How Accountants and CPAs Can Get More Google Reviews (Tax Season Strategy)
Tax season is the busiest time of year for accountants and CPAs, and it is also the best opportunity to build your Google review count for the entire year.
Your clients are engaged. The work is fresh in their minds. And if you helped them get a refund, avoid a problem, or navigate a complicated situation, they are genuinely grateful. That gratitude, channeled into a Google review, becomes one of the most powerful marketing assets your practice has.
This guide walks through a tax season review strategy for accountants, the specific language that works best, and how to build a year-round reputation system that compounds over time.
Why Google Reviews Matter More Than Accountants Think
Most CPAs rely on referrals. And referrals are valuable, but they have a ceiling. The people who find you through referrals are already warm. The people who find you through Google are new.
When a business owner, new resident, or someone who just outgrew TurboTax searches "CPA near me" or "accountant for small business [city]," they see the local map pack. The firms with more reviews, higher ratings, and recent activity rank higher and get clicked more.
Google uses reviews as a key local ranking signal. A CPA firm with 40 reviews averaging 4.8 stars, with 5 reviews in the last month, will consistently outrank an equally competent firm with 8 reviews from 2021.
More reviews also convert better. Research consistently shows that most consumers read online reviews before choosing a local service provider. Accounting is a trust-based relationship, reviews from real clients who describe your competence, communication, and reliability are the digital equivalent of a referral.
For broader context on building an accounting practice's online presence, see the Accountant and CPA Online Marketing Guide.
Tax Season: Your Annual Review Sprint
The window between late February and mid-April is your highest-leverage time for review generation. Here is why:
- You interact with more clients in this period than any other
- Clients who receive refunds or successful outcomes are emotionally positive
- The engagement is recent, clients will write more specific, credible reviews
- Closing a tax return creates a natural moment to ask
The Post-Filing Review Request
The best time to ask for a review is immediately after you have delivered a positive outcome, not weeks later, not during a different engagement.
For most clients, this is when you deliver their completed return, confirm their refund amount, or wrap up a complex situation they were worried about. At that moment, client satisfaction is at its peak.
Email template for post-filing review request:
Subject: Your return is complete, one small favor?
Hi [Client Name],
Your [year] return is filed and you're all set. [Refund amount / no balance due / brief outcome reference].
If working with us has been a good experience, I'd really appreciate a quick Google review. It takes about two minutes and helps other people in [city] find our firm when they're looking for an accountant they can trust.
[Direct link to Google review page]
Thank you, and see you next year.
[Your name]
Direct links matter. Do not ask clients to "find us on Google", give them a link that takes them directly to the review form. Your Google Business Profile review link looks like: https://g.page/r/[your-ID]/review
You can find your direct review link in your Google Business Profile dashboard under "Get more reviews."
In-Person or Phone Wrap-Up Script
If you close engagements by phone or in-person meetings, here is a natural way to ask:
"I'm really glad we could get that sorted out for you. If you're happy with how everything went, a Google review would mean a lot, it helps people in [city] find us when they're looking for a CPA they can count on. I'll text you a direct link."
Then send the link within an hour while the conversation is still fresh.
Year-Round CPA Review Strategy
Tax season creates a sprint, but your review strategy should not stop in April. Accountants who serve business clients have ongoing touchpoints throughout the year:
Quarterly reviews and bookkeeping clients: After every quarterly review meeting, send a brief follow-up thanking them for the session. Include your review link with a one-line ask: "If you have a moment, a Google review helps us reach other small business owners in [city]."
Business formation clients: When a client forms an LLC or S-corp with your help, they are excited and grateful. Ask immediately after the paperwork is filed.
First-year clients: After completing a new client's first return, ask for a review. They have just made the comparison between you and whoever they used before, that context makes for compelling reviews.
Referral acknowledgment: When a client sends you a referral, thank them personally and use the moment to re-engage: "If you haven't left us a Google review yet, it would help me reach more people like [referral name]."
What to Include in Your Google Business Profile
Review generation is most effective when paired with a complete, optimized Google Business Profile. For accountants:
- Categories: Use "Accountant" or "Tax Preparation Service" as your primary category. Add "Certified Public Accountant (CPA)" if applicable.
- Services: List each service, individual tax preparation, business tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll, financial planning, IRS representation, etc.
- Business description: Write a 750-character description mentioning your specializations, who you typically serve (individuals, small businesses, freelancers, specific industries), and your city.
- Hours: Keep these updated. Many CPAs extend hours during tax season, update GBP to reflect this.
- Q&A section: Seed common questions ("Do you handle small business taxes?" "What's your fee for individual returns?") and answer them yourself.
For a complete profile setup walkthrough, see the Accountant Profile Setup Guide.
Responding to Reviews: The Part Most CPAs Skip
Responding to reviews is not optional, it is part of local SEO and part of how potential clients evaluate your practice.
Google rewards businesses that respond to reviews with modestly better local rankings. More importantly, your responses are public. Future clients read them.
For positive reviews: Thank the reviewer by name (if they included it), reference something specific about the engagement if possible, and mention your firm name and city naturally in the response:
"Thank you, James, I'm so glad we could make this year's filing straightforward for you. We love working with small business owners in [city] and appreciate the kind words."
For negative reviews: Remain professional, acknowledge the concern without disclosing any client-specific information, and invite a direct conversation:
"Thank you for your feedback. We take all client concerns seriously and would welcome the chance to discuss this directly. Please reach out to us at [phone/email]."
Never argue. Never be defensive. The goal is to demonstrate to future clients reading that response that you handle concerns professionally.
The Result: A CPA Practice That Gets Found and Trusted
Accountants who run a consistent review strategy, a sprint during tax season, a steady cadence the rest of the year, and responsive follow-up on all reviews, typically see their Google review count double or triple within 12 months.
The compound effect: more reviews → higher local rankings → more visibility → more inquiries → more clients → more opportunities to ask for reviews.
For more on how to get reviews across your business generally, see How to Get More Google Reviews.
See How Your CPA Firm Scores Today
MyBizGrade grades accounting practices on Google Business Profile completeness, review health, citation consistency, and website SEO, and shows you exactly what to fix first.
Get your free CPA online presence grade at MyBizGrade
Most accounting firms are leaving significant visibility on the table. Find out if yours is one of them.
Also read: Accountant and CPA Online Marketing Guide | How to Get More Google Reviews | Accountant Profile Setup Guide