Updated 2026-08-15 · 2 min read
Reviews decide who someone looking for a physiotherapist in their neighbourhood, who doesn't know anybody, will call. And almost every clinic asks for them badly: late, to everyone in the same way, and with a link that goes nowhere.
When to ask
After the session, the same day. Not a week later, when they've forgotten, and not before anything has happened. And not after the first assessment, when the patient can't yet judge anything.
Who to ask
The approach that works is asking first how it went, on a short scale. Whoever answers high is invited to leave a review on Google, with the direct link. Whoever answers low isn't invited to anything: their answer reaches you privately, with the reason.
This isn't filtering reviews: it's asking first. Anyone who wants to leave a bad review can still leave it, because your Google listing is public. What you gain is finding out first and being able to put it right.
What you mustn't do
Offering a discount in exchange for a review breaks Google's rules and can cost you the listing. Writing them yourself, too. And asking in batches from patients of two years ago is the quickest way to get Google to flag them.
And what is worth doing
Replying to all of them, including the bad ones, in a tone that doesn't argue. People reading reviews pay more attention to how the clinic responds than to the specific complaint.
Questions clinics ask
Can it be asked for automatically? Yes, after the session and with the rating question first. You can switch it off per treatment or per patient.
What happens to negative reviews? They reach you with the reason, without being published anywhere. What you do next is up to you.
How many reviews do you need? More than the total, what matters is the flow: twenty reviews spread through the year carry more weight than fifty in the same month.