Tom Hache - Stacked Digital Partner

You’ve got 300 reviews.

Mostly five stars.

That’s amazing.

You earned every one.

But when a homeowner searches for your service tonight, Google shows them the most recent reviews first.

Not the best ones.

The newest ones.

If your last review is from four months ago, two things happen.

The customer wonders if you’re still active.

And Google wonders the same thing.

Meanwhile, your competitor with 80 reviews but three from this week looks fresher, busier, and more trustworthy.

Reviews are not a finish line.

There’s no number where you’re done.

It’s a steady drip.

Two or three a week.

Every week.

All season.

The system I shared this week makes that easy.

One conversation.

One text.

One link.

Every job.

When was your last Google review?

If it’s been more than two weeks, that’s your sign.

Start the system today.

Message me if you need help setting it up.

You don’t have to wait for your next job.

You can get reviews right now from customers you’ve already worked for.

Go through your last ten jobs.

Pick five customers you know were happy.

Open your text messages and send each of them this:

“Hey [name], hope the [project] is holding up great. If you ever get a minute, a Google review would really help us out. No pressure at all. Here’s the link: [your link]”

That’s it.

Five texts.

Five minutes.

You could have five new reviews by Friday.

The key is the link.

Don’t just ask them to “find you on Google.”

Nobody will.

Send them the direct link so all they have to do is tap, write a sentence, and hit post.

Make it easy.

That’s the whole secret.

Send those five texts today.

Not tomorrow.

Today.

Then message me and tell me how many reviews you got by the end of the week.

The reason most business owners don’t ask for reviews is because it feels weird.

I get it.

Nobody wants to sound desperate.

Here’s the trick.

Don’t make it about you.

Make it about helping other homeowners find good people.

Try this:

“Glad you’re happy with how it turned out. If you ever get a minute, a Google review goes a long way. It helps other homeowners in the neighbourhood find someone they can trust.”

That’s it.

You’re not begging.

You’re not being pushy.

You’re asking a happy customer to help their neighbours.

Most people are glad to do it.

Then text the link.

“Here’s the link if you get a chance. No rush at all.”

Keep it casual.

Keep it human.

That’s why it works.

Try this script on your next job.

Come back and tell me how it went.

I bet you’ll be surprised how easy it is.

I’m going to give you the whole thing.

No catch.

Step one.

Get your Google review link.

Google your business, tap the three dots, tap “Share profile,” copy the link.

Save it in your phone’s notes.

Step two.

At the end of every job, when the customer says they’re happy, say this:

“Thanks, that means a lot. If you get a minute, a Google review really helps us out. I’ll text you the link.”

Step three.

Text them the link.

Right there.

Before you leave the driveway.

That’s the whole system.

No app.

No follow-up email sequence.

No monthly subscription.

Just a real conversation and a text.

Do this on every job and you’ll get two to three new reviews a week.

By the end of the summer, you’ll have a wall of fresh reviews that keeps working for you all year.

Save this post.

Use it on your next job.

That’s it.

If you want your review link found and ready to go, message me.

Two minutes.

Google has a free tool that grades your website speed.

It’s called PageSpeed Insights.

Here’s how to use it.

Go to pagespeed.web.dev on your phone or computer.
Type in your website address.
Hit “Analyze.”

It gives you a score out of 100.

Green is good.
Orange means there’s room to improve.
Red means your site is slow enough to cost you customers.

The most common problem?

Photos that are too big.

If someone uploaded huge image files to your site and didn’t compress them, every page takes forever to load on a phone.

The fix is usually simple.

Tell your web person:

“Compress the images on my site. The PageSpeed score is too low.”

They’ll know what to do.

Or if you’re on Wix or Squarespace, search their help section for “optimize images.”

They have built-in tools.

A fast site doesn’t just feel better.

Google ranks fast sites higher in search results.

It’s free speed and free visibility.

Run the test right now.

Takes ten seconds.

