Owners either never ask, or they buy a pack of five-star copy-paste. Both are losing strategies. The middle is unglamorous and it works.
Ask when the work is done, not in a window sticker only
The moment someone is happy — keys handed over, glasses adjusted, print job collected — is the moment. A QR to the review form at the till is useful. A desperate email six months later is not.
Do not filter (“only if you would give 5”). That is against Google’s rules and it shows.
Make it one tap, then shut up
The official Google review link, on the phone, in the thank-you SMS or on a small card. Do not send people through a maze on your site that asks them to create an account first.
Then stop nagging. One reminder is plenty. Weekly guilt trips train people to ignore you.
Reply. Especially when it stings.
A public reply to a 3-star review that is factual and calm is better advertising than a wall of 5-stars with no text. Never fake reviews. Never review yourself. If a competitor is playing that game, document it — do not copy it.
Reviews support Maps. They do not replace a correct profile and a site that loads.