Guide
How to get more Google reviews: a guide for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians
Ask every customer on the day, send one reminder, and never offer anything in return. What Google and UK law allow, what they rule out, and a routine that fits a busy week.
The way to get more Google reviews as a plumber, heating engineer or electrician is to ask every customer on the day the job ends. airstad local runs that routine for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians in Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and London. This guide sets out the routine, the four practices to avoid and how to answer a bad review.
Why do Google reviews decide which plumber, heating engineer or electrician gets the call?
Reviews are what many customers use to choose between two or three local businesses on Google. That is our view from working with trades, not a measured figure. They check how many you have, what they say, and how recent the latest one is, so a newest review from last year can make a customer wonder whether you are still trading. The best moment to ask is the day the job ends, and it is also the easiest one to miss, because you are already on the next job.
When and how should you ask for a Google review?
Ask on the day the job is finished, by text or email, with a direct link to your review form. Google says you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code (opens in a new tab) to leave a review. The link comes from your Google Business Profile, your free listing on Google Maps and search, so the customer lands on the form without having to search for you.
Should you send a reminder if a customer does not leave a review?
Send one reminder after three or four days, then stop. This is how our review service works, and it is our view rather than a rule. A second or third chase is where asking starts to feel like pressure, and it costs more goodwill than the review is worth.
What do Google and UK law rule out when you ask for reviews?
Four practices are ruled out. The rules come from Google’s policy and from guidance by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK regulator.
| Practice | What the rules say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Asking only the customers you think are happy | Google bans selectively asking for positive reviews. The CMA warns that steering unhappy customers away from reviewing can break consumer law. | Google policy (opens in a new tab) , CMA guidance (opens in a new tab) |
| Offering anything in return, such as a discount or a free service | Google bans any incentive for a review. UK law bans reviews that hide they were paid for. Follow Google’s stricter rule and offer nothing. | Google policy (opens in a new tab) , the Act (opens in a new tab) |
| Writing reviews yourself, or asking staff, friends and family | A review not based on a real customer’s experience is a fake review. UK law has banned fake reviews outright since April 2025. | the Act (opens in a new tab) |
| Offering to fix a problem only if a bad review is removed | The CMA names this as a practice that can break the law. Fix the problem because it needs fixing. | CMA guidance (opens in a new tab) |
What happens if a business breaks the rules on reviews?
Google can put a public warning on the listing and stop it taking new reviews. Google agreed this with the CMA in January 2025, and the CMA published the changes (opens in a new tab) . For repeat offenders, Google can delete their reviews for six months or more, and the CMA can now fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover (opens in a new tab) . I expect the warning to cost a trade business more than any fine, because every customer sees it before they decide whether to call.
Do you need to reply to every Google review?
Yes, reply to every review, good and bad. Google’s help page asks owners to read and reply to reviews (opens in a new tab) and to keep replies clear, helpful and polite. Every customer who looks at your listing afterwards can read them, and ten minutes a week is usually enough to answer every new one and thank people by name.
How do you answer a bad Google review?
Answer it in public and stay calm, in three steps. Write the reply for the next customer as much as for the person who left the review.
- Thank them.
- Say what happened from your side, without arguing.
- Give a way to sort it out, such as your phone number.
Leave out anything about the customer or the job that they would not want public. Google removes a review only if it breaks its rules (opens in a new tab) , for example if it is fake, offensive or about a different business. A review that feels unfair stays up, so the reply is where you answer it.
What is the first step to getting more Google reviews?
Open your Google Business Profile this week, copy your review link and save it as a text message you can send in ten seconds after a job.
If you would rather not run this yourself, our review service does it for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians across Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and London. Every customer you send us is asked, with one reminder, and nobody is left out.
Sources
This guide explains what Google and the CMA say, with links to both below. It is practical guidance, not legal advice on your own situation.
- Google Business Profile Help: ask customers for reviews and reply to them (opens in a new tab)
- Google Maps: prohibited and restricted content in reviews (opens in a new tab)
- CMA: fake reviews guidance (CMA208) (opens in a new tab)
- CMA: changes secured from Google to tackle fake reviews (opens in a new tab)
- CMA: the new consumer protection regime and its fines (opens in a new tab)
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20 (opens in a new tab)
More guides
- How much does a website cost in the UK for a plumber?
- What UK agencies publish for a plumber's or electrician's website, what the price does and does not include, and what to check before you pay.
- Website for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians: what to put on each service page
- Give each job you want more of its own page, answer what customers ask before they ring, and leave off what Google treats as spam.
- Plumbing leads: what they cost, who else gets them, and how to own your own
- Where plumbing and heating leads come from, what each kind costs, which ones are shared with other plumbers, and what you keep when you stop paying.
- Google review rules for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians, on one page
- Ask every customer, offer nothing in return, and never write, filter or trade away a review. What Google's policy and UK law say about each common practice, with the source for every line.
- How to add your business to Google Maps: a complete Google Business Profile for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians
- How to get your business on Google Maps, and what a complete listing needs. Every part of it, what Google allows in each, and a ten-minute monthly check that keeps it right.
- How much does Checkatrade cost? Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Bark compared for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians
- How much Checkatrade costs, what MyBuilder and Bark charge a plumber, heating engineer or electrician, how each one charges, and why the price of a lead is not the price of a job.