The short version. Open your Business Profile, choose Read reviews, press Reply next to the review, write four lines, press Reply again. Google notifies the reviewer, and your reply appears under their review for everyone who reads it afterwards — which is the person you are actually writing for.
Most owners know they should reply and most don't. In the Dallas listings we audit for our market reports, the median restaurant has answered 16% of its reviews, the median bar 4%, and one business in five has never replied at all (across seven metros it is nearer one in four). The gap isn't laziness; it's that nobody told them what a reply is for, so every reply feels like a small argument or a small thank-you note, and both are easy to skip. This guide fixes the "for".
Where the reply button is
Google's own steps, from its Manage customer reviews page:
- Go to your Business Profile. On a computer, search your business name on Google while signed in to the account that manages it; on a phone, the same search in the Google Maps app works.
- Select Read reviews.
- Next to the review you want to answer, select Reply.
- Write your reply in the box.
- Select Reply.
Three things Google states on that page that owners tend not to know:
- The reviewer is notified when you reply. They can then edit or delete their review, and the timestamp updates if they do.
- You can edit or delete your own reply from the same place, at any time.
- Google checks replies against its content policies before they show. A reply that names another customer, includes a phone number, or reads as an attack can be held.
Only an owner or manager of a verified profile can reply. If you can't see the Reply option, the profile isn't verified or you're signed in to the wrong account — fix that first, because nothing else here works until you can.
Who reads your reply (it isn't the reviewer)
The reviewer reads it once, if at all. The people who read it for the next two years are the customers deciding whether to walk in. The replies sit right there in the same scroll as the reviews.
That changes what a good reply is. It isn't a message to Dana who had a bad Tuesday. It is a short, public demonstration — to the next fifty people — of how this business treats a customer when something goes wrong, and how it treats one when something goes right. Write every reply for the reader over Dana's shoulder.
Two consequences:
- A reply to a bad review can win the reader even when it can't win the reviewer. A calm, specific, non-defensive reply under a one-star review is often the most persuasive thing on your whole profile.
- Copy-pasting "Thank you for your feedback!" under forty reviews is worse than silence. The reader sees the pattern in one scroll and concludes nobody is home. Google's own advice on its Tips to get more reviews page says the same thing: "Instead of sending the same 'thank you' to everyone, focus on reviews where you can share a helpful update."
The four-line reply
Every reply, positive or negative, fits in four short lines. It takes under two minutes once you stop trying to write an essay.
- Thank them by name, for something specific. Not "your feedback" — the thing they mentioned. "Thanks, Priya — glad the lash lift held up for the wedding."
- Repeat one detail from their review in your own words. This is the line that proves a person wrote the reply. It's also the line that gets skipped when replies are pasted.
- Say what you did or do about it. For praise: name the person or the practice behind it. For a complaint: say what changed, plainly, without excuses.
- Invite them back, or forward. One sentence. No coupon, no "mention this reply for 10% off" — Google's policy treats anything offered in exchange for a review, a changed review or a removed review as fake engagement, and the FTC's 2024 rule on consumer reviews points the same way.
Keep it under about 80 words — or have the four lines drafted for you and just press approve (see how Oh Local can help). Google's guidance is "be professional and polite," "keep it short and simple," and "be conversational, not promotional." That last one is the tell: the moment a reply mentions your new loyalty program, the reader hears an ad.
Examples: replying to a positive review
A café. Review: "Best flat white in the neighborhood and the guy with the beard remembered my order on the second visit."
Thanks, Marcus — that's Theo, and he'll be insufferable when I show him this. The flat white is a single-origin we switched to in June, so if it tastes different one week, that's why. See you Thursday.
A hair salon. Review: "Jade did exactly what I asked for and talked me out of the bangs. Grateful."
Thank you, Elena. Jade has talked at least four of us out of bangs this year and has been right each time. We've got your notes on file for next time — just ask for her.
A med spa — with the rule that matters. Review: "Loved my results and the nurse explained everything before we started."
Thank you for the kind words — we're glad the visit felt clear and unhurried. Our team's rule is that nobody starts anything before every question is answered. We appreciate you taking the time.
Notice what that last reply doesn't do: it doesn't confirm the reviewer was a patient, doesn't name a treatment, doesn't say "your results." HIPAA doesn't stop being HIPAA because the patient posted first. Thank the words; don't confirm the visit.
Examples: replying to a negative review
Before you type: read it twice, wait an hour if you're angry, and decide whether the complaint is true, partly true or not true. The reply is different for each.
True. Review: "Waited 25 minutes past my appointment time and nobody said anything."
You're right, Sam, and I'm sorry — we were a stylist down that afternoon and should have told you at the desk instead of letting you sit there. We've changed the check-in so anyone waiting more than ten minutes gets told why, and the option to rebook. If you'll give us another try, ask for me.
Partly true. Review: "Charged $14 for a sandwich that was mostly bread."
Thanks for saying so, Jordan. The price is right — that's the roast beef, and it's $14 — but the portion shouldn't have looked like that, and the kitchen has had the word. If you're back, the roast beef is on us; just say you spoke to Nate.
