Key takeaways
- Send the first request the same day the job is finished, ideally within two hours, while the customer is still relieved.
- Text beats email for contractors; a short message with a direct review link gets far more responses than a long one.
- Ask every customer the same way; selecting only happy customers is review gating and violates Google policy.
- Never offer a discount, gift card or entry into a drawing for a review.
- Your review link is in the Google Business Profile dashboard under Ask for reviews, and it should be saved in your phone and your invoicing software.
- A past-customer campaign to the last 12-18 months of jobs can realistically bring in 20-40 reviews.
Before you send anything: find your review link
Every template below needs one thing: a link that opens the "Write a review" box directly, with no searching, no scrolling, no tapping through Maps. Customers abandon the process at every extra step.
To find it, open Google Business Profile at business.google.com (or search your business name while logged in and use the panel Google shows). Click Ask for reviews. Google shows a short link that looks like g.page/r/XXXXXXXX/review. Copy it. That is your review link.
Test it once from your own phone while logged out of your business account. It should open Google with the five stars ready to tap. Then:
- Save it as a contact note or text shortcut on every technician's phone.
- Paste it into your invoicing or field-service software (Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan and most others have a review request field).
- Put it on a QR code card for the truck.
If your link redirects to a profile that says "Suspended" or shows the wrong business, fix the profile first. Asking for reviews on a broken profile wastes your best moment with the customer.
Timing rules that matter more than the wording
The wording of a request matters less than when it lands and who it comes from. A few rules that hold across plumbing, roofing, HVAC and electrical work:
- Same day, ideally within two hours of completion. The customer has hot water again or the AC is running during a heat wave. That relief fades fast.
- From the person they met. A text that says "This is Marco, I just finished your panel upgrade" beats one from "the office" every time.
- One ask, one nudge, then stop. Send the request, send one follow-up two or three days later if nothing happened, then leave it alone.
- Not during a dispute. If the customer has an open complaint, resolve it first. You still send the request afterward, to everyone, but you do not send it mid-argument.
- Weekday mornings and early evenings get better response than late night or Sunday for follow-ups and campaigns.
- Batch past-customer campaigns in groups of 30-50 per day, not 400 at once. A sudden flood of reviews looks unnatural and makes Google's filters nervous.
Ask every customer, not just the ones who seemed thrilled. Choosing who to ask based on how happy they looked is review gating, and Google prohibits it.
Templates: the first request after a job
Template 1: Same-day text from the technician
Hi [First name], this is [Tech] from [Company]. Thanks for having us out today for the [water heater / roof repair / panel upgrade]. If you have 60 seconds, a Google review helps a small shop like ours more than anything: [review link]. Thank you.
Template 2: Same-day text from the owner
Hi [First name], [Owner] here, owner of [Company]. [Tech] said the [job] went well. We are a [city]-based crew and reviews are how neighbors find us. Would you mind leaving one here? [review link]. Either way, thanks for your business.
Template 3: Same-day email with invoice
Subject: Your invoice from [Company], and a quick favor
Hi [First name], attached is your paid invoice for today's [job] at [address]. One request: if you were happy with [Tech] and the work, a short Google review would mean a lot to our team. It takes about a minute: [review link]. If anything was not right, reply to this email and I will personally take care of it. Thanks, [Owner], [Company], [phone].
Keep the invoice email short. Customers who scroll past a paragraph of boilerplate rarely find the link.
Templates: follow-up nudge and technician introduction
Template 4: Follow-up nudge, two to three days later
Hi [First name], [Tech] from [Company] again. Just checking that the [job] is holding up. If you have a minute, a quick Google review helps us a lot: [review link]. No worries if not. Call me at [phone] if anything comes up.
Template 5: Follow-up nudge, one week later (final)
Hi [First name], last note from us. If the [job] is working well, we would be grateful for a Google review: [review link]. Thanks again for choosing [Company].
