In late September I sat down with a security installer who works near Geelong. He's got a 4.9 star rating on Google, which is great. His most recent review, though, was 11 months old. Back in Melbourne he'd sat near the top of the local results. Since moving down he'd slipped well down the list.
A month earlier I'd had close to the same chat with a trainer who runs weekly group classes on the Surf Coast. Good rating, fewer reviews than the businesses ranked above them, and the newest one was nine months old.
Both of them had done the hard part. Their customers clearly liked them. The thing holding them back was how long it had been since anyone said so.
What an old review looks like to a customer
Picture someone comparing three businesses on Google. They see the date on each review. If your newest one is from last year, they start wondering whether you're still trading, or still as good as you were. The business down the road with a 4.6 and a review from last Tuesday looks busier and more current.
That's a pretty normal place to end up. You get busy doing the work and asking for reviews drops off.
Aim for a steady trickle
Most owners' first idea is to message every past customer in one go. You get a pile of reviews in a week, then nothing for another year, and you're back where you started.
What I'd aim for is one or two new reviews a week, kept up for a good stretch. It's easier to keep going, and your profile keeps looking current.
When and how to ask
Ask the day after the job, in a message of its own. A review link at the bottom of an invoice is competing with the amount owing, and it's easy to skip.
If you run jobs through ServiceM8, it has an automated review request you can point at your Google profile. Set it up once and the ask goes out after each job, so you don't have to remember.
For the trainer, asking the whole class on the same night would just recreate the burst-then-silence problem. So the plan was to ask half the group one week and the other half the next.
For our own reviews we send two emails. The first one asks, and the second is a gentle reminder. Most people get to it by the end of that.
Our guide on getting more Google reviews walks through finding your direct review link and wording the message.
Leave incentives out
Offering a discount on the next job, a gift card or a prize draw for a review breaks Google's prohibited and restricted content policy. Just ask, and leave it at that.
If you work from home
A home-based business can hide its address on its Google profile, so customers see the area you cover instead of your street. If that's been putting you off tidying up your profile, you can stop worrying about it.
If you'd like a hand with the setup, it's part of our Google Business Profile management. Otherwise, I'd start by sending one review request tomorrow to whoever you worked for today.