01Business Case
02Before You Start
03Build Guide
04SMS Templates
05Review Responses
06Claude Prompt
07Verification
08Troubleshooting
09Automation Opportunity
10Results to Expect
Upgraid Digital Product · Snapshot Series
Google Review Automation
Automatically request a Google review after every completed job, and generate on-brand AI-powered responses to every review you receive.
This snapshot works three ways: a DIY build guide, an internal SOP, and a spec for an n8n/GHL automation build.
01 — Why This Matters
The Business Case
Reviews aren't a vanity metric. They're the single biggest lever most local businesses have over their own search visibility — and most owners are leaving it entirely to chance.
+28%
Businesses with a 4.5+ star rating get 28% more clicks than 3.5-star competitors in local search results.
↑ Rank
Each additional Google review measurably increases your local search (Map Pack) ranking — it's one of the few ranking factors you fully control.
72%
72% of customers won't act on a business until they've read its reviews first.
Typical 90-Day Result
12
→
89
Day 0
Day 90
Average Google review count for a business running this system consistently, from day one to day ninety.
02 — Prerequisites
What You Need Before You Start
Have these four things ready before you open a workflow builder. Skipping this step is the number-one reason DIY builds stall halfway through.
Required Setup
- A GoHighLevel (GHL) account on any tier that includes Workflows and Custom Fields.
- Twilio SMS connected through GHL's built-in integration, with A2P 10DLC registration completed and approved (not just submitted) — unapproved registrations silently block or throttle delivery.
- A claimed and verified Google Business Profile for the exact location you're requesting reviews for.
- Optional: a Claude API key/account at console.anthropic.com, only needed if you're building the AI review-response feature in Step 9.
TipMulti-location businesses: confirm which Google Business Profile you're pulling the review link from before you start. This is the single most common setup mistake — see Troubleshooting, Issue 1.
03 — Build Guide
Step-by-Step Build Guide
Follow these eleven steps in order. Each one specifies exactly where to click and why — no assumed prior workflow experience.
1
Get your Google Business Profile review linkAction
- Log into business.google.com with the account that manages your listing.
- Select the correct business profile — critical if you manage more than one location.
- Click "Get more reviews" (sometimes labeled "Ask for reviews" or "Share review form").
- Google generates a short link, formatted like g.page/r/xxxxxxxxxxxx/review. Copy it.
This link takes a customer directly to the star-rating screen for your business — no searching, no extra taps. It's what fills the [Review Link] field in every template in this guide.
2
Create the "Job Completed Date" custom fieldAction
- In GHL: Settings → Custom Fields → Add Field.
- Field type: Date.
- Name it exactly "Job Completed Date" so it matches every workflow reference below. Save.
This gives you a clean timestamp on every contact record, which the Wait steps and weekly reporting in Step 11 both depend on.
3
Build the workflow triggerTrigger
- Go to Automation → Workflows → Create Workflow → Start from Scratch.
- Set the trigger to "Tag Added" (tag: job-completed) — or "Pipeline Stage Changed" if jobs move through a pipeline (stage: Completed / Job Done).
Pick whichever action your team already performs reliably. The entire system only fires when this step actually happens — match it to the habit your crew won't skip, not the one that looks cleanest on paper.
4
Add a 2-hour waitAction
Add a Wait action set to 2 hours after the trigger fires.
Why 2 hours, not instantA text that lands the second a job is marked complete reads as automated and transactional — the customer can practically hear the truck door still closing. A 2-hour gap gives them time to walk back inside, see the finished work, and settle into their day. The request lands like a normal follow-up instead of a bot firing on a checkbox.
5
Send the SMS review requestAction
Add an SMS action. Use one of the three variations below — or rotate all three across customers to keep the sequence from feeling scripted.
Copy This — Variation 1: Direct / Simple
Hi [First Name], this is [Business Name]. Thanks for trusting us with your [Service Type] job today. If you have a minute, a quick Google review helps us out a lot: [Review Link]
Copy This — Variation 2: Gratitude-Led
[First Name], thank you for having us out today — we appreciate the trust. If we earned a 5-star experience, would you mind sharing it here? [Review Link] It genuinely helps a small team like ours.
Copy This — Variation 3: Helping Others Frame
Hi [First Name], glad we could get your [Service Type] taken care of. A lot of people search Google before picking a provider — if you had a good experience, a quick review helps the next customer find someone they can trust: [Review Link]
6
Add a 3-day waitAction
Add another Wait action set to 3 days. This gives the initial request room to work before you follow up — most reviews that convert do so within the first 72 hours.
7
Branch: link not clicked → send one follow-upBranch
Add an If/Else condition checking whether the review link was clicked (link-click tracking or a "Review Requested" field — see Step 10). If not clicked, send one soft follow-up. Do not send more than one — see Troubleshooting, Issue 3.
Copy This — 3-Day Follow-Up
Hey [First Name], no pressure at all — just following up in case this got buried. If you have 30 seconds, a review would really help us out: [Review Link] Thanks either way for choosing [Business Name].
