How to Automate Google Review Requests for Local Businesses in GoHighLevel (2026)

TL;DR

GoHighLevel lets any local business send automatic SMS and email review requests after every completed appointment. You build one workflow, connect your Google Business Profile, and the requests go out without any manual work. Setup takes two to three hours. You need at least the Starter plan ($97 per month) plus SMS usage costs.

• Trigger: appointment completed or job tagged as done
• Sequence: SMS within the hour, email follow-up after 48 hours if no click
• Plan needed: GoHighLevel Starter ($97/mo) or higher

What you need before you start

• A GoHighLevel account on any plan (Starter at $97/mo is enough)
• A verified Google Business Profile for your location
• An A2P 10DLC registered phone number (required to send business SMS in the US)
• Time: plan for two to three hours the first time

Difficulty: beginner to intermediate. No coding required. You will use GoHighLevel's visual workflow builder.

Step 1: Connect your Google Business Profile

In your GoHighLevel sub-account, go to Settings then Integrations. Find Google and click Connect. Sign in with the Google account that owns your Business Profile. Once connected, GoHighLevel can pull your Google review link and will surface new reviews inside the Reputation tab.

If your business has more than one location, connect each location separately inside its own sub-account. See the multi-location review management guide for a snapshot-based approach.

Step 2: Create the review-request workflow

Go to Automation, click Create Workflow, and start from scratch. Name it something clear like "Review Request After Appointment."

Choose your trigger. Two common options:

• Appointment Status Changed to Completed (works if you book via GHL Calendars)
• Tag Added where the tag is something like "job-complete" (works if your team tags contacts manually after finishing a job)

Add a small Wait action of 30 to 60 minutes after the trigger. This gives customers time to arrive home before the message lands.

Step 3: Write and send the SMS review request

Add a Send SMS action. Write a short, personal message. Here is a template that works well:

Use the {{reputation.review_link}} custom value. GoHighLevel fills it with your direct Google review URL automatically. Keep the message under 160 characters so it sends as a single segment and costs less.

Step 4: Add a 48-hour wait and an email follow-up

After the SMS, add a Wait action set to 48 hours. Then add an If/Else condition that checks whether the contact clicked the review link (use the "Link Clicked" condition tied to your review URL).

• If they clicked: end the workflow. They have already seen the review page.
• If they did not click: send a short follow-up email with the same link and a slightly different subject line.

One follow-up is enough. Do not send more than two requests total or you risk coming across as pushy.

Step 5: Test the workflow before going live

Create a test contact using your own mobile number and email address. Fire the trigger manually (add the tag or change the appointment status). Check that:

• The SMS arrives within a few minutes of the trigger
• The review link in the SMS opens your Google Business Profile review form
• The email follow-up appears in your inbox after the wait period (shorten the wait to 5 minutes for testing)
• If you click the link, the email branch does not fire

Once all four checks pass, toggle the workflow to Active.

Troubleshooting

Related guides

• Post-appointment review workflow: the full build
• Negative review deflection with private feedback forms
• AI review reply automation in GoHighLevel
• Multi-location review management with a GHL snapshot
• All use-case playbooks

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Frequently asked questions