Why autumn, not December
Whether you sell gifts, cut hair before the party season, cater events or fix boilers when the cold snap arrives, the end of the year brings people who have never heard of you. They decide quickly, and most of them glance at your rating before they do.
Reviews take time to accumulate. A customer you serve in November might not leave a review for a week. Start in December and most of that effort lands in January, after the moment has passed. Start in October, and your listing and your website are already doing the reassuring when the rush arrives.
The plan, month by month
Early October
Tidy the listing
- Check your Business Profile: categories, opening hours, photos, and the description.
- Add your Christmas and New Year hours now, while you remember — you can set special hours in advance.
- Reply to any reviews you have left unanswered, especially critical ones.
Mid October
Make asking effortless
- Get your short review link and put it somewhere you can copy it in two taps.
- Print a review QR code for the counter, the van, the receipt or the delivery note.
- Agree one sentence the whole team uses to ask, so it becomes habit rather than a campaign.
November
Ask everyone, every time
- Ask every customer after a completed job or purchase — not only the ones you think loved it.
- Follow up once by text or email the same day; one reminder is plenty.
- Watch for the first reviews that mention gifts, deadlines or last-minute help. Those are gold for December visitors.
Late November
Put the reviews in front of shoppers
- Add your Google reviews to your website: the homepage, your gift or booking page, and next to the contact form.
- Use a small star badge in the header, so even visitors who never scroll see your rating.
- Check it works on mobile — that is where most festive browsing happens.
December
Keep it ticking, stay the right side of the line
- Keep asking, but don’t chase: customers are busy and a second reminder irritates.
- Send a year-end thank-you to your customer list with the review link — to everyone, with no strings.
- Reply to reviews within a few days, even if it’s a two-line thank-you.
For the link and printed code, see how to make a Google review QR code; for wording that doesn’t feel awkward, see how to get more Google reviews.
The festive offers that break the rules
The season invites generosity, and that’s exactly where businesses trip up. Each of these feels harmless and each is an incentive, which Google’s policies don’t allow:
- “Leave us a review and you’re entered into our Christmas hamper draw.”
- “Show us your review for a free mince pie with your coffee.”
- “10% off your January booking when you review us.”
The other festive trap isn’t an incentive but is just as off-limits: asking only the customers who told you they were delighted. Google’s policies prohibit selectively asking for positive reviews, so send the same request to everyone.
Run the hamper draw by all means — just don’t link it to reviews. Google can remove incentivised reviews and restrict the profile, and in the UK the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans fake reviews and reviews with hidden incentives. The full picture is in Google review rules for UK businesses.
Don’t let January’s one-star reviews start in December
Busy periods produce a particular kind of bad review: the missed delivery date, the phone nobody answered, the customer who turned up on Boxing Day because the listing said you were open. Most are avoidable with a little preparation — set your holiday hours on Google, put realistic cut-off dates on your website, and have an out-of-office message that says when you’ll reply.
If one does land, reply calmly and briefly. Our guide on responding to negative reviews has a structure you can use even when you’re short of time.
Get the reviews onto your website before the rush
Festive shoppers arriving from ads, social posts and gift guides often never see your Google listing. WeWidget puts your real rating and reviews on your own pages — search your business by name, no Google login — and re-syncs from Google every day, so there’s nothing to update by hand in the busy weeks. The rating badge and a carousel of up to five of your Google reviews are free forever, no card. Paid plans start at £5 a month with a 30-day free trial, and Pro (£9 a month) has the full range of styles.
It works on Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify and Webflow. See live examples · Compare plans
The one thing to do this week
If you do nothing else, copy your review link, decide on the one sentence you’ll use to ask, and start asking every customer from tomorrow. Everything else on this list builds on that habit — and a habit started in October is a full listing by Christmas. For more on how many reviews you actually need, the answer is less scary than you might think.