It’s the morning after a big South Australian wind. Somewhere in the Hills a limb has come down across a driveway. In a leafy older suburb, a gum that has stood for fifty years is now leaning on a neighbour’s fence. Phones are already in hands.
This isn’t unusual. When a windy spell hit South Australia in July 2021, the SES logged more than 550 tree-down call-outs in about three days, according to InDaily. Behind every one of them is a homeowner searching for an arborist.
And what do they see when they search? A list of tree services, each with a star rating and a number beside it. They don’t know which of you is any good. They know which of you looks like the safe choice.
Adelaide homeowners pick an arborist from Google in a hurry, and reviews are how they decide. The Review Accelerator asks every customer for a Google review when the job is done, follows up once, and (with the reply add-on) answers every review, so your reputation keeps building while you’re up the tree.
Adelaide's tree rules are a gift to the arborist who explains them
Homeowners ring all the time asking whether they can just cut a tree down. In metropolitan Adelaide and parts of the Hills, a tree with a trunk circumference of 1 metre or more, measured 1 metre above the ground, is a regulated tree, and 2 metres or more makes it significant. Removing or lopping one generally needs development approval. The thresholds were lowered in May 2024, so older advice is often out of date. There are exemptions, and urgent work to protect people or buildings can go ahead first, with the council told within 28 days. It’s general information, not legal advice, and councils make the final call.
Here’s why that matters for reviews. The arborist who patiently explains what’s allowed and what isn’t leaves a customer who feels looked after, and customers who feel looked after tend to talk about it. You can’t tell anyone what to write, and we never would. What you can do is make sure every customer gets the chance, and every review gets a considered reply.
Sources for the rules: Adelaide Hills Council and the Law Society of SA handbook.
Picture your phone on a Sunday night
You’ve been up and down trees all week, and the wind kept the phone busy. You open Google and see three new reviews from customers you’d almost forgotten. Under each one is a reply that sounds like you. You didn’t chase them. You didn’t pay for a click. On Monday the first caller says they chose you because of what they read.
The Review Accelerator starts with a 14-day free trial. Your card isn’t charged for the plan until day 15, and after that it’s $297 a month (AUD) with no lock-in contract. Prefer to see it work first? The free 14-Day Challenge asks your recent Adelaide customers for reviews on your behalf, with no card required.
How it works, in four lines
- We write your review message with you and check it before anything is sent.
- You close the job, or upload past customers, and each one gets a friendly text or email with your Google review link.
- One gentle reminder, then we stop. Everyone gets the same request, whatever they thought of the job.
- Reviews build on your profile, and with the optional reply add-on each one gets answered.
The full walkthrough, with reply templates for tree work, is on our Google reviews for arborists page.
P.S. Curious how your profile compares with the Adelaide arborists ranking near you? The free Local Trust Score checks it in a couple of minutes, using public information only.
Questions Adelaide arborists ask
How many Google reviews does an Adelaide arborist need?
Google doesn’t publish a target. What counts is how you compare with the tree services near you, and how recent your reviews are. The free Local Trust Score compares your public Google profile with others ranking around you.
Does it work for Adelaide Hills jobs as well as the suburbs?
Yes. Review requests go to your customers wherever the job was, and your Google profile can list the suburbs and Hills towns you serve as its service area.
Should I hide my home address on Google?
If you work from home or a yard with no shopfront, Google’s guidelines say to hide your address and set a service area instead.
What if an Adelaide customer leaves a bad review?
Every customer gets the same request, so some reviews won’t be glowing. Google recommends a short, polite reply that takes complicated issues offline. With the reply add-on, negative reviews are drafted for your approval before anything is posted.
Sources
- InDaily: wind damage warning as severe weather hits state
- Adelaide Hills Council: trees and vegetation
- Law Society of SA handbook: regulated and significant trees
- Google Business Profile Help: How to improve your local ranking on Google
- Google Business Profile Help: Get reviews and reply to them
- BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (1,002 US adults)