They are comparing review counts
Someone searching “accountant near me” is not reading your website or your qualifications. Most practices ask nobody, then wonder why the firm down the road appears above them.
Why practices end up with four reviews
It is almost never that clients are unhappy. It is that asking feels awkward, so it happens occasionally, to the clients you know best, when someone remembers. That produces a handful of reviews over several years, all of them old.
Two things fix it. Asking every time work completes rather than when it occurs to someone. And asking in a way that a professional is comfortable sending, which means short, no incentive, and easy to decline.
How we set it up
The exclusion list, before the campaign
You tell us the matter types and services where a request must never be sent. We load them before anything else is built, and no campaign can override them.
A trigger you actually use
Usually a tag your team applies when work completes. We will not invent a trigger nobody will remember to apply — if the practice will not use it, the campaign does not work.
Two touches, then silence
The request, and one reminder four days later. Both stop the moment somebody responds. Nobody is asked twice within twelve months.
A direct link, not your profile page
The link opens the review form itself. Every extra click between the client and the box they type into loses a proportion of them.
What a good request looks like
“Hi [name], thanks for choosing [practice]. If you have a moment, a short review would mean a lot to us and helps other people find us: [link]. No obligation at all — and thank you either way.”
Short. First person. No incentive. An explicit way out. It reads like the practice sent it because the practice did — and that is why it works better than a designed template with a star graphic.
Anything that offers a discount, a prize draw or any other benefit in exchange for a review. It breaches Google’s policies and, for a regulated practice, raises conduct questions. We will decline it however it is framed.
Review questions
Should we ask for reviews on other platforms too?
Google first, because that is what local search uses. Sector-specific platforms are worth adding once Google is healthy — splitting the effort too early leaves you thin everywhere.
What about a negative review?
Asking systematically is your best protection: a genuine complaint sits among many positive recent reviews rather than being one of four. Respond publicly, briefly and without discussing the client’s matter.
Can we ask clients from years ago?
You can, but it converts poorly and can feel odd. Better to start from today and build steadily.
Does this apply to law firms as well as accountants?
Yes, with more care about exclusions. For some areas of legal work, asking for a public review is inappropriate regardless of how well the matter went — which is why the exclusion list is the first thing we build.
Find out where your listing actually stands
We will look at your Google Business Profile against the practices you compete with locally and tell you what is holding it back.