How Landscapers Can Get More Google Reviews Without Feeling Pushy

A cracking job that nobody online knows about

Picture a landscaper in Cheltenham. Fifteen years in the trade, a van full of good tools and a diary full of repeat customers. He's got four Google reviews, the newest one from 2022.

Two miles away there's a firm that started three years ago. Their work is fine, nothing special, but they've got 58 reviews and most of them mention the lads by name.

A couple who've just moved in want their back garden sorted before next summer. They search, see both names, and look at the stars. One firm looks busy and trusted. The other looks like it might have packed up.

They ring the busy one. Our landscaper never even knew he was in the running.

Why asking feels so awkward

Most landscapers and gardeners we speak to know reviews matter. They just hate asking.

It feels like fishing for compliments. You're stood there in muddy boots at handover, the customer's about to pay the final invoice, and asking for a favour on top feels cheeky. So you leave it, and hope they'll think of it themselves.

They usually won't, and it's not because they're unhappy. People are busy, and leaving a review is nobody's idea of a Saturday afternoon. Happy customers tend to stay quiet, and that's where the trouble starts.

What staying quiet is costing you

We looked at the Google reviews of 41,873 UK trade businesses for our review gap study. Almost half had no reviews at all, and 71% had fewer than ten. The ones that did have reviews averaged 4.8 stars.

So for most good firms, the work is fine and the review count is the weak spot. A homeowner choosing who to trust with a five-figure garden build will nearly always lean towards the firm that other people have vouched for.

And you'll never find out. Nobody rings to say they picked someone else because you only had four reviews. The phone just stays quieter than it should, and you put it down to a slow spring.

When to ask: the two best moments in a landscaper's year

• ●At handover of a finished garden. This is when the customer is happiest. The patio's clean, the planting's fresh and they're showing it off on their phone already. Ask that day, while they're still stood on the new lawn. Leave it a fortnight and the moment's gone.
• ●At the end of the season for maintenance customers. If you've cut someone's grass and kept their borders tidy all year, the last visit of the season is the natural time. You've looked after them for months, and they know it. A thank you for the season and a quick ask fits perfectly.
• ●Any time a customer pays you a compliment. If they say "that looks brilliant", that's your opening. "Thanks, would you mind saying that on Google? I'll text you the link."

The short text that does the asking for you

Asking face to face is half the job. The other half is making it dead easy, because nobody is going to search for your business, find the right listing and work out where the review button is.

Get your review link from your Google Business Profile (look for "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews"), and send it in a text the same day. Something like this:

"Hi Sue, it's Dave from [your business]. Thanks again for having us, the patio's come up lovely. If you've got two minutes, a Google review would really help a small firm like ours: [your link]. Cheers, Dave"

Use their name, mention the actual job and keep it short. One polite reminder a few days later is fine if they haven't got round to it. After that, leave it.

What to say face to face

Keep it plain and honest. You don't need a sales pitch.

"We're a small local firm and most of our work comes from word of mouth. Would you mind leaving us an honest review on Google? I'll text you the link so it only takes a couple of minutes."

Notice what that doesn't say. It doesn't ask for five stars, and it doesn't offer anything in return. It asks for an honest review from a real customer, which is exactly what Google and the law both want.

Reply to every review, good and bad

Replies get read. The next customer scrolling through your reviews is quietly checking how you treat people.

For a good one, thank them by name, mention the job and sign off as yourself: "Thanks Sarah, glad the new lawn's taken so well. Keep the mower off it till spring. - Dave". It takes thirty seconds and shows there's a real person behind the van.

For a bad one, don't argue in public. Thank them, say sorry they're unhappy, and offer to put it right on the phone. Homeowners judge the reply more than the complaint.

The rules: fake reviews are now illegal

Since 6 April 2025, fake reviews have been banned in the UK under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. The Competition and Markets Authority can fine a business up to 10% of its worldwide turnover.

In plain terms, here's what to steer clear of:

• ●Writing your own reviews, or getting friends and family to write them for work they never had done.
• ●Paying someone for reviews, including the online firms that sell batches of five-star reviews.
• ●Offering money off, a free hedge trim or anything else in return for a review. Google's own rules don't allow incentives at all, and hidden incentivised reviews are banned by the new law too.
• ●Only asking the customers you know are happy. Google's rules say you shouldn't pick and choose. Ask everyone you've done work for, every time.
• ●Asking every genuine customer for an honest review is completely fine, and it's exactly what the rules are there to protect.

Here's what happens when you ask every time

Say you finish two jobs a week, including maintenance visits, and only half of those customers get round to leaving a review. That's about one a week. By this time next year you'd have around fifty, all from real customers, mentioning real jobs in real towns.

Most landscapers in your area won't do that. They'll keep meaning to. Which means the firm that asks every time, without fail, ends up looking like the obvious choice.

Where we fit

Remembering to send that text after every job is the bit most people drop. So our system sends it for you. When you mark a job done in your dashboard, your customer gets a short, friendly review request by text and email, with your link, and a polite follow-up if they haven't left one yet. So every customer gets asked, including the ones you'd have forgotten.

It comes with the Complete Business Package, alongside a website built for how homeowners choose a garden firm. Have a look at our websites for landscapers, or read more on how to get Google reviews and how many Google reviews you actually need.

Start with the next garden you finish

You don't need to change anything big. Get your review link today, save that text on your phone, and ask at your next handover.

If you'd like to see where you stand first, start with a free review of your business. We'll look at your Google reviews and your listing next to the other landscapers in your area, and tell you honestly what would bring more work in. Trev's on it.

Common questions