Resources · Local search

How to get more Google reviews, reply to them, and deal with a bad one

By Francis Valente, Navaro Systems · Updated 17 October 2026

Short answer: You get more Google reviews by asking every customer at the moment the job is done and they're happy, sending a direct link to your review form, and making it a habit rather than a campaign. You reply to every review, briefly. You can't pay for reviews, write them yourself or pick who gets asked, and Google only removes a review when it breaks Google's content rules. A fair bad review stays, and your reply to it is what the next customer reads.

Key points

  • Ask at the right moment with a direct link. The Ask for reviews button on your Google Business Profile gives you one.
  • Make it routine: the same short text to every customer, the same day.
  • Reply to every review within a week. Replies are read by the next customer, not just the reviewer.
  • Incentives, choosing who gets asked, and reviews from staff or family break Google's policy and can breach the Australian Consumer Law.
  • Removal is only for reviews that break Google's rules. Disagreeing with one isn't grounds.

Why reviews matter more than most things you could do

Google says local rankings come from relevance, distance and prominence, and reviews feed prominence directly. They're also what people read before they ring. A yard, a clinic or a tradie with forty recent reviews and replies looks like a going concern. The same business with three reviews from 2022 looks like a risk.

More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business' local ranking.

Google, How to improve your local ranking on Google (source)

How to ask

  1. Get your link. In your Business Profile (search your business name on Google while signed in), tap Ask for reviews. Google gives you a short link straight to the review form.
  2. Pick the moment. The job is finished, the invoice is paid, the keys are handed over. Happiness fades fast, so the same day beats next week.
  3. Ask in person first, then send the text. A person who has said yes to your face almost always follows through when the link arrives.
  4. Keep the message short: thanks for today, a review helps us more than you'd think, here's the link. Then the link.
  5. Put it in the close-out routine, next to sending the invoice. Reviews come from habit, not campaigns.
  6. Don't blast old customers all at once. A sudden burst of reviews after years of silence can trip Google's spam filters and get reviews held.

The rules, Google's and the ACCC's

Google's content policy for Maps prohibits paying or offering incentives for reviews, reviews from current or former employees, reviews of your own business, and selectively asking only customers you expect to be positive. Australian consumer law adds teeth: the ACCC treats fake and misleading reviews as a breach, and it has taken businesses to court over them.

It's against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews or to arrange for others to do so.

ACCC, Online reviews for product and services (source)
  • No discounts, gifts or draws for a review. If you ever do offer anything, the ACCC says it must apply whether the review is good or bad and be disclosed, and Google's policy bans it outright, so the simple answer is don't.
  • Ask everyone, not just the happy ones. Filtering who gets the link is called review gating and Google prohibits it.
  • No reviews from staff, family or mates who weren't customers.
  • Don't ask a platform to remove a genuine negative review. The ACCC says suppressing real negative reviews can itself be misleading.

How to reply

Reply to all of them, within a week, in two or three sentences. For a good review: thank them by name, mention the job, and leave it there. For a bad one: thank them for the feedback, say plainly what happened if the facts are wrong, and offer a phone number to sort it. Never argue, never reveal private details about the customer, and never write the reply while you're still annoyed.

A calm reply to a one-star review often does more for you than another five-star review, because it shows the next customer how you handle a problem.

A bad or fake review: what you can actually do

  • If it breaks Google's rules (it's spam, it's about a different business, it's from a competitor or someone who was never a customer, it's harassment or contains personal information), flag it. Open the review, choose Report review, pick the reason. Google reviews it, which can take days, and you can appeal a rejection through the Reviews Management Tool in your profile.
  • If it's a genuine customer who had a bad experience, it stays. Reply as above and fix the problem if there is one.
  • If it's false and damaging and Google won't remove it, the ACCC's advice is to ask the platform to remove it or respond publicly to correct it. Beyond that it's a legal question, and worth a conversation with a lawyer before you do anything else.
  • Keep asking happy customers. Ten recent good reviews change how one bad one reads.

Questions people ask

Can I offer a discount for a Google review?

No. Google's policy prohibits incentivised reviews and can remove them or suspend the profile. The ACCC also flags incentives as risky unless they apply regardless of what the review says and are disclosed. The clean answer is to ask without offering anything.

How many Google reviews does a small business need?

There's no magic number. Google and customers both weight recency, so a steady few a month beats a burst once a year. Aim for a routine that produces reviews every week you do work.

Can I remove a bad Google review?

Only if it breaks Google's content rules, in which case you flag it and Google decides. A genuine customer's unhappy review can't be removed by you, and trying to have it taken down can itself be misleading conduct under Australian consumer law. Reply to it instead.

Can I ask only happy customers for reviews?

Google's policy prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews or discouraging negative ones. Ask everyone the same way. Most people who had a normal experience simply won't bother, and the ones who do are usually happy.

How quickly should I reply to a review?

Within a week is fine, same week is better. Replies appear publicly under the review, and future customers read them as part of judging the business.

Sources

Free 60-second website read at navaro.com.au, no sign-up. Or ring Francis Valente on 0426 951 399.