How to get more Google and Checkatrade reviews (all trades)

People who have not met you yet will read the last few jobs. That is the whole point.

More reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. A reply shows you value the feedback. You cannot pay for a better local rank.

Ask every homeowner after the work, while it is still fresh.

Ask. Send one link. Reply when one lands.

Do this once. Then the link lives in your phone.

Get the link

1. Open your Google Business Profile on a computer.
2. Choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. Copy the link.

That link opens the review box. They do not have to search for you.

Google also gives you a QR code on that same screen. It only generates on a computer, not on your phone. Save it. Put it on invoices and a card you leave behind.

You can share the link on receipts, in a thank-you email, at the end of a chat, by WhatsApp, email, or a Facebook post.

Save the link as a note on your phone so you can paste it in ten seconds.

When to ask

Ask when the job is done and they can see the work. Not a week later. Say it out loud. Then send the link to their phone. Do not stand over them while they type. Google does not want you pressuring people to review while you are still in the house. Leave the link. They do it on their own phone, in their own time. They need to be signed into a Google account. That is Google's rule, not yours.

What to send

Keep it short. Use their name. Name the job. One link.

Hi Jane, thanks for having me today on the leak. If you have two minutes, a Google review helps the next customer find me: [your link]

Ask every customer that way. Not only the ones who made tea.

Asking every time is the bit that fails. You are on the tools. Keep the completed job and the agreed follow-up on record.

One reminder, then stop

If nothing lands after a few days, one short follow-up is fine.

Just a nudge on that review if you get a minute. No worries if you are busy.

Then leave it. A second chase reads as pressure.

Reply when one comes in

Thank them by name. Mention the job if they did. For a bad one: stay calm, keep it short, offer to sort it off Google. Future customers read how you handle it. A mix of honest reviews often feels more trustworthy than a wall of fives. Do not fish for only the good ones.

Ask every homeowner

Ask in person once the work is finished. Send a follow-up if they have not left one within a few days. Same rule as Google: ask everyone, not a filtered list.

Make it easy

• Leave their Checkatrade review card as you pack up. It is personalised to you. The unique feedback URL is on the back.
• Send that same unique URL by text or email.
• Put a line on the final invoice.

If you use the Checkatrade Trades app, it can send the reminder by email or SMS. That is Checkatrade's own nudge.

One site per ask

Homeowners will not normally review you on more than one site. Do not dump a Google link and a Checkatrade link in the same message. Pick one:

• They found you on Checkatrade: ask for Checkatrade.
• They found you on Google: ask for Google.

Two sites is enough. Grow both over the year, not in one text.

These are the platform rules.

Google

• No discounts, gifts, or free work in return for a review.
• No fake reviews. No family or staff posing as customers.
• Do not only ask the happy ones. Do not block negative reviews.
• Do not tell them what to write, or to name a person.
• Do not make them review before you leave.

Checkatrade

Their review guidelines:

• No discounts or gifts in return for a review.
• Do not ask employees, friends, or family.
• Do not ask for fakes. They remove them, and they can remove you.
• Do not lean on someone to edit or take down a review. The customer owns it.
• Replies: respectful, factual, short. No phone numbers or addresses in the reply.

If a review is fake or breaks the rules, report it on the platform. Do not argue in public.

1. Ask while you pack up. One sentence.
2. Send one link from your phone. Google or Checkatrade, not both.
3. Put the other link on the invoice.
4. One follow-up a few days later if they have not done it.
5. Reply when a review lands.

That is the whole job. Same for every trade.

If you want the asking written down as a one-page run, use the get more reviews checklist on Tradehand. It is a way to keep the ask in the job.

Time is what breaks it. You know to ask. You still leave without sending the link. That is why the assistant exists.

Use a small profile inventory before putting feedback on your website. Copy one record for each platform you actually use.

• Profile: platform ___; actual public business profile URL ___; authorised owner ___; checked date ___; working review-request link ___.
• Review: original public review URL ___; original platform/date ___; actual words ___; permission to reproduce those words ___; website location used ___.
• Check: quotation still matches the original ___; platform attribution visible ___; correction owner and next action ___.

A request link is not a received review. Keep Google and Checkatrade ratings with their own platform and check date; do not combine them into one apparent platform rating. When quoting genuine feedback on your website, keep the original source alongside it.

Draft to adapt, not a customer message sent by Tradehand: “Thanks for having me. If you would like to share your experience, here is the review link: [link].” Let the customer decide whether to review and what to say.

• Eligibility: actual completed job reference ___; consistent rule for asking genuine customers ___.
• Request: date ___; platform and direct link ___; contact method agreed with the customer ___.
• Response: review actually received/date ___; reply or issue needing attention ___; no response recorded as no response.
• Integrity check: no reward, prescribed rating or selective positive-review request; no pressure to change negative feedback.

Count requests and reviews separately. Do not call a request a new review or infer that a review produced a booking. Keep job information private and avoid disclosing it in public replies. Copy these review-window fields: from/to dates ___; requests ___; actual reviews ___; time spent ___; issue owner and next action ___. Use the Google audit for profile faults and the lead ledger for enquiries and bookings; neither count is a review count. For promotional email, check the separate permission rules.