TL;DR: To get more Google reviews as a contractor, ask every customer, every time, at the moment the job is done and they are happiest, using a direct Google review link or QR code. Never offer a discount or a freebie for a review, never ask only your happy customers, and reply to every review, including the bad ones. Build the ask into your closeout checklist so it does not depend on anyone remembering.
If you run a paver, concrete or outdoor living company, you already know a finished patio sells the next job. A review is how that finished patio shows up in Google. Citadel Hardscape Marketing was started by a former owner of a paver sealing company, and our SEO work treats reviews as the foundation, because as we put it on that page, reviews are the lifeblood of your internet presence. This post covers how to get more of them, and exactly what Google and the FTC say you can and can’t do while you do it.
How Do Contractors Get More Google Reviews?
Contractors get more Google reviews by asking every customer at the end of every job, with a direct Google review link or QR code, and by making the ask a fixed step in the closeout, not a favor someone remembers. Volume comes from consistency.
If a crew does great work and the profile still has a handful of reviews, the usual cause is that nobody asked. That is a process problem, not a quality problem, and a process can be fixed.
The rest of this post is that process, in order: when to ask, how to send the link, who to ask, what is off limits, and how to handle the review you did not want.
When Should You Ask for a Review?
Ask right after the final walkthrough, while the customer is standing on the finished work and is happiest with it. If you can, ask once more after they have hosted their first gathering on the new patio. Google does not set a required timing, so this is a practical suggestion, not a rule.
For hardscape, the timing is built into the job. The final walkthrough is the one moment when the customer is looking at exactly what they paid for. Ask there, in person, then send the link by text or email before you leave the driveway so it does not get lost.
The second ask is optional. After a few weeks, a customer who has used the space can describe it in specifics, which makes a better review than “great job.” Treat it as a suggestion to test, not a guarantee.
One more rule of thumb: ask for the review before you send the final invoice reminder or the sealing follow-up, not in the same message as a payment request. Keep the two conversations separate.
How Do You Get Your Google Review Link?
Google says you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code to leave a review. Google’s help page on getting more reviews points you to the steps for creating both. The customer must be signed in to a Google Account to post.
Save the link in your phone and in your estimating software, and print the QR code on a yard sign card, a door hanger or the back of your business card. The fewer taps between “yes, I’ll do it” and the review box, the more asks turn into reviews.
Because the customer needs a Google Account, tell them up front. Google notes they can set one up with a non-Gmail email address, so an older customer without Gmail is not blocked. Offer to walk them through it on the spot if they get stuck.
If your Business Profile is not fully set up yet, fix that first. Our guide to the best Google Business Profile category for hardscape contractors is a good starting point, since a review on a miscategorized profile helps you less than one on a profile that matches your main revenue.
Who Should You Ask for a Review?
Ask every customer, not just the ones you think will be happy. The FTC’s guide for marketers says not to ask for reviews only from customers you think will leave positive ones. Filtering who gets the link is called review gating, and the FTC’s guidance is that you shouldn’t do it.
Here is how gating usually shows up in a contractor’s business. Someone sends a “how did we do?” text, and only the people who answer “great” get the Google link. It feels harmless, and it is exactly what the FTC guidance warns against. The FTC’s guide to soliciting and paying for online reviews is plain English and worth ten minutes of your time.
The practical fix is simple: send the same link to every customer on every job.
Staff are a related case. The same FTC guide says not to ask your staff to write reviews of your business, at least not without making sure they disclose in the review that you employ them and asked them to write it. The cleanest policy for a crew-based company is that your people do not review your business at all.
