Get more Google reviews (without being awkward about it)

Most attorneys have far fewer reviews than the quality of their work deserves. Not because clients are unhappy — because nobody asked. A client whose transfer registered smoothly or whose matter settled will almost always write two lines if you make it easy.

Step one: get your review shortcut link

1. Sign in to your Google Business Profile.
2. Open the profile and find "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews".
3. Google gives you a short link, usually starting with g.page/r/. Copy it.
4. Save that link where reception, your secretary and every fee earner can reach it.

That link opens the review box directly with the stars ready. Never send someone to "go and search for us on Google" — you will lose most of them at that step.

Step two: ask at the right moment

Ask within 24 hours of good news: the transfer registered, the settlement was signed, the estate was wound up, the matter was struck from the roll. That is when goodwill is highest.

A WhatsApp script that works

Short, human, no pressure:

"Morning Mr Dlamini — glad we got the transfer through. If you have a minute, would you mind leaving us a short Google review? It genuinely helps other people in Polokwane find us. Here's the link: [your g.page link]. Thank you either way."

For an email signature ask: "Happy with how we handled your matter? A one-line Google review helps other people find us: [link]".

Step three: work through your last ten

• List the last ten matters that ended well.
• Send the message above to all ten today, individually, from a person they dealt with.
• Expect three to five to come through in a week. That alone moves a firm from invisible to credible.
• Then make it routine: one ask per closed matter, added to your file-closing checklist.

The rules you must not break

• Never pay for a review, and never offer a discount for one. Google removes them and the practice risks reputational damage.
• Never write reviews for your own firm or ask staff to.
• Do not review-gate — that is, do not screen clients first and only send the link to the happy ones. Ask everyone whose matter closed properly.
• Keep client confidentiality in mind. Ask the client to describe their experience, not the details of the matter.

Replying to reviews

Reply to every review within a few days, in two or three lines. For a good one: thank them by first name only. For a bad one: stay calm, do not confirm or deny that the person was a client, do not discuss the matter, and offer to speak offline. A measured reply to a bad review persuades more readers than the review itself.

When your new reviews are showing on Google, request a re-scan from your dashboard and your listing updates at the next scan.