google does not allow pressuring customers while on site, giving staff a quota of reviews to collect, or asking for reviews that name a staff member. Our view: mentioning that a review request is coming by text is a simple, low-pressure way to handle it.
Do customers need a Google account to leave a review?
Yes. Customers must be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review. Google says they can set one up with a non-Gmail email address.
Can I get a bad review removed?
Only if it violates Google’s policies. You can report any review, but only policy-violating reviews are eligible for removal. For everything else, reply calmly, offer to sort it out by phone or email, and keep honest new reviews coming from your other jobs.
Can Omnipresent run review requests for me?
Yes. We start with a review campaign to your past customers. Then every completed job triggers a text and an email asking for a Google review, with a direct link, and we reply to your new Google reviews. Setup takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
How fast will I see results?
You can see results in as little as 10 days.
How does the guarantee work?
We guarantee more Google reviews and a higher Google ranking, or your money back. If you don’t get both in your first 30 days of paid service, email us and we’ll refund your most recent monthly payment. It applies once you’ve shared your customer list and your review requests are running.
Every job asks. You don’t have to.
We run your reviews, Google profile and AI search every month. Try it free for 10 days. We guarantee more Google reviews and a higher Google ranking, or your money back.