How to get more Google reviews as a plumber

The same steps apply to HVAC companies. Read how to get more Google reviews for an HVAC company and how electricians get more Google reviews.

Google's Business Profile help page says you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code. Contractor Systems automatic review requests are on the review requests feature page: A friendly text after the job is marked done, with a one-tap star picker. Every customer gets the Google review link. Customers can also send private feedback so you can call them back. If no review comes in after 3 days, sends one gentle reminder. The request is included on Advanced at $297 a month.

The request follows a finished job. It does not follow a guess about who is happy. On the plumbers page, review requests are described this way: A review request goes out when the plumber closes the job. Annual water heater flush and drain maintenance reminders bring past customers back.

Use that close for every customer who had the work, including the call that was stressful. Do not skip someone because the visit started as an emergency, and do not wait to hear a thank-you. The same rule is on the system itself: Ask every customer for a Google review, automatically, right after the job. Every customer gets the Google link. The longer version, including who you can leave out for a record-quality reason, such as a duplicate, a vendor, or someone who never became a customer, is how contractors can ask for Google reviews without breaking the rules. The direct answer to asking only the customers who seemed happy is is it ok to only ask happy customers for Google reviews.

A burst pipe and a water heater replacement are not the same visit, so the moment you ask is not the same clock time. The rule is the same: ask when that job is marked done, and ask every customer who had the work.

Google's tips for getting more reviews say that offering incentives, such as free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for posting a review, changing a review, or removing a negative review is prohibited. The same page says to value all reviews. A mix of positive and negative feedback is normal, and the recommended response is to reply.

Google's Maps user-content policy says merchants may not discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive reviews. They also may not offer payment, discounts, or free goods or services for a review, pressure someone to review on the premises, or ask for specific wording. Asking "Were you happy?" and sending the Google link only when the answer is yes is selective solicitation. So is sending 4- and 5-star customers to Google while keeping everyone else off Google.

The FTC's 2024 Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule is explained in the FTC's Q&A on that rule. The Q&A says a business can be liable under Section 465.2 for writing or selling a fake review, under Section 465.4 for compensation or other incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment, and under Section 465.7 for review suppression. The same Q&A says an incentive is not banned by Section 465.4 when it does not require a particular sentiment, and that failing to disclose an incentive can still violate the FTC Act. It also says Section 465.7 does not itself prohibit offering an incentive to take a negative review down, but that practice can still violate the FTC Act. Google's rule for a Business Profile is stricter: do not offer the incentive at all.

This is general information from those pages, not legal advice.

A friendly text after the job is marked done, with a one-tap star picker. Every customer gets the Google review link. Customers can also send private feedback so you can call them back. If no review comes in after 3 days, sends one gentle reminder.

A 4- or 5-star rating opens the Google review page when a Google link is on the account. A rating of 1, 2, or 3 stars still shows that same Google link on the screen. It does not open Google on its own. The customer can also send a private note so you can call them back. The Google link stays on the page for every rating. If the account has no Google link, a 4- or 5-star rating can open a Facebook review URL instead, and the low-rating screen has no Google link to show.

For a plumber, A review request goes out when the plumber closes the job. Annual water heater flush and drain maintenance reminders bring past customers back. The request is included on Advanced at $297 a month. No contracts on monthly or quarterly plans. Review requests are also on the review requests feature page.