How should a business respond to Google reviews, good and bad?
Response templates and the rule that the reply is written for the next reader.
Write every reply for the next person reading it, not for the reviewer. The reviewer has already formed an opinion. The prospect scrolling your profile three weeks from now has not, and your reply is the only part of that exchange you control.
Replying to positive reviews
Keep it short, specific, and human. Name the service or the thing that went right, because that reply is public text on your profile and it reinforces what you do. Avoid identical replies pasted under 40 reviews. It reads as automated, which undercuts the credibility of the reviews themselves. Google's local ranking guidance notes that positive reviews and helpful replies can help your business stand out.
Replying to negative reviews
A structure that holds up in public:
- Thank them for the feedback, without sarcasm and without a paragraph of throat clearing.
- Acknowledge the specific issue in plain language. Do not argue the facts in public even when you are right.
- State what you did or will do about it.
- Move it offline with a real name, a direct phone number, or an email address.
Reply within a couple of days. A reply weeks later looks like damage control. And never offer anything in exchange for removing or revising a review. Google's review policy names that as prohibited.
Regulated industries have an extra rule
If you are a healthcare provider, a mental health practice, or any business handling protected health information, you cannot confirm in a public reply that the person was a patient. That confirmation is a disclosure. The safe reply acknowledges the feedback generally, states your commitment to care quality, and provides a contact path, without ever saying we treated you or referencing any detail of their care. Train whoever manages the profile on this before they respond to anything.
Related: Getting more Google reviews, Do you work with healthcare providers?, healthcare marketing.