Most local businesses do not have a review problem, they have an asking problem. The work happens, the customer is happy, and nobody says anything while the goodwill is still warm.
Ask once, at the right moment
The best moment is the minute the job is visibly done: the treatment finished, the car handed back, the plate cleared. Waiting until the evening email costs you most of the response.
Remove every step you can
- Use a direct review link that opens Google's write-a-review box, not your profile page.
- Put a QR code where the conversation already happens — counter, receipt, table.
- Keep the ask to one sentence, spoken, with the link handed over immediately.
Never gate reviews behind a satisfaction question and never offer a discount for one. Both breach Google's policy and can cost you the reviews you already have.
Why a discount breaks the rule even for an honest review, and what to offer instead, is in can you offer a discount for a Google review.
Make it a routine, not a campaign
Ten asks a week beats a hundred once a quarter. Recency is what a visitor reads first, and it is what keeps your profile looking alive. It also feeds the one local ranking factor you control directly — what reviews actually move in local search is worth knowing before you set a target. If you want the link and the code ready to hand over, every connected business gets both — on the Free plan too.
If you want the number rather than the principle, the rating calculator works out how many more five-star reviews a target rating takes, and how many weeks of asking that is.
