How to reply to Google reviews, good and bad

Every review on your Google listing is read by people who haven’t rung you yet. Your replies are read by them too. A good reply to a bad review can reassure the next customer, and a defensive one can put them off.

It’s common to either never reply, or reply “Thanks” to the good ones and ignore the bad ones because they don’t know what to say. This guide fixes that: how to reply, what Google allows, and word-for-word replies you can adapt.

How to reply, step by step

You have to be verified first. Google says “Before you can reply to reviews, you must verify your business.” Then, from Google’s help page:

1. Go to your Business Profile (search your business name on Google while signed in, or open the Google Maps app and tap Business).
2. Select Read reviews.
3. Next to the review, select Reply.
4. Type your reply.
5. Select Reply.

What happens next, in Google’s words:

• It’s checked first. “Google reviews your replies” to make sure they follow its content policies. “Replies usually take up to 10 minutes to review, but sometimes a review can take up to 30 days.” If it isn’t approved, you’ll be asked to edit it. So if your reply doesn’t appear straight away, don’t post it again.
• It’s public, as the business. “It will appear like your business replied, and your personal name won’t be shown.”
• The customer is told. “The person who wrote the review is notified when you reply.” They can still change their review after reading it.

Google’s own advice on replies

Google’s review tips page sets out how it wants replies written. The useful parts for a trade:

• “Be nice and stay professional: Keep your reply clear, helpful and polite.”
• “Keep it short and simple: Customers appreciate genuine and helpful replies, but long ones might overwhelm them.”
• “Be a friend, not a salesperson: Your reviewers are already customers, so there’s no need to offer deals or promotions.”

And for bad reviews:

• “Protect privacy and avoid personal attacks: Never share the reviewer’s private info. Do not attack them personally.”
• “Find out why the reviewer had a negative experience: Check your records about the reviewer and their visit.”
• “Be honest and explain limitations: Admit mistakes that were made, but don’t take responsibility for things outside your control.”
• “Apologise if needed” and “Personalise your reply: Sign your reply with your name or initials.”
• “Respond in a timely manner.”

Google also says you can ask the reviewer to contact you “in person, email or phone to help resolve the issue”, and that “A positive reply and follow-up can show that you care and may encourage them to update their review.”

Replies you can copy

Change the names and details. A reply that mentions the actual job reads as real; a reply that could be pasted under any review reads as a robot.

Five stars, short

Thanks, Helen. That was a big conifer to come down so close to the conservatory, so we’re glad you were happy with how tidy we left it. Shout if you need anything else doing. Sam, Oakfield Tree Care

Five stars, mentions something specific

Thanks for this, Chris, and for the brews. The old boiler fought us all the way out, but the new one’s in and the radiators are all running hot. Any problems at all, ring us. Jo, Ridgeway Heating

Four stars, with a small niggle

Thanks, Priya. Fair point about the time on the second day: the scaffold delivery came late and we should have rung you to say so. We’ve changed how we let customers know. Glad you’re pleased with the roof. Mark, Hillcrest Roofing

Three stars: mixed

Thanks for the honest review, Neil. Sorry the clear-up after the patio wasn’t up to the standard of the job itself. That’s on us. I’d like to come back and put it right at no charge. Could you ring me on 07700 900418 so we can sort a time? Sam, Oakfield Gardens

One star: a real job that went wrong

Hi Gary. I’m sorry. You’re right that we missed the date we gave you, and we didn’t ring to say why, which we should have done. I’ve looked at the job notes and I want to put this right. Please ring me directly on 07700 900726 and we’ll agree what happens next. Jo, Ridgeway Heating

Notice what’s not in it: no excuses in public, no argument about who said what, no detail of their home or what they paid. Admit what was wrong, offer to fix it, move it to the phone.

One star: you disagree with it

Hi Steve. I’m sorry you’re unhappy. We quoted for the front of the roof only, and the extra work on the back wasn’t part of that quote, which is why it was priced separately. I’d still like to talk it through and see if there’s a way we can help. My number is 07700 900583. Mark, Hillcrest Roofing

Calm, factual, one sentence of explanation, and an offer. People reading it will judge you on the tone, not on who wins the argument.

A review from someone who was never a customer

Hi. We’ve checked our records and can’t find a job under this name or at this time. If we’ve done work for you, please ring us on 07700 900211 with the address and date so we can look into it. Sam, Oakfield Tree Care

Don’t accuse them of being fake or a competitor in public. Reply once, politely, and then report the review if it breaks Google’s rules. Our guide on removing a bad Google review explains what Google will and won’t take down.

A star rating with no words

Thanks for the five stars, much appreciated. Sam, Oakfield Tree Care

Short is fine. You don’t need to write a paragraph under a review that hasn’t got one.

What never to write

• Their personal details. No addresses, surnames, what they paid, or anything about their house. Google says never share the reviewer’s private info.
• An offer in exchange for changing the review. Google’s policy forbids offering incentives such as “payment, discounts, free of cost goods and/or services” in exchange for posting a review “or revision or removal of a negative review”. Offering to put a job right is fine. Offering money off to take a review down is not.
• An argument. Reply once. If they reply back, take it offline.
• An advert. “Best roofer in Swindon, call now for 10% off” under a customer’s review reads badly. Google’s own advice is “Be a friend, not a salesperson.”
• The same reply under every review. It looks automated, because it is.
• Anything you’ve written while angry. Write it, leave it an hour, read it as if you were the next customer.

Why it’s worth the time

Your reviews and replies sit on the same screen people use to decide whether to ring you.

What we have seen

Benny’s Barbershop in Swindon had 5.0 from 141 Google reviews on 28 September 2026, and about 260 clicks a month from his listing to his website in the six months to September 2026, from his Performance screen captured the same day. Read the case study.

That’s hundreds of people a month reading a listing before they decide. The reviews and how a business answers them are the first thing they see. For a trade, where the job might be worth hundreds or thousands, that first impression matters even more.

Google also lists “Respond to reviews” in its tips to improve local ranking, saying “Positive reviews and helpful replies can help your business stand out.” It doesn’t say replies move your position on their own. Getting more reviews in the first place does more: Google says “More reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking.” See how to get more Google reviews and how many Google reviews you need.

A simple routine

1. Check your reviews at least twice a week, signed in to the account that manages your listing.
2. Reply within a day or two. Google’s advice is to respond “in a timely manner”.
3. Bad review: read it, check your job notes, sleep on it if you need to, then reply using the pattern above.
4. Ring the customer if you have their number. Fixing the problem does more than any reply.
5. Keep asking for reviews after every job, so one bad one sits among plenty of good ones.

How we do it, and why it works

This is part of the “found” work. We ask every customer for a review after the job, so the good ones keep coming, and we work your Google listing every week. Your reviews are always yours, whether or not you stay with us. And we build a website that shows your real reviews where people are deciding.

The rest of the system makes sure the people who read those reviews become jobs. Calls ring you, as they always have. A missed call from a mobile gets a text back in your name, every form and message is replied to in your name, and every quote is chased to a yes or a no. After each enquiry, a text asks whether you won it and for how much, and once a month you get one page: what came in, what you won, what it was worth.

It works because reviews help win the comparison, and replies and follow-ups help win the job. We never promise a position on Google. The free check shows the firms Google lists for your trade in your town and where you sit, in about a minute.