Zero reviews is one of the most damaging things a trade business can have on its Google Business Profile. Even one or two negative reviews with no positives to balance them is a serious conversion killer.
Getting to ten genuine five-star reviews is the first goal. Here is the fastest way to do it.
Start With Customers You Already Have
You do not need to wait for new jobs to come in. You have past customers who were happy with your work. Start there.
Make a list of every customer from the past two years who was pleased with what you did. Go through your phone contacts, your WhatsApp messages, your old invoices. Ten names should not be hard to find.
Send each of them a personal message. Not a copy-paste group message. A personal one.
“Hi [name], hope you are well. The [job] is holding up okay? I am working on building up our Google reviews at the moment and it would mean a lot if you could leave us one. I will send you the link, it only takes about a minute.”
Personal messages get significantly higher response rates than generic ones.
Make the Link Easy
Create your Google review link by going to your Google Business Profile and clicking “Get more reviews”. Copy that link and save it somewhere easy to access.
When you send the request, include the link directly. Do not ask people to search for you on Google. Most will not bother. One tap should take them straight to the review form.
Timing Your Ask
The best time to ask for a review is the moment a job finishes and the customer expresses satisfaction. That is when the positive feeling is strongest.
Get into the habit of having the link ready on your phone. When a customer says “brilliant, really happy with it”, respond with “great to hear, if you get a chance to leave us a Google review it really helps” and send the link on the spot.
What to Say When Asking
Keep it genuine and low pressure. You are asking for a favour, not demanding a payment.
“I know you are busy so no pressure, but if you get five minutes it would really help us out.” That framing works well. It acknowledges their time, removes pressure, and makes them feel their review is genuinely valuable.
Follow Up Once
If someone said they would leave a review and has not after a week, one gentle follow-up is fine.
“Hi [name], just a quick reminder about that Google review when you get a chance. Here is the link again.”
After that, leave it. Chasing further creates awkwardness.
What to Do Once You Have Ten Reviews
Do not stop there. Ten reviews is a start, not a destination. Keep asking after every job. The businesses with the strongest Google rankings and the best conversion rates are the ones with 40, 50, 60 genuine reviews built up over time.
The goal is a consistent flow of new reviews coming in regularly. Three or four new reviews per month is far better for your ranking than ten reviews all at once and then nothing for six months. Google values recency.
Once you have a steady flow of new reviews coming in, you will notice the difference in both your Google ranking and your enquiry rate. New customers arrive already reassured before they have even spoken to you.
Written by Maebh Collins
ACA qualified, Dundalk-based. I build websites and write SEO content for trade businesses across Ireland and the UK. If you have questions, get in touch.