Reviews are the deciding factor
When someone's comparing three contractors, the one with 4.9 stars and 120 reviews wins. Every time. It's the first thing anyone looks at.
The trick is asking at the right moment
Right after the job is done, while the customer is still smiling at the finished work. Not two weeks later. A short text with a direct link does more than a beg email ever will.
5 stars public, low stars private
Happy customers get sent straight to Google. If someone was unhappy, the system quietly asks for private feedback so you can fix it before it ends up as a public one star. That's not gaming reviews. That's giving unhappy customers a chance to be heard first.