How estate agents get more Google reviews

Because sellers choose agents partly on reputation, and reviews are where they look. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, alongside relevance and distance, and there's no way to pay for a better local position.

Reviews also answer what a seller wants to know before inviting you round: whether you communicate, whether you got the price you said you would and whether you kept the sale together. A recent review from a seller in the same street is often worth more than anything in your brochure.

A perfect score isn't the aim. Google says a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy. Selling and letting homes is stressful and chains fall through, so a calm reply to a disappointed client can reassure the next one.

From your Google Business Profile. Google provides a direct review link and a QR code for free.

1. 1Sign in to the Google Account you use for your Business Profile and open your profile.
2. 2Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. 3Copy the link to share it, or save the QR code image.
4. 4Add the link to the messages you already send at completion and move-in, so it goes out without anyone having to remember.

If you have more than one branch, each has its own profile and its own link, so make sure clients are asked to review the branch they dealt with. Reviewers need to be signed in to a Google Account, which they can create with a non-Gmail email address.

When the job is done for that client, and the same way for every client of that type.

• Send the link the same day by text or email, from the agency.
• Ask for an honest review, not a five-star one, and don't suggest what to write. Google says businesses shouldn't ask customers to include specific content.
• Ask once, and perhaps remind once. No more.

Use one rule for everyone. Deciding by client type and stage is fine. Picking and choosing by how happy each person seems isn't, because that's the selective asking Google's policy and CMA guidance both prohibit.

Keep review requests separate from offers. The ICO's guidance on identifying direct marketing treats service messages differently from promotions, and adding a promotion, such as a discount on your next sale, can make a message direct marketing. Our guide to estate agent marketing ideas covers the marketing side.

Example message to adapt

"Hi Priya, congratulations on completing today. If you have a minute, we'd be grateful for an honest review on Google: [your link]. It helps other people choose an agent. Best wishes, the team at [agency name]"

For service businesses, Google may ask reviewers which services you provided, drawn from your service list, your website or a standard list. Add each service you want to be found for, such as sales, lettings, property management and valuations.

A review that says the agent found a tenant in a week, or managed a property well for three years, tells the next landlord far more than a star rating on its own.

Fake reviews, incentives, selective asking and putting people off leaving negative reviews. Since April 2025, fake reviews and paid-for reviews that aren't clearly marked as incentivised have been banned practices under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Google's content policy goes further in places.

The CMA's fake reviews guidance also covers testimonials you show on your website, in listings or on social media. If Google finds fake reviews, it can restrict your profile: stop new reviews, remove existing ones or show a warning.

Briefly, politely and without discussing anyone's sale, price or tenancy. A reply is public, and the other people in that chain or that building may read it.

• Thank people for positive reviews, and mention the service if they did, such as a sale or a let.
• For a negative review, reply once, calmly, and invite the person to contact the branch manager directly.
• Don't mention prices, offers, other parties in the chain, a tenant's rent or deposit, or anything else about their dealings with you.
• Don't argue. Sellers choosing an agent read your reply as closely as the review.

Example reply to a negative review

"Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear you were disappointed. We can't discuss anyone's sale or tenancy here, but we'd like to put things right if we can. Please contact our branch manager directly on our usual number."

If the review is really a complaint, handle it through your complaints procedure as well. Google's own tips on replying also suggest keeping replies short and never sharing private details.

Only if it breaks Google's policies, for example if it's fake, offensive or about a different business. Google says not to report a review just because you disagree with it.

1. 1Open your Business Profile and select Read reviews.
2. 2Find the review and select Report.
3. 3Choose the reason it breaks policy and send the report.
4. 4Wait for the outcome. Google says checks usually take several days, and you can appeal once.

Agencies sometimes get reviews from buyers who lost out on a property or neighbours unhappy about a board. If a review isn't about a real experience with your agency, it may break policy. If it is, and it's honest, a calm reply and a steady flow of new reviews from other clients is the best answer.

Because clients judge your service by how easy you are to reach. A tenant who couldn't report a leak, or an applicant who rang about a listing and never heard back, may well say so in a review, and the next landlord or seller will read it.

A missed call costs you the good reviews too. A seller who never instructs you never becomes someone you can ask. Reviews come from clients, and most instructions start with a phone call. A seller who can't get through books the agent who answered, and that agent gets the review.

Our guides to valuation and viewing calls and what missed calls cost an estate agent cover that side.