What You Can and Can’t Do When You Ask for Reviews
Short version: you can ask, and you can make it easy. You can’t pay for the result. The table below sorts the common practices by what Google and the FTC actually say. It is a summary of their wording, not legal advice.
| Practice | Allowed? | Whose rule |
|---|---|---|
| Asking customers to post a review with a Google link or QR code | Yes | |
| Offering a discount or free service in exchange for a review | No | Google calls this “strictly prohibited” |
| Offering any incentive that depends on the review being positive | No | FTC guidance: don’t condition it, explicitly or implicitly, on a positive review |
| Offering an incentive to change a review or remove a negative one | No | |
| Asking for reviews only from customers you expect to be happy | Don’t | FTC guidance |
| Asking your staff to write reviews without disclosure | Don’t | FTC guidance |
| Using the report option on an honest negative review to get it removed | Don’t | FTC guidance |
| Flagging a review that actually violates Google’s content policies | Yes |
Google’s wording is the strict one. On Google’s review guidelines page, offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for customers to post reviews is described as fake and misleading content and strictly prohibited. Google’s content policy also bars offering incentives for revising or removing a negative review. So the old “10% off your next job if you leave us five stars” idea is out on Google, full stop.
The FTC’s guidance is worded as advice to marketers, and it is the reason the table says “FTC guidance” instead of “FTC ban.” Read the source for yourself before you build a policy around it.
How Should You Respond to a Negative Review?
Reply promptly, keep it short and professional, address the reviewer by name, and acknowledge the problem. Apologize if an apology is fair. Then offer to continue the conversation offline with a phone number or email. Google gives this same basic guidance, and your reply is written for the next customer reading it.
Do not argue in public. Whoever is shopping for a patio will read your reply long after the reviewer has moved on, and they are judging how you act when something goes wrong.
Here is a simple structure: thank them for the feedback, name the issue in your own words, say what you are doing about it, and give them a direct way to reach you. Do not name crew members, do not post the customer’s address, and do not explain every detail of the dispute.
If a review breaks Google’s content policies, such as being spam or from someone who was never your customer, you can flag it. Do not use that tool on an honest negative review just because it stings. The FTC’s guidance specifically says not to misuse the option to get rid of honest negative reviews. For a quick walkthrough, see the negative reviews video on our marketing basics page.
Make It a System, Not a Habit
A review process only works if it does not depend on one person’s memory. Pick one owner for the ask, put it on the closeout checklist, and track it by job. When a job is marked complete, the link goes out. That is the whole system.
A simple version for a crew-based company:
- Assign an owner. The project manager, the office, or you. One name, not “the team.”
- Put it on the closeout checklist. Final walkthrough, photos, payment, review link.
- Send the link the same day. By text, while the job is still fresh.
- Log who got it. A column in your job tracker is enough. This also proves you asked every customer, not a filtered few.
- Reply to every review. Good ones get a short thank-you, bad ones get the structure above.
- Review the list monthly. Look for jobs with no review and send a polite second nudge.
Reviews also feed paid lead channels. Our Local Service Ads page lists review score and number of reviews among the factors that affect LSA ranking, and our FAQ page says we have proven systems to boost online reviews. For the bigger picture on where reviews fit, see our hardscape marketing ideas guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I offer a discount for a Google review?
No. Google says offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for customers posting reviews is strictly prohibited. Ask for the review, make it easy, and do not attach a reward to it.
Can I only ask my happiest customers for reviews?
You shouldn’t. The FTC’s guidance says not to ask for reviews only from customers you think will leave positive ones. Send the same Google review link to every customer on every job.
Can my employees leave Google reviews for my company?
Avoid it. The FTC’s guidance says not to ask your staff to write reviews of your business without ensuring they disclose that you employ them and asked them to write it. The cleaner policy is that your crew does not review your own company.
Can I pay to have a negative Google review removed?
No. Google’s content policy prohibits offering incentives in exchange for revising or removing a negative review. If a review breaks Google’s content policies you can flag it. For an honest negative review, reply professionally and offer to talk offline.
Want a Review Process That Runs Without You?
If you are doing the right work and your profile does not show it, the gap is usually the process. Schedule a strategy session and we will look at how you collect reviews today and what to change. You can also call Citadel Hardscape Marketing at 239-893-7050 or contact us here.