Wait — that last line is an offer. It's fine here because it isn't conditioned on the review: it isn't "update your rating and lunch is free." It's a make-good for a bad sandwich, which you'd offer if they'd complained at the counter. Keep that distinction sharp. The moment the free thing is tied to what they post, you're on the wrong side of Google's policy and the FTC's rule.
Not true. Review: "Rude staff, dirty tables, will never return." (No details, and you don't recognise the visit.)
I'm sorry your visit felt that way. I can't place it from the details here, and I'd genuinely like to — could you email me at [your address] with the day and time? I'm the owner and I'll look into it myself.
Don't argue in public. Don't say "we have no record of you." Don't speculate that it's a competitor. The reader isn't judging whether the review is fair; they're judging how you handle being treated unfairly. Take it offline in one calm sentence and let the next ten reviews do the rest.
What not to do
- Don't paste the same reply. The reader spots it in a single scroll.
- Don't offer anything in exchange for changing or removing a review. Google's content policy calls it fake engagement; the FTC rule adds a federal penalty. A make-good for a real problem is fine; a make-good for the review isn't.
- Don't confirm health details. For any practice — med spa, dental, derm, physio — thank the words, never the visit.
- Don't reply to the review you wish you'd got. If every review mentions the wait time and every reply apologises for the parking, the reader notices.
- Don't wait weeks. A reply within a few days reads as a business that's paying attention; a reply eight months later, after a review has already done its damage, reads as a business that just noticed.
How to keep up with it
The realistic problem isn't writing one good reply — it's writing the fortieth. Three habits that work for owners with no spare hour:
- Reply on a fixed day. Fifteen minutes, once a week, every review since last time. It beats "when I see it", every week.
- Negative first, then the ones with detail. A three-word "great place" review needs two lines; a paragraph with names in it deserves a paragraph back.
- Keep a short list of true sentences about your business — the thing that changed in June, the person who's been there nine years — and pull from it. That's how replies stay specific without starting from a blank box.
How Oh Local helps with this
Oh Local reads every new review on your platforms and drafts the reply in your voice — the four lines above, with the detail from the review already in it — then sends the drafts in your weekly email, negative ones first. Every reply waits for your approval and posts under your name. Start with the free audit: in about a minute it shows which of your reviews are sitting unanswered right now.
How it works
- Run the free audit. We read your public Google reviews and replies and send you the numbers: reply rate, the reviews still waiting for an answer, and the oldest of them — with the table on this page to put them beside.
- Claim your page. Pick your listing, and your QR card and short link are ready to print — from your own phone, no onboarding call.
- Get the weekly email. Every new review with its reply drafted, private feedback that came in, and the short list of what to fix on your listing and site.
- Approve, and that’s it. You press approve on the replies you like. The rest — the card, the page, the measuring — runs on its own.
What you get
Your review page
A printed QR card and a short link that open every review option — Google, Tripadvisor, Facebook — capture the customer’s email, and give an unhappy customer a private word first. About four minutes to a printable QR.
Reviews handled
Every new review on your platforms, with the reply drafted in your voice, in one weekly email. Negative ones first. You approve, edit or skip; nothing posts without you.
Local standing
Where you rank around your shop, what competitors are doing, what changed on your listing — with the exact fix for each. Recommendations can lead to better rankings and more visibility; no tool can promise a position, including ours.
| Industry | Audited | Median reply rate | Never replied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas restaurants | 358 | 16% | 22% |
| Dallas dental practices | 85 | 34% | 20% |
| Dallas retail shops | 83 | 25% | 25% |
| Dallas tattoo studios | 82 | 10% | 30% |
| Dallas barbershops | 81 | 15% | 21% |
| Dallas plastic surgeons | 75 | 30% | 23% |
| Dallas med spas | 74 | 81% | 8% |
FAQ
Can you respond to Google reviews?
Yes. The owner or a manager of a verified Google Business Profile can reply to any review on it, from Google Search or Google Maps while signed in to the managing account. If there's no Reply option, the profile isn't verified or you're signed in with the wrong account.
Can I edit or delete my reply?
Yes. Google's help page says you can edit or delete your own reply from the same Read reviews screen. You can't edit or delete the customer's review — only they can do that, and Google can remove one that breaks its content policy.
Does the reviewer get notified when I reply?
Yes. Google notifies the person who wrote the review. They can then update or remove their review, and the review's timestamp changes if they do — which is one reason a calm reply to a bad review sometimes ends with the review itself being softened.
Should I reply to every review?
Aim to. Prioritise negative reviews and detailed ones, keep short reviews to two lines, and don't paste the same sentence under all of them. Google's own guidance is to focus on reviews where you can share something helpful rather than sending the same thank-you to everyone.
How long do I have to reply to a review?
There's no deadline, but a reply within a few days reads as a business that's paying attention. Replies to old reviews still help: the reader today sees the reply and the review together, whatever the dates.
Can I offer a discount to a customer who left a bad review?
You can make good on a real problem — replacing the bad sandwich, redoing the cut — the way you would if they'd complained in person. You can't offer anything in exchange for changing or removing the review. Google's content policy treats that as fake engagement and the FTC's 2024 rule on consumer reviews carries civil penalties for it.
