Guide

How to get more Google reviews as a tradesperson (with AI message templates)

16 October 2026Shaun, 20+ years in UK construction

When a UK tradesperson can ask for a Google review, with text, WhatsApp and email wording, inside Google's rules and UK law.

A Google review has to come from someone who hired you. One you wrote yourself is not that, and neither is one you paid for. Google lets you ask a real customer. It does not let you choose the star, write the sentence, or collect reviews only from the jobs that went well. A chat tool can draft the text, the WhatsApp, or the email. It cannot know if the customer was pleased, and it must not offer them anything for posting.

Shaun, 20+ years in UK construction, asks after the job is finished and he has left the house. We search the AI world every week so you don't have to. The rules below are from Google's pages and from UK law. Asking does not come with a promise about where you show on the map.

When to ask, and which link to send

Ask when the work is done, the customer has had a chance to look at it, and you are no longer in the house. Google's content policy (opens in a new tab) says a business must not pressure someone to leave a rating or a review while they are still on the premises, and must not tell them what to write, including a staff name. Asking for five stars on the way out is that pressure.

Ask people who had a real experience of hiring you. The same policy says a contribution has to reflect a genuine experience, and that a conflict of interest includes family and people who work for you, or used to. Do not ask a relative, an employee, or a friend who has never paid an invoice. Do not ask only the customers who seemed pleased. Selectively asking for positive reviews is on the list of things a business must not do. A poor review is a normal part of a public profile. The reply guide is for the answer. Do not add a request for a new review underneath that public reply.

Send your own short link. Google's help on getting more reviews (opens in a new tab) says you can ask customers to use a Google link or a QR code. The page on creating that link (opens in a new tab) says you can put it on a receipt, in a thank-you email, at the end of a chat, or on a printed QR code, and that the QR code is made in a computer browser, not on the phone. Copy the link from the profile you verified. Do not use a link that arrived in a text from someone you do not know.

One message is enough to start. Name the job in a way they will recognise. Give them the link. Do not mention stars, a score, or the word positive.

A text, a WhatsApp, and an email

Type the customer's name and the job yourself, then let the draft stay inside the rules. ChatGPT is the name most people open. Any similar assistant is fine. If you would not read the message out on the doorstep, do not send it.

Draft a text asking this customer for a Google review. UK English. Under 50 words.

Rules:
- Do not mention stars, a score, or the word "positive".
- Do not offer money, a discount, a free visit, or any other incentive.
- Do not tell them what to write, and do not name a member of staff.
- Include only the link I paste. Do not add another link.

Their name:
The job, in a few words:
Link:

WhatsApp is the same ask, not a longer sales note. People read it in one glance.

Draft a WhatsApp message asking this customer for a Google review. UK English. Under 45 words. No emojis.

Rules:
- Do not mention stars, a score, or the word "positive".
- Do not offer anything in return.
- Do not tell them what to write.
- Include only the link I paste.

Their name:
The job, in a few words:
Link:

Email can carry one extra sentence, and it should still be easy to read on a phone.

Draft a short email asking this customer for a Google review. UK English. Under 90 words. Subject line included.

Rules:
- Do not mention stars, a score, or the word "positive".
- Do not offer money, a discount, or a free visit.
- Do not tell them what sentence to write.
- Include only the link I paste.
- Sign off with the name I give you.

Their name:
The job, in a few words:
My name:
Link:

Checkatrade and MyBuilder have their own request tools and their own bans on incentives. The profile guide sets those out from each company's pages. Do not send a Google link and call it a Checkatrade review.

One follow-up, then leave it

If nothing comes back, one reminder is enough. Send it a few days later, not the same afternoon, and not as a run of messages. Google's policy is aimed at pressure. A second essay, or a note that sounds offended, is pressure.

Draft one follow-up text about a Google review I already asked for. UK English. Under 40 words.

Rules:
- Say this is a single follow-up. Do not suggest they have done something wrong.
- Do not mention stars or a score.
- Do not offer anything in return.
- Do not ask them to delete or change any review.
- Include only the same link.

Their name:
The job, in a few words:
Link:

Then stop. Plenty of customers never leave a review. Chasing them each week will not make the profile look busier in a way Google allows. The Google Business Profile guide is where those reviews sit once they are up, next to the photos and the area.

What not to offer, and what the law says

Do not pay for a review, in cash or in kind. Google's content policy bans an incentive, including a discount or free work, in exchange for posting a review, changing one, or removing a negative one. Money off the next job is an incentive. A free call-out is an incentive.

Do not gate the request. Do not ask "how many stars would you give us?" and send the link only to people who say five. That is selectively soliciting a positive review, which the same policy forbids.

Do not write the review on their behalf, and do not ask someone to pretend they hired you. UK consumer law bans fake reviews. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans submitting a fake consumer review, or commissioning someone else to write one, including a review that hides an incentive. A fake review is one that claims to be a real person's experience and is not. The ban is written in Schedule 20 of the Act (opens in a new tab). GOV.UK's guidance on unfair commercial practices (opens in a new tab) describes the same rule. This page does not state a penalty figure.

Reviews on Google also help the person who then searches your trading name. A page of your own can show the work, with the customer's permission for any photo of their home. Whether that page is worth having is in the website guide. If you would rather not build it, the websites page is a done-for-you site at £199 for the first 5 customers, paid when it goes live, and there is an example of the layout.

The UK Trades AI Prompt Pack is free when you sign up to the weekly email: prompts for quotes, chasing payment, tax admin, and customers. The signup is on the home page.

Common questions

Can I offer money off for a Google review?

No. Google's content policy bans payment, discounts, or free work in exchange for a review, a change to one, or the removal of a negative review. UK law also bans commissioning a review that hides an incentive.

Can I ask only the happy customers?

No. Google's content policy says businesses must not selectively solicit positive reviews, and must not discourage a negative one.

Are fake Google reviews against UK law?

Yes. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans submitting a fake consumer review, or commissioning someone else to write one. A fake review claims to be a real person's experience and is not.

Where do I get the review link?

From your own Business Profile. Google's help says you can share that link, or a QR code you generate in a computer browser. Do not tell the customer what star to pick or what sentence to write.