Template 6: Technician intro text, sent on the way to the job
Hi [First name], this is [Tech] with [Company]. I am your technician for today and should arrive between [time] and [time]. I will be in a [color] truck marked [Company]. See you soon.
Template 6 contains no review ask, and that is the point. Customers who get a named, human introduction before the truck arrives respond at a much higher rate to the review request that comes later, because the name on the text is already familiar. Field-service apps can send this automatically when the tech taps "On my way."
Templates: past-customer campaign
If your profile has 12 reviews and your competitors have 150, the fastest honest fix is to go back to past customers. Export the last 12-18 months of completed jobs from your invoicing system, remove anyone with an unresolved complaint and anyone you already asked, and send in batches of 30-50 a day.
Template 7: Past-customer text
Hi [First name], this is [Owner] from [Company]. We did your [job] back in [month]. We are building up our Google reviews this [season] and would be grateful if you shared a few words about your experience: [review link]. Thanks for trusting us with your home.
Template 8: Past-customer email
Subject: A quick favor from [Company]
Hi [First name], I hope the [job] we did at your home in [city] in [month] is still working well. I am reaching out to past customers because Google reviews are how most families in [area] find a contractor now, and ours do not yet reflect the work we do. If you have a minute, here is the direct link: [review link]. If anything about the job did not meet your expectations, please reply and tell me instead. Thank you, [Owner], [Company], CSLB #[number].
A campaign like this to 300-500 past customers typically brings back roughly 20-40 reviews over three or four weeks, more if the texts come from a recognizable name. Spread the sends out so the reviews arrive over a month rather than a weekend.
Template: replying to the review, and what to avoid
Template 9: Reply to a positive review
Thank you, [First name]. Glad the [job] in [neighborhood] went smoothly and that [Tech] took care of you. If you ever need [service] again, or a neighbor does, we are here. [Owner], [Company].
Reply to every review within a couple of days, including the critical ones. Replies are public and tell the next homeowner a real person is behind the profile. For negative reviews, stay calm, acknowledge the issue in one sentence, and move the conversation to a phone number.
Things to avoid in every template, because they violate Google's policy or get requests flagged as spam:
- No incentives. No "$25 off for a review," no gift cards, no raffle entries, regardless of rating.
- No gating. No "Thumbs up goes to Google, thumbs down comes to us." Everyone gets the same link.
- No scripts. Do not tell customers what to write or which keywords to use.
- No reviews from employees, family or your own devices.
- No review stations. Handing the customer your iPad on your Wi-Fi can trip Google's filters.
- No third-party short links. Carriers filter bit.ly-style links as spam more often than g.page links.
If you want the full policy picture, read what contractors can and cannot do under Google's review rules.
Questions contractors ask
Is it better to ask for Google reviews by text or email?
Text, by a wide margin, for home services. Homeowners open texts within minutes and the review link opens directly on their phone. Email works as a backup, especially attached to the invoice, but response rates are much lower. Use both if your software allows: text the same day, email with the invoice, one text nudge a few days later.
Can I offer a discount for leaving a Google review?
No. Google's policy prohibits offering money, discounts, gifts or contest entries in exchange for reviews, regardless of whether the review is positive. Reviews that look incentivized can be removed and repeated violations can get your profile suspended. You can thank a customer after a review, but the thank-you cannot be something of value that was promised beforehand.
How many review requests should I send to past customers at once?
Send in batches of roughly 30-50 per day rather than your whole customer list at once. A profile that jumps from 15 reviews to 90 in a weekend looks unnatural to Google's filters and to homeowners. Spreading a 400-person campaign over three or four weeks produces a steadier stream, and steady velocity is what helps Map Pack ranking.
What do I do if a customer says they left a review but it never showed up?
Google filters some reviews automatically, often when the reviewer has a brand-new account, left the review from your business Wi-Fi, or wrote something that tripped a spam signal. There is no appeal for filtered reviews. Thank the customer, do not ask them to try again from a different account, and keep requesting from everyone else.
