Google reviews for tradies: how to get more without breaking the rules

Short answer: Send every customer the same request for an honest Google review soon after the job is done, using your review link or QR code. Offer nothing in return, never post reviews from yourself, staff or family, and never ask only the happy ones. Reply politely to every review. Those are the main lines the ACCC and Google draw.

What do the ACCC rules say about online reviews?

The ACCC says it is against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews, or to arrange for someone else to create them. It says reviews can mislead when they come from staff, family or paid writers who hide the connection, from people who never used the service, or have been changed after they were written. Holding back, editing or deleting genuine negative reviews may also mislead customers.

On rewards, the ACCC says an incentive must apply whether the review is good or bad, and readers must be told about it.

Asking only happy customers is on the ACCC’s radar too. Its online reviews sweep, reported on 7 December 2023, found some review management services send customers with a good experience to post publicly and pass unhappy ones straight to the business. The ACCC said this enables review manipulation. The sweep also named home improvement and household products and services among the sectors with the highest share of potentially fake or misleading reviews.

Service Seeking, a quoting platform for jobs like building, cleaning and gardening, let businesses draft their own reviews, which were published if the customer did not respond within three days. The Federal Court ordered it to pay $600,000 in penalties.

What does Google allow when you ask for reviews?

Google lets you ask any customer to review a genuine experience, as long as you offer nothing for it and do not try to shape the rating or the words. Its Maps content policy sets these limits:

• No incentives. No payment, discount or free work in return for a review, or for changing or removing a bad one. Google is stricter than the ACCC here: no reward at all.
• No conflicts of interest. Reviews based on current or former employment, a contract, family ties or competition are removed as rating manipulation.
• No cherry-picking. Do not discourage negative reviews or selectively ask for positive ones.
• No pressure or scripts. Do not pressure people to review on the premises, ask for specific content, set staff review quotas or ask customers to name a staff member.

Beyond removing the reviews, Google says it may block new ones for a period, unpublish existing ones for a period, or show customers a warning that fake reviews were removed.

We checked these policies on 5 November 2026.

What is the safe way to ask every customer for a review?

The safe way is one plain request, sent to every customer after every job, with a direct link to your Google review form. If you are a plumber or handyman wondering how to get more Google reviews, that is the whole system.

Get your link or QR code

Google lets you create a review link and QR code from your Business Profile. Keep the link handy and print the QR code on your invoice. Customers need a Google Account to post, which Google says can use a non-Gmail address.

Send it when the job is done

Send it once the work is finished, ideally the same day while the visit is fresh: not after the quote, and not weeks later. For a hot water job, that is once the new unit is running; for a handyman, when the list of fixes is done.

Do not stand over the customer while they write it; Google warns against pressure. One reminder a few days later is plenty.

Keep the message plain

Hi Sam, thanks for having us out today. If you have a minute, we would appreciate an honest Google review: [link]. Cheers, Dave

No request for five stars, no “mention Josh by name”, no discount. Each one steers the review.

If the job went badly, still send the request and sort the problem out. Skipping unhappy customers is the selective asking Google bans and the ACCC has flagged.

How should you reply to a bad review?

Reply in public, keep it short and polite, own any real mistake, and offer to fix it by phone. Google’s tips for negative reviews are sensible: stay professional, never attack the reviewer, keep their private details out of it, accept blame only for what was in your control, and answer promptly.

Hi Chris, sorry the drain blocked again so soon after our visit. Please call the office and we will come back and look at it. Dave

Write it for future customers as much as for the reviewer. Google notes that a good follow-up can even lead a customer to update their review.

When can you flag a review?

Only when it breaks Google’s policies, for example spam, a fake review or a conflict of interest. Flag it from your Business Profile. Google says assessment typically takes several days, and you get a one-time appeal if it finds no violation. Disagreeing with a review is not a reason to report it.

The ACCC adds a caution: have good grounds before treating a negative review as fake, because removing a genuine one may mislead customers. If a run of one-star reviews arrives with a demand for money, Google has a separate process for reporting review extortion.

What should you never do?

Never buy, swap, write or filter reviews.

How does LYD Plumber help with Google reviews?

LYD Plumber takes care of asking every customer and answering every review.

• A request after every job. When a job is marked done in the CRM, the customer gets a text with your Google review link. Everyone gets the same message.
• Review monitoring. New Google reviews are tracked, so a bad one does not sit unanswered.
• Drafted replies. A reply is drafted for each review, and nothing is posted until you approve it.

It cannot remove reviews; only Google decides on flagged reviews. It never writes, buys or rewards reviews, and it does not give legal advice.

See automatic review requests and drafted replies, the LYD Plumber CRM and SEO and AEO for trade businesses, which includes Google Business Profile management. Review requests start on Launch: $170 a month + GST on annual billing or $190 + GST monthly, with a 30-day free trial. Drafted replies come with Elevate: $460 a month + GST on annual billing or $529 + GST monthly. See plans and pricing, and how it works for plumbing and gas businesses and handyman businesses.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

To see review requests running on a real account, book a free demo or start a 30-day free trial.