8
Branch: review received → send thank-youBranch
On the other side of the same condition, detect a completed review via a Google Business Profile notification/webhook (or, for a manual DIY setup, a team member tagging "Review Received" when they see it come in). When detected, send a genuine thank-you.
Copy This — Thank-You Message
[First Name], thank you for the review — we mean that. We read every single one. It's exactly what keeps [Business Name] going, and we're glad we could deliver on the [Service Type]. See you next time.
9
Optional: Claude API response generatorOptional
If you want every incoming review answered publicly within minutes, wire a Claude API call into the "review received" branch. It reads the star rating and review text, then drafts a reply in your brand voice for a human to approve and post (or auto-post, once you trust it).
Read the incoming Google review's star rating and full text. Draft a reply in [Business Name]'s voice: direct, warm, no corporate filler. Reference at least one specific detail from the review. Match tone to sentiment — grateful for positive, calm and solution-focused for negative. Keep it under 60 words. Sign off as the [Business Name] team. If the review is hostile, mentions a safety issue, or threatens legal action, output "FLAG FOR HUMAN REVIEW" instead of a drafted response.
See Section 06 for the full, expanded version of this prompt with complete escalation rules.
10
Build review-tracking custom fieldsAction
In GHL, create three custom fields under Settings → Custom Fields so review status is visible on every contact record at a glance:
- Review Requested — Yes/No (checkbox), set to Yes by an "Update Contact Field" action in Step 5.
- Review Received — Yes/No (checkbox), set to Yes by the branch in Step 8.
- Review Rating — Number (1–5), filled manually or via webhook payload if your review-detection method captures the star rating.
11
Set up the weekly owner reportAction
- Build a Smart List filtered on Review Received = Yes and Job Completed Date within the last 7 days.
- Create a second workflow with a Recurring trigger set to fire every Monday at 8:00 AM.
- Add an action that sends an internal email or SMS to the owner with the total count from the Smart List and the average of the Review Rating field across that same set.
This turns review activity into a number the owner actually sees weekly, instead of something nobody checks until a slow month prompts the question.
04 — Industry Variations
Five SMS Review Request Templates by Industry
The templates in Step 5 work for any business. These five are tuned in tone and vocabulary for specific verticals — swap in whichever matches your business.
HVAC / Home Services
Hi [First Name], thanks for calling [Business Name] for your [AC/Heating Repair] today. If [Technician Name] took care of you, a quick Google review helps other homeowners find a tech they can trust: [Review Link]
Dental / Medical
Hi [First Name], thank you for visiting [Practice Name] today. We hope you're leaving feeling well taken care of. If you have a moment, a Google review helps other patients feel confident choosing us: [Review Link]
Real Estate
[First Name], congratulations again on closing! It was a pleasure helping you find your next home. If you have two minutes, a Google review means a lot to a small team like mine and helps future buyers find me: [Review Link]
Restaurant / Hospitality
Hi [First Name], thanks for dining with us at [Restaurant Name] tonight. We hope you loved the meal. If you did, a quick Google review helps other diners find us: [Review Link]
Professional Services (Legal / Accounting / Consulting)
Hi [First Name], thank you for trusting [Firm Name] with your [Engagement Type]. If we delivered the outcome you needed, a Google review helps other clients feel confident reaching out: [Review Link]
05 — Responding to Reviews
Three Google Review Response Templates
A review that goes unanswered is a missed opportunity — every reply is public, and future customers read them. Use these as starting points, not scripts to paste verbatim; always reference something specific to the actual review.
Positive Response #1
Thank you, [First Name] — we really appreciate you taking the time to write this. Hearing that the team showed up on time and left things clean is exactly the standard we hold ourselves to. We're glad we could earn your trust, and we'd be glad to help again anytime.
Positive Response #2
[First Name], thank you for the kind words. It means a lot to hear the work held up and that you felt taken care of throughout. Reviews like this are what keep our team motivated to do it right the first time. Thanks again for choosing us.
Negative / De-Escalation Response
[First Name], thank you for the honest feedback, and I'm sorry the experience fell short of what you should expect from us. This isn't the standard we hold ourselves to, and I'd like to make it right. Could you give our office a call at [Phone Number] or email [Email] so we can look into what happened and fix it directly? We take this seriously and appreciate you giving us the chance to.
06 — AI Response Layer
Prompt Template for Claude API Review Response Generation
This is the complete, standalone system prompt — paste it directly into the Claude API call inside your n8n or GHL automation step. It expands on the short version referenced in Step 9.
ROLE
You are the review-response writer for [Business Name], a [Industry] business in [City, State]. Your job is to draft a public reply to a single Google review.
INPUT
You will receive:
- star_rating (1–5)
- review_text (the customer's written review, may be blank)
- reviewer_name (first name only, may be blank)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Read the star rating and review text together before writing anything.
2. Match tone to sentiment:
- 4–5 stars: warm, specific, grateful. Reference at least one concrete detail from the review (a name, a service, a specific outcome). Do not sound like a form letter.
- 3 stars: acknowledge the mixed experience honestly. Thank them, note the gap, invite direct contact.
