How to Get More Google Reviews for Your Roofing Business

How many Google reviews does a roofing business need?

Enough to match the top 3 in your own market, not a round number. Across our 21-market snapshot the median top 3 roofer had 77, but it was 122 on the Prairies and 43 in Atlantic Canada¹. Only 3% of top 3 roofers had fewer than 20 reviews; in spots 11 to 20, 43% did.

Whitespark's 2026 survey ranks the number of Google reviews with text among the top 10 map factors⁴. Homeowners care too: 47% of consumers in BrightLocal's survey won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews⁵, and 62% of Canadian homeowners in ours wanted more than 25⁶. A perfect score isn't the goal: 39% of rated roofing listings showed 5.0 stars, with a median of only 18 reviews¹.

How do you get more Google reviews for a roofing business?

Ask every customer on the final walk-around, then text your direct Google review link that evening. Ask when they're most relieved: the crew has swept for nails, the dumpster is gone and they're looking at a new roof. Put the ask on your closeout checklist so it never depends on someone remembering.

Get your review link

Open your Google Business Profile, find "Ask for reviews" and copy the link². Save it as a text shortcut on every foreman's phone, and put the link or QR code on the final invoice, the warranty certificate and a leave-behind card.

Ask at the right moment

Debut Marketing.

"No leak after last night's rain" is the best review a roofer can get, and the customer just found out it's true.

Use these scripts

In person, on the final walk-around:

"We're all cleaned up. Take a look and tell me if anything's off. Tonight I'll text you a link for a quick Google review. Whatever you think of the job, an honest review really helps a small company like ours."

Text, that evening:

Hi [name], it's [your name] from [company]. Thanks for having us on your roof this week. If you have a minute, a Google review helps your neighbours find a roofer they can trust: [link]. And if anything isn't right, text me here and we'll fix it.

A follow-up, five days later (once only):

Hi [name], just a quick reminder in case the link got buried: [link]. Thanks again.

Ask for a photo too. A review with a picture of a new roof does more than words alone.

How do you get a lot of Google reviews quickly?

Ask every customer, by text, the same day, and track that the ask went out every week. There's no faster legal way. A roofer finishing 10 jobs a month who gets 2 in 5 customers to review adds 50 reviews in about 13 months; one who asks only some customers can take two years.

Go back to past customers from the last year with the same text; many will be glad to help. But don't set review quotas for your crew. Google prohibits requiring staff to collect a certain number of reviews³. Track the asks, not each person's count.

How should a roofer reply to Google reviews?

Reply to every review within a day or two, good or bad. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey, 80% of consumers were likely to use a business that responds to all its reviews, and 50% were put off by templated replies⁵. Google lets you reply right from your Business Profile⁷.

• Good review: thank them by name and mention the job ("glad the new metal roof held up through the windstorm").
• Neighbour of the job site: thank them for their patience. Roofing is loud and leaves nails.
• Bad review: stay calm, own what's fair, and take it offline. A reply like this works:

Hi [name], I'm sorry the cleanup wasn't up to our standard. That's on us. I'd like to come by this week, check the yard myself and make it right. Please call me directly at [number]. [Your name], owner.

Homeowners read the bad ones. In our survey, 85% had searched for negative reviews of a contractor, but only 18% would drop a contractor over one or two⁶. A calm reply can win more trust than another five-star review.

What does Google not allow when you ask for reviews?

No payment, discounts or free services for a review, no asking only happy customers, no review quotas for staff, and no reviews from you or your employees³. Whitespark's experts rank asking only happy customers 6th among reasons Google suspends a profile⁴. Breaking these rules can cost you the profile.

The law backs this up. Canada's Competition Bureau warned in January 2024 that employees who review their employer must disclose it, and businesses that permit misleading reviews could be liable⁸. If you also work in the US, the Federal Trade Commission's fake review rule has been in force since October 2024⁹. You can still run a referral reward for new jobs; keep it separate from reviews.

How do you know it's working?

You add at least one new review a month, your rating holds at 4.5 or higher, and you move up the map for "roofing contractor" in your town. 74% of consumers wanted reviews from the last three months⁵, and 31% only use businesses rated 4.5 or more⁵. Check your position monthly from a phone near your shop.

Show them on your website too. In our study of 131 Canadian roofing websites, 73% of the top quarter showed their Google rating or reviews, against 12% of the bottom quarter¹⁰. If you'd rather have it handled, our local SEO includes review requests and replies, and our marketing for roofing companies covers the rest.