Review management, done the way that does not backfire
Review management is three separate jobs that usually get treated as one. Asking customers properly, at the moment they are most pleased and in a way that takes them under a minute. Responding to what arrives, including the unhappy ones, in public. And putting the results where they do work, on your site with valid markup and in the places search engines and assistants read. Most businesses do the first badly, the second inconsistently and the third not at all.
Asking, without being the business that nags
The single biggest reason businesses have few reviews is that nobody asks, or somebody asks once, awkwardly, weeks after the job. We build the request into the natural end of your process, usually by text because the response rate is far higher than email, with a link that goes straight to the review box.
We do not offer incentives. Platforms prohibit it, customers can tell, and a bought five star review reads exactly like one.
Responding, including to the bad ones
Every review gets a reply. A short, human, specific reply, not a template with the name swapped.
A negative review answered well is more persuasive than a page of praise, because it shows a prospective customer what happens when something goes wrong. That is the thing they are actually worried about. A wall of unbroken five stars reads as suspicious and often is.
Where the reviews should live
- Google Business Profile first, because it feeds the map pack and the branded result
- The platforms your sector is judged on: Checkatrade, Trustpilot, Feefo, sector specific directories
- Your own website, with valid Review and AggregateRating markup
- Your proposals and quotes, where they do more work than anywhere else
Why this now counts as AI work
When an assistant is asked to recommend a business it needs grounds. Review volume, recency, rating and the language inside the reviews are all readable, comparable signals. The words customers use about you become the words the assistant uses about you.
Which means the review text itself matters, not just the star count. A review that says they rebuilt our website and our enquiries went up is worth more to you than one that says great service, in both search and AI.
A worked example we will not hide from
We sat second in the local pack for digital marketing agency sussex in August 2026 on twenty reviews at five stars. Twenty is a small number and it is the result of a decade of doing the work and not asking for the credit. We are running our own programme on ourselves and we will publish where it gets to.
Ask for a free review audit. We will show you your volume, your recency and your gap against the businesses ranking above you.
Review Management FAQs
Can you remove a bad review?
Only if it breaches the platform’s policies, for example if it is fake, defamatory or from a competitor. We will challenge those. A genuine unhappy customer cannot be removed and should not be. Answer it well instead.
Is it against the rules to offer a discount for a review?
Google prohibits incentivised reviews and so do most platforms. Beyond the rules, it corrupts the thing you are trying to build. We do not do it.
How many reviews should I be aiming for?
More than the businesses ranking above you, gained steadily rather than in a burst. Steady beats sudden, because a sudden cluster looks exactly like what it usually is.
What about reviews on other platforms?
Worth having where your sector is genuinely judged there. Spreading yourself across eight platforms means eight thin profiles. Better to be strong on two.
Do you write the responses?
We can, and we will always match your voice and check anything sensitive with you first. Some clients prefer to write them and have us prompt and proofread. Either works.