google business profile killing my plumbing referral game in north jersey

Been running my one-man plumbing outfit in north jersey for 8 years now, and I set up this Google Business Profile thinking it'd bring in steady referrals for water heater swaps and drain cleanings. NGL, it's a crap-show, got a couple 1-star reviews from picky homeowners who DIY'd a PEX fix wrong and blamed me, tanked my rating to 3.8 stars, now referrals from real estate agents and past clients dried up bad, lost out on $8k in jobs last month alone. Saw a thread on r/Plumbing where guys were bragging about their referral programs, but mine's busted because of this profile BS, maybe I should just ditch it and go back to yard signs and word-of-mouth with Uponor installs. Someone in Plumbers United group mentioned ignoring Google altogether for residential work, but idk, feels like fighting the system. Watched a Tommy Mello video on scaling plumbing businesses and he pushes hard for online presence, but in zone 5 winters here, frozen pipes don't care about your SEO. Screw it, thinking of paying for fake reviews to boost it back up, fight me on that. Anyone got a better referral hack that actually works without the Google drama?

damn, those fake reviews will bite you in the ass when Google catches on, had a buddy's profile suspended over that crap.

same here man, north jersey clients are brutal with reviews.

feels that, my profile's at 4.2 but referrals still suck because of the algorithm hiding us.

how do you structure your referral incentives, like discounts on next service?

don't even bother with Google for plumbing referrals, stick to local networks or you'll get sued for fake stuff.

SharkBite or not, referrals from Google are overrated, real plumbers get calls from neighbors, not search results.

fuck google and their review monopoly, they're screwing every independent plumber out there with hidden fees and algo changes.

yeah, and now they're pushing ads on top of your profile, paying more just to be seen by your own town.

watch out for those review gating laws, states are cracking down hard on incentivizing only good ones.

psa: never offer cash for referrals through Google, it flags you instantly and kills your visibility.

collective BS, big tech is eating the lunch of every blue-collar plumber trying to run a legit referral program without their cut.