Understanding Reviews
Reviews are one of the most powerful factors in local search. They influence both your rankings and whether customers choose you over competitors. Let's understand how reviews work and why they matter so much.
Why Reviews Matter
What to do
Understand the impact reviews have on your business before we dive into strategies for getting and managing them.
Step by step
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Reviews heavily influence customer decisions. Studies consistently show that 80-90% of consumers read reviews before visiting a local business. Your reviews are often the deciding factor.
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Reviews affect your rankings. Google has confirmed that reviews are a ranking factor. More positive reviews generally correlate with better visibility in local search results.
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Reviews build trust before first contact. Customers form opinions about your business before they ever call or visit. Reviews are your reputation on display.
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Reviews provide social proof. When customers see others had good experiences, they feel more confident choosing you. This is basic human psychology.
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Reviews give you feedback. Beyond marketing, reviews tell you what you're doing well and where you can improve.
How much do reviews affect rankings?
Google's local ranking factors include 'prominence', which is partly based on information Google has about a business from across the web — and reviews are a key part of this. Google specifically mentions 'review count and review score' as factors. While the exact algorithm is secret, most local SEO experts consider reviews to be one of the top 3-5 most important ranking factors for local search.
Understanding Google Reviews
What to do
Know what makes up a Google review and how they're displayed on your listing.
Step by step
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Star rating (1-5 stars). The most visible element. Your average star rating is displayed prominently on your listing. Higher is obviously better.
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Written review text. The customer's actual words describing their experience. Not all reviewers write text — some just leave stars.
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Reviewer's name and photo. From their Google account. Helps establish authenticity.
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Date of review. Shows how recent the review is. Recent reviews carry more weight with customers (and possibly Google).
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Owner response. Your reply to the review, if you've written one. Shows you're engaged and care about feedback.
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Photos (optional). Reviewers can add photos to their reviews. These are often viewed by potential customers.
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Helpful votes. Other users can mark reviews as helpful, pushing them higher in visibility.
What Customers Look for in Reviews
What to do
Understand how customers actually read and interpret reviews so you can focus on what matters.
Step by step
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Overall star rating. Most customers start here. Anything below 4 stars makes many customers hesitant. 4.5+ is ideal.
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Number of reviews. A 5-star rating from 2 reviews is less convincing than 4.7 stars from 150 reviews. Volume builds confidence.
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Recency of reviews. Recent reviews matter more. A business with no reviews in the last 6 months looks inactive or concerning.
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Content of negative reviews. Smart customers read negative reviews to see what went wrong. They're judging whether the issue would affect them.
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Your responses to negative reviews. How you handle criticism tells customers a lot about your business. Professional, helpful responses turn negatives into positives.
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Specific details. Reviews mentioning specific services, staff names, or experiences are more credible than generic "Great service!" reviews.
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Photos from reviewers. Customer photos are seen as authentic and unfiltered. They help potential customers visualise real experiences.
Examples by industry
Customers look for: mentions of punctuality, cleanliness, pricing transparency, problem actually being fixed. Red flags: mentions of no-shows, hidden charges, unfinished work.
Customers look for: food quality, atmosphere, service speed, value. They'll look at food photos from reviewers. Red flags: hygiene concerns, rude staff, long waits.
Customers look for: gentle treatment, good with nervous patients, wait times, staff friendliness. Red flags: pain complaints, feeling rushed, billing surprises.
Customers look for: communication quality, outcome achieved, value for money, being kept informed. Red flags: slow responses, unexpected costs, poor communication.
Review Benchmarks: Where Should You Be?
What to do
Understand what good looks like so you can set realistic goals.
Step by step
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Star rating: Aim for 4.5 stars or higher. 4.0-4.4 is acceptable. Below 4.0 starts to hurt. Below 3.5 is a serious problem.
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Number of reviews: Depends on your industry and location. As a rough guide: 20+ reviews is a decent start, 50+ is solid, 100+ is strong, 200+ is excellent.
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Review velocity: Getting 2-4 reviews per month is healthy for most small businesses. More is better, but consistency matters more than bursts.
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Recency: You should have at least a few reviews from the last 3 months. No recent reviews makes customers wonder if you're still in business or if something changed.
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Response rate: Aim to respond to 100% of reviews — both positive and negative. At minimum, respond to all negative reviews.
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Compare to competitors: Search for your main competitors and note their review counts and ratings. You want to be competitive with or better than them.
**Never buy fake reviews.** It's tempting, especially when starting out, but Google is increasingly good at detecting fake reviews. Getting caught results in reviews being removed, your listing being penalised, or even suspension. It's also dishonest to potential customers. Build reviews the right way.
Google's Review Policies
What to do
Know what's allowed and what's not when it comes to reviews.
Step by step
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You CAN ask customers for reviews. Google explicitly allows and encourages this. Asking happy customers to leave reviews is perfectly fine.
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You CANNOT offer incentives. Discounts, freebies, or any reward in exchange for reviews is prohibited. "Leave a review and get 10% off" violates Google's policies.
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You CANNOT review your own business. Reviews from the business owner, employees, or people with a conflict of interest are prohibited.
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You CANNOT selectively discourage negative reviews. Asking only happy customers while avoiding unhappy ones is technically fine, but having a "gate" that asks customers to rate privately first and only directs happy ones to Google is against guidelines.
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Fake reviews from any source are prohibited. Bought reviews, reviews from people who never used your service, reviews from review exchange schemes — all prohibited.
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Reviews should reflect genuine experiences. The reviewer should have actually been a customer or had a legitimate interaction with your business.
What happens if you break review rules?
Google may remove reviews it identifies as fake or policy-violating. In serious cases, your listing can be penalised with reduced visibility, or even suspended. Google has been increasingly aggressive about review spam. They also now show warnings on listings where they've removed fake reviews. Beyond Google's enforcement, fake reviews can damage your reputation if customers notice patterns that seem inauthentic.