Option three. After the website.
Turn finished jobs into Google reviews.
Most of your happy customers never leave a review. Not because they wouldn't, but because nobody asked while the job was fresh. This asks every one of them, the same way, every time, and starts with the customers you've already served.
Why the reviews aren't there yet
Three things that get in the way
Nobody asks
Right now
The customer was happy, said they'd leave a review, and then life happened. A week later it's forgotten. That's a timing problem, not a customer problem.
With this in place
The request goes out while the job is still fresh, the same day it's marked done, with a direct link and one polite reminder.
No time
Right now
You're already on to the next job, the next client, or the next appointment. Chasing reviews is the kind of task that's always going to be done tomorrow.
With this in place
Nothing to remember. Marking the job done is the whole task, and the ask happens on its own.
The map doesn't show the work
Right now
Someone comparing two companies sees a star rating and a count. A long track record with a handful of reviews looks smaller than it is.
With this in place
Every finished job adds to the count, starting with the customers you've already served, so the profile catches up with the work.
Why it matters
Reviews decide who gets the call
Someone searching for a moving company sees a map, a few names, a star rating and a count. They haven't met you. The reviews are the only part of that screen that sounds like a real person, so that's what they read before they pick a number to call.
Google also says review count and score are among the things that affect where a business shows up in local results. Nobody can promise you a spot on that map, and I won't. What I can do is make sure asking for reviews stops depending on whether you remembered to.
How it works
Start with the customers you already have
Your customer list
You hand over the customers you've served, from your invoices, your job book, or whatever you use. Anyone who's already left a review is skipped.
Past customers first, a few at a time
Requests go to people who already know your work, spaced out over weeks rather than all at once, so the reviews arrive the way real reviews do.
Every finished job from now on
The job being marked done is the trigger. The customer gets the same plain request with a direct link to your Google profile, and one reminder if they haven't got to it.
You reply, and it repeats
Each new review lands in front of you with a nudge to answer it in a sentence or two. Then the next job does the same thing.
The way it's done
Every customer, the same way, to the same place
There's a right way to ask for reviews and several wrong ones. This follows the right one, because your Google profile is worth more than any single review.
Every customer gets asked
Not a hand-picked few. The job being marked complete triggers the request for everyone. Choosing who gets asked is a form of filtering, and Google's rules don't allow it.
The same request, every time
One request, worded the same for everyone, sent after the work is done. At most one polite reminder. Then it's left alone.
The same public destination
Everyone is pointed at your Google Business Profile. There's no survey that sends happy customers to Google and everyone else to a private form. That's called review gating. Google prohibits it, and it's not part of this.
No incentives
No discounts, no gift cards, no drawings. A review that was paid for isn't worth anything to the next customer, and it puts your profile at risk.
Real customers, in their own words
Nobody writes reviews for you, and nothing gets edited. What a customer says is what shows up.
You reply to every review
A good one gets a short thank-you. A hard one gets a calm, specific reply, because the next customer reads your answer as closely as the review.
What to expect
The first few weeks
Setup is short: your Google profile link, your customer list, and how you mark a job done. The first requests go to your most recent past customers, and the first reviews usually show up within days of those, because the work is still fresh in their minds.
After that it's steady rather than sudden. Each finished job adds a request, most people who are going to leave a review do it within a week, and your profile grows at the pace of your actual work. How many come in depends on how many jobs you finish and how your customers feel, and nobody honest can tell you a number in advance.
Who this is for
Any business that finishes jobs
If there's a moment when the work is done and the customer is pleased, this fits. Some of what it's built around:
Home services
Roofing, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, septic, pest control, garage doors, gutters, remodeling, painting, flooring, handyman, insulation.
Outdoor work
Landscaping, tree service, fencing, concrete, pools, pressure washing, dirt work.
Personal and professional services
Salons and barbers, med spas and chiropractors, tutors, gyms and martial arts studios, home inspectors.
Everyone else who does a job
Auto repair and detailing, movers, cleaning companies, photographers and videographers, dog trainers and groomers, and any other service where a happy customer walks away.
Website first
Reviews get read next to your website
Someone who likes what they read on your Google profile clicks through to the site. If the site is thin or out of date, the review did its job and the website undid it. So the website comes first, and this gets added once it's live.
Next step
Doing good work and not getting the reviews to show for it?
Call or email. If the website's in shape, this is a short conversation about how your jobs get marked done and what it costs from there.
Questions about review growth
How fast do reviews start coming in?
The first ones usually show up within days of the first requests to recent customers. From there it's a steady flow tied to how many jobs you finish. No one can promise a count, and I don't.
What about customers from a while back?
They're the starting point. Past customers get asked first, a few at a time over several weeks, because they already know your work and because a sudden pile of reviews looks odd to Google and to people.
What if a customer already left a review?
They're skipped. Nobody gets asked twice for the same thing.
I do recurring work. Do my customers get asked every visit?
No. A customer gets asked once, after their first completed job, and that's it.
How does the request reach the customer?
By email to start, and by other channels as they're set up for your business. It's short, it's plain, it has your name on it, and it links straight to your Google profile.
What do I have to do?
Give me your customer list once, and mark jobs done the way you already do. Replying to reviews takes a minute each, and you'll get a nudge when one comes in.
Will this get me five-star reviews?
It'll get you asked-for reviews from real customers. What they say is up to them. Anyone who promises you a rating is either filtering who gets asked or making reviews up, and either one can get a profile suspended.
Can I pick which customers get asked?
No, and you wouldn't want to. Asking everyone the same way is what keeps your profile safe and the reviews believable.
What if someone leaves a bad review?
You reply to it, briefly and honestly. Every customer after them reads your answer, and a calm reply to a fair complaint tells them more about you than the complaint does.
Do you write the reviews?
No. Nobody should. Only real customers, in their own words.
Can this work without the website?
The website comes first. Reviews send people looking for you, and the site is where they land.
What does it cost?
Simple monthly pricing, added to the website plan. The number depends on your setup, and that's a phone call.