You do great work. Your profile doesn’t show it.

Build a system, don’t ask randomly. The combination that works: ask the moment a job finishes when satisfaction is highest, make it one tap by SMS, follow up once or twice for non-responders, and trigger the same sequence automatically on every job. Most contractors see a meaningful lift in review velocity just from running a proper system.

No. Google’s terms prohibit trading discounts, gifts, or contest entries for reviews, and violations can get reviews stripped or your profile penalized. You can ask; you just can’t pay. Asked at the right time with the right message, you don’t need incentives anyway.

Fast and calm, usually within a day. Acknowledge the frustration without getting defensive, don’t argue the facts in public, and move the conversation offline with a phone number. The goal isn’t winning the argument. It’s showing the next homeowner that you handle problems like a professional. Done well, it often earns a revised rating.

There’s no magic number, but trust climbs noticeably once you’re past about 50. More important is velocity: a steady stream of recent reviews beats a big pile of old ones. A competitor with 40 reviews from the last six months will often outrank one with 100 that stopped a year ago.

That’s the managed side of this service. We draft responses in your voice and either post them with your approval or hand you ready-to-paste drafts. Every review gets a professional reply without adding anything to your day.

It can be run on its own, but review systems are also built into every Local SEO engagement, because reviews feed your Google Business Profile, your rankings, and your close rate all at once. We’ll tell you straight whether you need the standalone service or the full system.