25.6% of handyman profiles have zero Google reviews. Get off that list this week
A big share of handyman businesses on Google have no reviews at all. Here is why a zero hurts more than a low number, and how to get your first five this week.
- Why zero is worse than a small number
- Step 1: find your five people (Monday)
- Step 2: get your review link (Monday, 5 minutes)
- Step 3: send five personal texts (Tuesday)
- Step 4: one gentle reminder (Thursday)
- Step 5: ask on every job from now on (every day)
- Step 6: reply to each one (Friday)
- What not to do
- Where to send the people who find you
- This week, in short
A homeowner searches for a handyman and sees five listings. Four have reviews. One has none. Unless that one is a neighbor's cousin, it gets skipped.
Our benchmark report covers 41,754 handyman businesses on Google. 25.6% of them have zero reviews. The median has just 3. If you are in that zero group, you are invisible to most of the people looking for exactly what you do. Here is how to fix it this week.
Why zero is worse than a small number
A handyman with three reviews and a handyman with zero look very different to a homeowner. Three reviews says real people have hired you and lived to tell about it. Zero says nothing at all. It could mean brand new, or it could mean something went wrong.
It also matters for the map. Google weighs reviews when it decides which local businesses to show. A profile with none is competing with one hand tied.
The bar is low in this trade. 71.7% of handyman businesses have fewer than 10 reviews. Getting even five puts you ahead of a big share of the field in most towns.
Step 1: find your five people (Monday)
You do not need new customers to get your first reviews. You need the people you have already helped.
Make a list of everyone you have done a job for in the last year. Look through texts, invoices, Venmo or Zelle history and your calendar. Write down names and numbers.
Then circle the five who were happiest. The neighbor whose door finally closes right. The landlord who keeps calling you back. The older couple whose grab bars you installed. Those are your first five.
Step 2: get your review link (Monday, 5 minutes)
Open your Google Business Profile on your phone. Tap Ask for reviews, or Share profile. Google gives you a short link that opens the review box directly. Copy it and save it in a note so you can paste it in seconds.
If you do not have a Google profile set up yet, start there. The Google Business Profile guide walks through it.
Step 3: send five personal texts (Tuesday)
Send each of your five people a text that sounds like you. Mention the job. Keep it short.
"Hi Carol, it's Dave, I fixed the deck railing and the sticky back door in August. I'm trying to get my Google page going and a quick review would help me a lot. Here's the link: [link]. Thanks either way."
That "thanks either way" matters. It keeps it from feeling like pressure.
Send them one at a time, not as a group text.
Step 4: one gentle reminder (Thursday)
Some people will review the same day. Some will mean to and forget. On Thursday, send one reminder to anyone who has not:
"Hi Carol, no pressure at all, just bumping this in case it got buried. Here's that link again: [link]."
Stop there. One reminder is polite. Two starts to feel like a chore for them.
Step 5: ask on every job from now on (every day)
The first five get you off zero. Asking on every job keeps you moving. The best moment is when you finish the job and the customer is looking at it:
"Glad that's working right now. If you have a minute later, a Google review really helps a one-person business like mine. I'll text you the link."
Then text it before you pull out of the driveway. The reviews guide has more scripts, including what to say on small jobs where it feels awkward to ask.
Step 6: reply to each one (Friday)
When a review comes in, reply with a short thank you that names the job. "Thanks, Carol. Glad the railing is solid again." It shows the next homeowner that a real person runs this business.
What not to do
- Do not ask family or friends who never hired you. Google can remove those, and they read as fake.
- Do not offer a discount for a review. It breaks Google's rules.
- Do not write reviews for yourself from other accounts. Profiles get suspended for it.
Where to send the people who find you
Once you have reviews, more people will tap through to learn about you. Handyman businesses with a website hold a median of 7 reviews, against 1 for those without one. Even a simple site with your services, a price range and a tap-to-call button helps. The website essentials guide covers what it needs.
And when they call, answer. If you are on a ladder, a missed-call text-back keeps them from calling the next listing. The calculator shows what a missed call costs over a month.
This week, in short
- Monday: list past customers, circle the five happiest, save your review link.
- Tuesday: send five personal texts.
- Thursday: one reminder.
- Every job from now on: ask at the end, text the link before you leave.
- Friday: reply to every review.
If you want help setting up the profile or the review texts, the free 14-day trial covers any service, no card required. Text or call (801) 214-0250.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, handyman businesses among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor