Are reviews worth chasing?

Reviews are one of the three things that decide the map pack, and they’re the one you can change fastest. They’re also the one most tradies go about in the wrong way: nothing for a year, then a panicked push for twenty in a week.

Steady beats sudden

A review every week or two looks like a business that does good work all year. Twenty in a week, after twelve silent months, looks like something else, to Google and to anyone reading. Aim for a habit, not a campaign. One review from every job you’re happy with is plenty.

Ask for the details

When you ask a customer for a review, ask them to mention what was done and where. The difference is easy to see. Here’s a review that says nothing:

“Great job, very happy. Highly recommend.”

And here’s the kind of review that does the work:

“Had a roof leak after the storm and they came out the same day. Roof leak fixed in Essendon, no fuss, and very reasonable. Would use again.”

“Our old gutters were sagging and overflowing every time it rained. Gutters replaced in Moonee Ponds over one day, and the new ones look great.”

These are examples of what a good review sounds like, not quotes from real customers. Notice that nothing in them is forced. The customer just says what the problem was, what was done and where.

That detail does a lot of work. It tells the next customer you do exactly the job they need. It tells Google what you do and where you do it. And it’s the same wording people type into a search. You can’t write the review for them, and you shouldn’t try, but you can ask: “If you’re happy to leave a review, it helps if you mention what we did and which suburb.”

Ask at the right time

Ask when the job is done and the customer is pleased, not weeks later. A text with a direct link to your Google review page makes it a thirty-second job, and it’s easier still if you tell them what you’d like them to mention.

Reply to all of them

Replying matters more than most people think. It shows future customers that someone is there, and it’s the clearest sign of how you treat people. Keep replies short and human. Thank them, mention the job, and leave it there.

A bad review is the same: reply calmly, don’t argue, and say you’d like to put it right. People reading it are judging your reply as much as the complaint.