If your score is under 50, that’s costing you leads.

Message me and I’ll tell you what to fix first.

Your contact form has too many fields.

Here’s exactly what to keep and what to cut.

Go look at your website’s contact form right now.
Count the fields.
If there are more than four, you’re losing people.

Every extra field you add means fewer people finish.

Here’s what to keep.

Name.
Phone number or email.

And one open box that says “How can we help?”

That’s it. Three fields.

Cut the address field.
Cut the “how did you hear about us” dropdown.
Cut the project timeline.
Cut the budget question.

You can ask all that stuff on the first phone call.

The only job your contact form has is to get someone to raise their hand and say “I need help.”

Everything else is a speed bump between them and you.

Tell your web person:

“Reduce the contact form to three fields. Name, phone or email, and a message box.”

Ten-minute fix. Count your fields tonight.

If it’s more than four, you know what to do.

Message me if you want a second opinion on your form.

Go look at your website’s contact form right now.

Count the fields.

If there are more than four, you’re losing people.

Every extra field you add means fewer people finish.

Here’s what to keep.

Name.

Phone number or email.

And one open box that says, “How can we help?”

That’s it.

Three fields.

Cut the address field.

Cut the “How did you hear about us?” dropdown.

Cut the project timeline.

Cut the budget question.

You can ask all that stuff on the first phone call.

The only job your contact form has is to get someone to raise their hand and say, “I need help.”

Everything else is a speed bump between them and you.

Tell your web person: “Reduce the contact form to three fields: name, phone or email, and a message box.”

Ten-minute fix.

Count your fields tonight.

If it’s more than four, you know what to do.

Message me if you want a second opinion on your form.

This sounds so simple it’s almost embarrassing.

But I see it broken on most trade business websites in Ottawa.

When someone visits your site on their phone, they should be able to tap your number and call you instantly.

One tap. That’s it.

If your number is just text sitting on the page, not a link, the customer has to memorize it, open their phone app, and type it in.

Most people won’t bother.

They’ll call the next guy instead.

Here’s what to tell your web person: “Make the phone number a clickable link on every page.

It should call when someone taps it on a phone.”

That’s the whole instruction.

Any web person can do it in five minutes.

If you built your site on Wix or Squarespace, you can do it yourself.

Just highlight the number, click “Add link,” and type tel: followed by your number with no spaces.

Like tel:6135551234.

Check yours right now.

Tap your own number on your phone.

If it doesn’t call, fix it today.

This one change could be worth more than anything else you do this month.

Eighty percent of your customers are finding you on their phone.

If your site doesn’t work on a small screen, nothing else matters.

Here’s the test.

Open your website on your phone.

Not your laptop. Your phone.

Can you read the text without zooming in?

Can you see a phone number you can tap to call?

Can you find a way to book or ask for a quote without scrolling more than once?

Does the page load in under three seconds?

If any of those are no, that’s where your leads are going.

Not to a better business.

To an easier website.

You don’t need to rebuild the whole thing.

You just need to fix the parts that stop people from contacting you.

Do the test tonight.

If something’s broken, message me.

I’ll tell you exactly what to ask your web person to fix.

Free.

This is the free trick nobody uses.

Google lets you post updates right on your business listing.

Think of it like a mini Facebook post that shows up when people search for you.
Almost no one in Ottawa does this.

Here’s how.

Open the Google Maps app on your phone.

Tap your profile picture in the top right.

Tap “Your Business Profile.”

Then tap “Add update.” Pick “Add photo.”

Choose a picture from a recent job.

Write one sentence.

“Just finished a new deck in Barrhaven. Booking projects for August.”

Tap post. Done. Under two minutes.

Google sees this activity and bumps you up in local search results.

Do it once a week, every Friday after your last job, and you’ll show up ahead of every competitor who’s not doing it.

Try it right now.

One photo. One sentence. Post it.

Then come back and tell me how easy that was.