How many Google reviews does a tradie actually need?
Zero reads as a risk, five recent ones read as a real business. Why good tradies have no reviews, and how to fix the timing problem.
Before anyone rings you, they look you up. Not your website first — your Google reviews. A tradie with no reviews does not read as new. To a careful customer, no reviews reads as a risk. We learned that one the hard way, from a prospect who told us to our face.
How many do you actually need?
Fewer than you think, sooner than you think. The jump from zero to five changes how you read more than the jump from twenty to fifty. Zero is a question mark. Five recent, genuine reviews with real job details is a business that exists and delivers. After that, recency beats volume: a review from last month outworks ten from 2023.
Why tradies with great work still have no reviews
Because asking is awkward and there is never a right moment. The customer is happy at handover, you mean to send the link that night, and then you are on the next job and it never happens. It is not a marketing problem. It is a timing problem.
The fix is asking at the right second, every time
- Ask at handover, while the job still looks its best.
- Send the direct review link — nobody searches for your listing to review you.
- Ask every completed job, not just the big ones. Volume comes from routine.
- Never pay or incentivise. One fake-looking review costs more trust than ten real ones buy.
Deskhand's Workflow Kit sends the review request automatically when a job is marked done — right link, right moment, no remembering. The reviews compound while you are on the next job.
How review requests work · How fast do you have to reply? · Request access