Where to click, and the ground rules
How do you publish a business reply on Google?
To respond to a Google review, sign in to the account that manages your Business Profile, open your reviews, choose Reply under the review, write a short response and post it. You can do it from Google Search on a computer or from the Google Maps app on your phone.
Google checks replies before they go live. Once your reply is published, it appears under the review as the response from the owner, and the reviewer gets a notification. The reviewer can still edit their review later. Google’s review management instructions also cover editing or deleting your reply. Deleting your reply doesn’t delete the customer’s review.
Anyone with owner or manager access can reply from their own Google Account. If your office manager handles reviews, add them as a manager with our manager access guide instead of sharing the owner’s password.
Five rules cover almost every reply:
- Reply to every review, good or bad, within a day or two.
- Keep it short. Three or four sentences is plenty.
- Mention something specific the customer said, so the reply can’t be pasted under any review.
- Leave out private details: addresses, invoice amounts, job history.
- Sign it with a first name, so a real person stands behind the words.
Five stars and four stars
How to reply to positive reviews.
A good reply to a positive review thanks the person and points to the detail they praised. That’s it. Skip the sales pitch and the list of services. Replace every bracketed part of these examples before you post.
Five stars, specific praise: “Thank you, [display name]. We’re glad [the detail they praised, such as the clear explanation before the work started] made the day easier. [Tech’s name, if the review mentions them] will be happy to hear it. [Your first name]”
Five stars, repeat customer: “Thanks for calling us again, [display name]. It means a lot when a customer comes back. See you next time, [your first name]”
Four stars with a small complaint: “Thanks for the kind words, [display name], and for the honest note about [the issue they raised, such as the arrival window]. That’s fair, and we’re working on it. [Your first name]”
Don’t stuff city names or service keywords into replies. “Thanks for choosing us for your water heater installation in [city], the best water heater installation in [city]” reads like spam to customers. Google’s reply advice asks for replies that stay professional and on topic, with no promotion.
One to three stars
How to reply to a negative or mixed review.
Before you type a word, do three things. Pull the job record. Talk to the tech or crew lead who was there. Then wait until you are calm. A defensive reply does more damage than the review itself, because every future customer reads both.
A complaint reply should acknowledge the problem, take responsibility for whatever was your fault and move the conversation to the phone. Keep the fix private.
Fair complaint: “[Display name], thank you for telling us about this. You’re right that [the issue they described, such as the crew arriving late without a call] isn’t the experience we want anyone to have. I’d like to make it right. Please call me directly at [phone number]. [Your first name], [your role]”
Mixed review: “Thanks for the honest review, [display name]. We’re glad [the part that went well] worked out, and I’m sorry [the part that didn’t] fell short. I’d like to hear more. Please reach me at [phone number or email]. [Your first name]”
Complaint about price: “Thanks for the feedback, [display name]. We quote every job up front so there are no surprises, and I’m sorry the cost was more than you expected. If you’d like to go over the invoice together, call me at [phone number]. [Your first name]”
Have the person who can approve a refund, repair or return visit make that call. Never make help depend on the customer changing or removing the review. Google prohibits incentives for changing reviews, and customers can tell when an apology comes with strings.
When you can’t find the customer
Unknown, fake and rating-only reviews.
Not recognizing a name doesn’t make a review fake. People use nicknames, a spouse’s account or a business account. Search your records by phone number, street and date first.
Review you can’t match yet: “Thank you for sharing this. We haven’t been able to match these details with our records yet, and we’d like to look into it. Please contact [phone or email] so [your role] can check the details with you.” Only use that wording if you did search and came up empty.
A review that breaks the rules. If a review is spam, written by a competitor, aimed at a different business, or full of hate speech or personal attacks on an employee, report it from your profile. Google’s review management tools let you report a review and check the status of the report. Reporting and replying are separate; you can do both. A one-star review alone doesn’t break any policy.
A rating with no text. A reply is optional. A one-line thank-you on a five-star rating is a nice touch: “Thanks for the five stars, [display name]. [Your first name]”
Before you post any of these, read the reply out loud as if you were the customer. If it sounds like a form letter or an argument, rewrite it.
After you hit Reply
Turn reviews into fixes and more reviews.
Follow through on every offer you make in a reply. If you asked the customer to call, make sure the person answering knows the story. Customers sometimes update a review after a problem gets fixed; let them do that on their own.
Read your reviews once a month as a set. If three customers mention missed arrival windows, the fix is scheduling, not a better reply. If they keep praising one tech by name, tell that tech, and use the praise when you train the rest of the crew.
Replies work best on a profile with a steady flow of new reviews. Our guide on getting more Google reviews covers the timing, the scripts and the rules for asking. Review management and Business Profile upkeep are part of Lithium’s SEO service .
