Managing Your Online Reviews and Reputation

People read the reviews before they call

When someone hears your name, they look you up, and for a local business the first thing they usually see is your Google listing and its reviews. They decide whether to call before you ever hear from them.

So reviews do more selling than most websites do. The question is whether yours say anything a stranger can use.

"Great service" doesn't sell much

Five stars and "great service, highly recommend" is nice to get. It doesn't tell the next reader whether you can fix their problem.

The reviews that bring in work name the mess: "They found out why half our invoices were going to spam," or "Our AC died on a Saturday and they were here in two hours." Someone with that same problem reads it and calls. A review that names the problem does a lot of the selling for you, because it reaches people who already know they have that problem.

How to ask, so you get that kind of review

Ask every customer when the job is done, not only the happy ones you're sure about. Google's rules don't allow businesses to selectively ask for positive reviews, and they don't allow offering anything in exchange: no discounts, no gift cards, no "10% off your next visit."

Make it easy and specific:

1. Get your direct review link. In your Google Business Profile, look for the button to ask for reviews. It gives you a short link that opens straight to the review box.
2. Send it while the job is fresh, the same day if you can, by text or email.
3. Ask them to mention what you fixed. Something like: "Thanks again for having me out. If you have a minute, a Google review would help a lot, especially if you mention what the problem was and how it turned out. Here's the link."

That last sentence is what turns "great service" into a review the next customer can use.

Answer the bad ones calmly, in public

Every business that's been around long enough has a rough review, and a page of nothing but five stars can look fake. What matters is how you answer, because everyone after the reviewer reads it.

• Reply briefly and stick to facts. Thank them, address the specific complaint, and offer to sort it out by phone.
• Don't argue. A calm reply to a harsh review often reassures the next reader more than the complaint worries them.
• Reply to the good ones too. A one-line thank-you shows someone's paying attention.

If a review is fake, or from someone who was never a customer, flag it with the platform as a policy violation and leave one short factual reply for other readers. You usually can't delete it yourself.

First, make sure the listing is yours

None of this works on a listing you don't control. If you haven't claimed and verified your Google Business Profile, or there are two listings for your business splitting your reviews, start there. What a Google Business Profile Is covers it.