Reply to every review, good or bad

Pick the rating and what the review says. You get replies to adapt, with your details filled in.

The review

Stars
What it's about

Your details

Replies won't confirm the reviewer is a patient or client, which privacy rules like HIPAA can forbid.

Replies to adapt

Hi, thank you for taking the time to write this. We're really glad it went well, and we'd be happy to help again whenever you need us.

Hi, thanks so much for the kind words, and for choosing us. Reviews like yours mean a lot to a small team like ours.

Change a line or two to mention something from their review: a reply that's clearly written for them reads far better than a template.

Why reply at all

Replies are public, and the people reading them are your next customers, not just the reviewer. A calm, specific reply to a bad review often does more for you than the review does harm: it shows how you treat people when something goes wrong. A short thank-you to a good one shows there's a person behind the business.

They also add to what's written about you. Search engines and AI assistants read reviews and replies alike when they describe a business.

How to reply well

  • Reply within a few days, while the reviewer still cares and before others read it unanswered.
  • Make it specific. Change a line to mention something from their review. A reply that's clearly about their visit reads very differently from a template.
  • Keep it short. Two to four sentences. Nobody reads an essay, and arguing point by point makes things worse.
  • Take problems offline. Apologise, say what you're doing about it, and give a direct way to reach you. Sort out the details there, not in public.
  • Never offer anything for changing a review. Google doesn't allow incentives for reviews at all, and in the US the FTC forbids offering anything on condition that a review is positive. You can fix the problem; you can't trade it for stars.

If you're a doctor, dentist, therapist, lawyer or similar, a reply must not confirm that the reviewer is your patient or client, let alone mention their treatment or case, even if they did. In the US, HHS has fined dental practices for revealing patient details in replies to online reviews. Switch on the confidential option and the replies stay general.

Reviews you think are fake

If a review breaks Google's rules (it's fake, spam, off-topic, or from a competitor or former employee), you can report it from your Business Profile. While you wait, reply politely and briefly: say you can't find a record of their visit and invite them to get in touch. Readers will draw their own conclusions.

Getting more genuine reviews is the best answer to a bad one.

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