From word of mouth to a steady flow of enquiries
“We get all our work from word of mouth.” I hear that a lot, and it is a good position to be in, until a quiet month arrives and there is nothing to fall back on.
The recommendations themselves have not stopped. What has changed is what the next customer does after they hear your name. They look you up. If your Google Business Profile is thin, your reviews are two years old, or your website does not make it obvious how to get in touch, a warm introduction can still go cold.
This guide is about the process that sits after the recommendation: your profile, your reviews, local search, your website and a simple follow-up habit. The aim is not to replace word of mouth. It is to catch the enquiries it is already trying to send you, and to keep a trickle coming when the phone is quieter.
By Mike Dunkling, founder of Zatheo, a web design and SEO agency in Ashford, Kent. Sources checked 12 November 2026.
What’s changed
People still ask a neighbour, a friend or a trade they trust. Many of them then type your name, or your service and town, into Google before they call. Some will ask ChatGPT the same kind of question, which I cover in getting found in AI answers as well as Google.
Google says local results in Search and Maps are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Prominence includes how well known a business is, and Google notes that this factor is also based on information such as how many websites link to the business and how many reviews it has. More reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. Businesses with complete and accurate profile information are also more likely to show up. Those points are from Google’s own tips to improve your local ranking.
Reviews have rules attached. Google does not allow incentives, such as discounts or free work, in exchange for a review, a changed review or the removal of a negative one. It also does not allow businesses to discourage negative reviews or to ask only the happy customers. You can ask for a genuine review, without trying to influence the rating or the wording. Google’s tips for getting more reviews are straightforward: remind customers with a Google link or a QR code, reply to reviews, and treat a mix of honest feedback as more useful than a wall of perfect scores.
In the UK, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 also bans commissioning fake reviews, pretending to be a customer, and publishing reviews without taking appropriate steps to make sure they are genuine. Those changes came into force on 6 April 2025. The government’s short guide for businesses sets this out under deceptive marketing involving reviews.
What it means for your process
Word of mouth used to end at the recommendation. Now it has a second stage, and that stage is mostly yours to run.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Hope people who hear your name will call | Make it easy for them to check you and then enquire, the same day |
| Ask for a review only when you remember, or only when a job went perfectly | Ask every customer, once the job is finished, with a direct Google link, and never in return for a discount |
| Leave reviews unreplied to | Reply in a short, polite, specific way, including when the review is critical |
| Treat the Google profile as a listing you set up once | Keep hours, services, photos and details current, as you would a shopfront |
| Follow up only if you have time | Use a simple habit, or a system, so a missed call or an unopened form does not lose the job |
Service-area businesses, the ones that visit customers rather than receive them, can still show in local results. Your profile can show the areas you cover without displaying a home address, which I also note on our local SEO page.
A 90-day plan
Weeks 1-2: look at yourself the way a stranger would
Search your business name, and your main service plus town, on your phone. Open your Google Business Profile and check the name, phone number, website, hours, categories, service areas and photos. Fix anything that is wrong or out of date. If you have not claimed the profile, start that now. Google says verifying the business makes it more likely to show in search results.
Compare the same details on your website. They should match. Then read your last ten reviews. If you have not replied, reply now, briefly and politely. Google’s advice is to keep replies clear and short, to sign with your name or initials, and not to offer deals in the reply.
If you would like a walkthrough of the profile itself, our small business guide to Google Business Profile is a starting point.
Month 1: start a steady, honest review habit
Create the official Google review link, or QR code, from your Business Profile on a computer. Save both somewhere you can reach in a few seconds.
Ask every customer, not only the delighted ones, once they can fairly judge the work: after the job, the appointment or the delivery. A short message with the direct link is enough. Do not offer a discount, a gift or free work in exchange. Do not pressure anyone to review you on the spot, and do not tell them what to say.
Set a simple way to remember the ask, even if it is a note on the job sheet or a reminder in your calendar. If forms and follow-ups already slip, the habit in letting AI handle first replies and a CRM set-up can take the reminder off your plate later.
Months 2-3: make the website and the follow-up worthy of the introduction
By now the profile should be accurate and the review requests should be routine. Spend the next two months on what happens after someone finds you.
Give each main service a clear page that says what you do, where you do it and how to get in touch, and check that the form and phone number work on a mobile. If Facebook is where you have been sending people, remember that many Pages now have a limit on link posts, which I cover in marketing when Facebook limits links. Your Google profile and your website are channels you own.
Decide what “follow up” means in your business. A missed call should get a call or a text back. A form should get a reply the same day, even if the reply is “we have your message and will confirm a time tomorrow.” If that only happens when you remember, write the steps down and stick to them for two months, then look at automating the ones that keep slipping.
Once a month, search for yourself again and note what has changed: new reviews, wrong details, or a competitor who now appears above you. Adjust the next month’s effort accordingly.
Common mistakes
Paying for reviews, or asking only the happy customers. Both break Google’s rules, and commissioning fake reviews is illegal in the UK. A smaller number of genuine reviews is the safer, more useful path.
A burst of asks, then silence. Recent reviews matter, and a sudden spike followed by nothing looks odd. A steady habit is the point.
Ignoring critical reviews. A short, calm reply that offers to put things right in private often helps the next reader more than a perfect score with no responses.
Keyword-stuffed business names, or thin location pages for towns you barely work in. They undermine trust and often fail anyway. Use your real name, and only build pages for areas you genuinely cover.
Leaving the website as an afterthought. The profile can bring the click. The site still has to turn it into an enquiry.
How Zatheo can help
Our local SEO work covers your Google Business Profile, reviews, your details across the web and useful location pages. Local SEO starts from £400 a month. If the site is the weak link once people click through, see websites and rebuilds. If enquiries arrive and then go cold, see automation and lead handling.
If you would like us to look at how you show up in local search today, Book a free 30-minute call.
Frequently asked questions
Do reviews really affect whether I show up on Google Maps?
Google says reviews are one of the signals that feed prominence, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. They also strongly affect whether someone chooses you once they see you. Recent, genuine reviews, with thoughtful replies, help on both counts.
Can I offer a discount for a Google review?
No. Google prohibits incentives in exchange for a review, a changed review or the removal of a negative one. In the UK, commissioning fake reviews, or hiding an incentive, is also against the law. Ask for honest feedback, and thank people separately.
I work from home and visit customers. Can I still show up locally?
Yes. Service-area businesses can rank without showing a home address. Your Google Business Profile can list the areas you cover, and your website should say the same thing, clearly.