- 1–2 stars: calm, empathetic, non-defensive. Do not argue with the facts of the review in public. Apologize for the experience, and move the conversation to a phone number or email for resolution.
3. If reviewer_name is present, use their first name once. If blank, open with a generic warm greeting — never "Dear Customer" or "Dear Valued Client."
4. Reference specifics from review_text when present. Never write a reply so generic it could apply to any business.
5. Keep the reply under 65 words. Public replies that ramble read as insincere.
6. Never use corporate stock phrases: "we strive for excellence," "your feedback is valuable to us," "we take pride in," "we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." Write like a person who actually read the review.
7. Sign off as "— The [Business Name] Team," unless the account owner has specified a single named responder.
OUTPUT FORMAT
Return only the reply text — no preamble, no explanation, no quotation marks around it.
ESCALATION — DO NOT AUTO-RESPOND. OUTPUT EXACTLY: "FLAG FOR HUMAN REVIEW"
...when any of the following are true:
- The review mentions a safety incident, injury, property damage, discrimination, or harassment
- The review mentions or threatens legal action, a lawsuit, or a chargeback dispute
- The review is 1–2 stars AND disputes specific facts (pricing, what was promised, what was completed) in a way that needs internal verification first
- The review_text is unusually long (200+ words) or covers multiple unrelated complaints
- The star rating and review_text sentiment contradict each other (e.g., 1 star with entirely positive text) — this usually signals a tap error and needs a human to confirm before responding
Before You Turn On Auto-PostRun this prompt against your last 15–20 real reviews in a test environment first. Read every output. Only enable auto-posting once the drafts consistently sound like your business, not a model. See Verification Checklist, Item 7.
07 — Before You Call It Done
Verification Checklist
Run through all eight items with a real test contact before this workflow ever touches a live customer.
- Review link correctly opens the Google review form for the right business location.
- SMS sends 2 hours after the job-completion trigger, not immediately.
- 3-day no-click follow-up fires exactly once.
- Thank-you message sends only after a review is actually detected as received.
- Custom fields (Review Requested, Review Received, Review Rating) correctly update on the contact record.
- Weekly report totals match the actual Google Business Profile review count.
- AI-generated responses, if used, sound on-brand and not robotic before publishing live.
- Test contacts are fully excluded from real reporting after testing.
08 — When Something Breaks
Troubleshooting — Top 5 Issues and Exact Fixes
⚠
Problem 1Review link not working, or opens the wrong location.
FixRe-copy the link directly from business.google.com → Get More Reviews for the exact profile in question. Multi-location businesses often have the wrong location selected in the top-left profile switcher before generating the link. Regenerate and test in an incognito window.
⚠
Problem 2SMS not sending.
FixConfirm A2P 10DLC registration is fully approved (not just submitted) under GHL's Phone Numbers settings — unapproved registrations silently throttle or block delivery. Then confirm the "job completed" tag or pipeline stage is actually being applied consistently by the team; pull a 7-day report of tag applications and cross-check against actual completed jobs.
⚠
Problem 3Double requests sent to the same customer.
FixCheck for a second workflow listening on the same trigger — duplicate workflows built during testing are the most common cause. Add an "if contact has NOT already entered this workflow in the last 30 days" filter, or consolidate into a single workflow.
⚠
Problem 4Review counted twice, or thank-you message fires twice.
FixYour "review received" detection is likely re-triggering on an update rather than a create event. If you're using a webhook or Zapier/Make watching your Google Business Profile, filter it to new reviews only, and add a one-time "Review Received" boolean check inside the workflow so a contact can only pass through the thank-you branch once.
⚠
Problem 5Customers who replied STOP still receive messages.
FixConfirm GHL's global opt-out/DND setting is respected across every workflow touching this contact, not just the review-request workflow — a contact can opt out on one campaign but remain active inside a separate workflow with its own send action. Add an explicit "DND / SMS Opt-Out = false" condition before every SMS send step, and audit opt-outs monthly.
09 — Done For You
The Automation Opportunity
Every step in this guide is buildable by a capable operator in 60–90 minutes. Most owners don't have 60–90 uninterrupted minutes this week — and the parts that actually move the needle (tone-matched send timing, an AI response layer reviewed for brand voice, a reporting layer that doesn't quietly break three weeks in) are exactly the parts that get skipped under time pressure.
Upgraid builds this entire system for you: trigger logic, all SMS sequencing, the Claude-powered response layer tuned and reviewed for your brand voice before it ever touches a live review, full tracking fields, and the weekly owner report — fully configured, tested against real contacts, and monitored after launch.
See What Upgraid Builds — upgraid.tech
10 — What Success Looks Like
Results to Expect
Timeline for a business running this system consistently, starting from a typical 12-review baseline.
Day 30
Review volume roughly doubles from baseline as the system ramps and the backlog of recently completed jobs works through the sequence.
Day 60
Steady week-over-week review growth, with average star rating trending upward as satisfied customers are asked systematically instead of sporadically.
Day 90
Full 12 → 89 review trajectory realized for a business running the system consistently. Map Pack visibility and click-through improve measurably.
