How Plumbers Can Get More Google Reviews in the UK (Without Breaking the Rules)

Ask most customers how they picked a plumber they'd never used before and you'll hear the same thing: "I searched, looked at the reviews, and rang the one that looked decent." Your work might be better than the firm down the road, but if they've got 80 reviews and you've got six, the phone rings for them first.

The good news is that reviews aren't luck. Plumbers with lots of them almost always have one habit in common: they ask, every time, at the right moment, and make it dead easy. This guide covers how to do that properly in the UK, how to handle the odd bad review, and the things you really shouldn't do now that the rules on fake reviews have teeth.

Why Google Reviews Matter So Much for a Plumber

For local trades, your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a customer sees, before your website and sometimes instead of it. Reviews do three jobs there:

• They help you show up. Google says prominence, which includes reviews, is one of the things it weighs for local results. Lots of recent, genuine reviews won't fix a thin profile on their own, but they help.
• They win the click. When someone in Leicester with a leaking cylinder sees three plumbers on the map, the star rating and the number next to it decide who gets the call.
• They answer worries before the phone rings. "Turned up when he said", "explained the price first", "left the place spotless". Customers read these to work out whether you'll be a hassle.

Recent reviews count too. A profile whose last review was 18 months ago makes people wonder if you're still trading.

Get Your Profile Ready First

There's no point sending people to a half-finished profile. Before you start asking, check:

• Your business name is your real trading name, without keywords stuffed in.
• Your service area is set (you can hide your home address if you work from home).
• Your categories are right, for example "Plumber", plus "Heating contractor" or "Boiler repair" if they fit what you actually do.
• Your hours, phone number and website are correct.
• You've added a few real photos: your van, you on a job, a finished bathroom.

If you haven't claimed your profile yet, do that first. Our guide to getting more plumbing leads covers the basics.

When to Ask for a Review

Timing makes a bigger difference than wording. The best moment is when the customer is happiest, which is usually:

• Straight after an emergency fix. The water's off, the boiler's firing, they're relieved. This is your strongest moment.
• At handover on a bigger job. Once they've seen the finished bathroom and you've walked them through it.
• When they say something nice. "That's brilliant, thanks so much" is your cue. "I'm really glad. Would you mind putting that in a quick Google review? It makes a big difference for a small business like mine."

Ask in person if you can, then send the link by text the same day so it's sitting in their phone while the job's fresh. Leave it a week and most people have forgotten.

Make It Easy: Your Review Link

The biggest reason customers don't leave reviews is that they don't know how. Don't ask them to "search for us on Google". Send a direct link that opens the review box.

You can get this from your Google Business Profile: look for the option to ask for reviews or share a review form, and it will give you a short link. Save it somewhere you can copy it in two taps, such as a text shortcut on your phone.

Then use it everywhere it's natural:

• In a short text after each job.
• At the bottom of your invoices and receipts.
• In your email signature.
• On a small card or a QR code sticker you leave with the paperwork.

What to Say: Simple Templates

Keep it short, personal and pressure-free. A few you can adapt:

After an emergency call-out

Hi Sarah, it's Dan the plumber. Glad we got the leak sorted tonight. If you've got a minute, a quick Google review would really help me out: [link]. Thanks again.

After a bigger job

Hi Mr Patel, thanks for having us in for the bathroom this week. Hope you're enjoying it. If you're happy with how it went, I'd be grateful for a short Google review: [link]. Any snags, just give me a shout.

A gentle follow-up (send once, then leave it)

Hi Jo, just a quick nudge in case the link got buried: [link]. No worries if you're busy, and thanks again for the work.

Notice what these don't do. They don't ask for five stars, they don't offer anything in return, and they invite problems to come to you. That last bit matters: if something isn't right, you'd much rather hear about it and fix it.

The Rules: What You Must Not Do

Reviews are now a legal issue as well as a Google one. Since April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has banned businesses from writing or commissioning fake reviews, and from publishing reviews that have been paid for or rewarded without making that clear. The Competition and Markets Authority can take action directly. Google's own policies go further and can remove reviews or restrict your profile.

In practice, avoid all of this:

• Writing reviews yourself, or getting your partner, mates or family to pose as customers.
• Paying for reviews or buying a "review package" from anyone, however it's dressed up.
• Offering anything for a review: money off the next job, a free service, entry into a prize draw. Even for honest reviews, this breaks Google's rules.
• Only asking happy customers after screening them first, sometimes called review gating. Ask everyone, or at least ask without filtering by what they'll say.
• Swapping reviews with other trades who've never used you.
• Leaving fake bad reviews on competitors. It's also a quick way to end up in trouble.

You can read the official guidance on GOV.UK's fake reviews page from the CMA if you want the detail. The short version: ask genuinely, take what you get.

How to Handle a Bad Review

Sooner or later you'll get one, sometimes fair, sometimes not. A single bad review among plenty of good ones doesn't put people off much. A rude reply does.

1. Wait before you reply. Don't type anything while you're annoyed.
2. Reply politely and briefly. Thank them, acknowledge the issue, and offer to sort it offline. "Sorry to hear this, Mark. I'd like to put it right, please ring me on the office number."
3. Don't argue the details in public or share anything private about the job.
4. Fix it if you can. If you resolve it, some customers update their review on their own. You can let them know that's possible, but don't push.
5. Flag it to Google only if it breaks Google's rules, for example it's clearly not a customer, it's abusive, or it's about a different business.

Future customers read your replies as much as the review. Calm and fair beats right every time.

Reply to the Good Ones Too

A short, personal thank you on positive reviews shows you're active and that real people are behind the business. Mention the job if you can ("Glad the new radiators are keeping the front room warm") rather than pasting the same line every time.

Build It Into Your Routine

Reviews come from habit, not campaigns. A simple routine for a one-van plumber:

• Ask at the end of every job where the customer seems happy.
• Text the link the same day.
• One follow-up after three or four days, then leave it.
• Reply to every review within a week.
• Check your profile once a month: photos, hours, and any questions people have posted.

If you do that for a few months, you'll usually find the numbers grow steadily without ever feeling like you're begging.

Don't Lose the Customers Before They Can Review You

The jobs you never get can't leave reviews. If you're on a ladder or under a sink when the phone rings and the caller goes to the next plumber on the map, that's one fewer happy customer and one fewer review. That's the problem we built Slotby for: it answers when you can't, books the job into your diary and texts you the details, so more enquiries turn into jobs and, eventually, reviews. It's not essential for this, but it's worth thinking about how many calls slip through. Our piece on how many calls plumbers miss is a good start.

Quick Checklist

• Google Business Profile claimed, accurate and with real photos.
• Direct review link saved on your phone.
• Ask in person at the happiest moment, then text the link that day.
• One polite follow-up, no pressure, no incentives.
• Never fake, buy, swap or gate reviews.
• Reply calmly to bad reviews and warmly to good ones.
• Review your profile once a month.

Want more on running the business side? See our guides to pricing plumbing jobs and getting paid on time.