How Reviews Affect Local SEO

What Google says

Google is direct about it: review count and review score factor into local search ranking, and more reviews and positive ratings can improve a business’s local ranking (Google’s guidance). Reviews are part of what Google calls prominence.

They also do a second job that has nothing to do with ranking. Reviews are what a customer reads in the seconds before deciding whether to call you or the business listed below.

What seems to count

Nobody outside Google knows the exact weighting. What is consistent with Google’s guidance and with how customers behave:

• Number. Enough to be credible next to the businesses you compete with.
• Rating. A strong average, though not necessarily a perfect one. A handful of critical reviews among many good ones looks real.
• Recency. Reviews from this month reassure more than reviews from three years ago.
• Steadiness. A regular trickle looks natural. Fifty in a week followed by silence does not.
• Replies. Google encourages owners to respond, and customers notice when they do.

How to ask

Ask everyone

Make it part of finishing a job, not something you remember when a customer seems especially pleased. Asking only happy customers is called review gating, and it is against Google’s policies.

Ask at the right moment

When the job is done and the customer is satisfied: at the door, at the till, in the handover email. The longer you wait, the fewer you will get.

Make it one tap

Get your review link from your Google Business Profile and send it by text or email. A QR code on a card or invoice works well for in-person businesses. Do not send instructions. Send the link.

Give staff the words

Something simple: “If you were happy with the work, a Google review really helps a small business like ours. I will text you the link.”

What you must not do

• Do not pay for reviews, or buy them from a service.
• Do not offer discounts, gifts or prize draws in exchange for a review.
• Do not review your own business, or ask staff or family to.
• Do not review competitors negatively.
• Do not set up a tablet in the shop for customers to review on the spot. Many reviews from one device and location look suspicious.

Breaking these rules can lead to reviews being removed and, in serious cases, to restrictions on the profile. In several countries, fake and incentivized reviews are also illegal under consumer law.

How to reply to a good review

Thank the person, briefly and specifically. Mention the service if it comes naturally (“glad the new boiler is working well”). Do not paste the same sentence under every review, and do not cram in keywords.

How to reply to a bad review

1. Wait until you are calm.
2. Acknowledge the problem without arguing the details in public.
3. Do not reveal anything private about the customer or the job.
4. Offer a way to resolve it: a phone number or email.
5. If you put it right, the customer may update the review. Do not demand it.

Your reply is written for the next hundred readers, not for the reviewer.

Regulated professions

Healthcare providers, lawyers and financial professionals have confidentiality duties that apply to review replies. Do not confirm that the reviewer was a patient or client. Some regulators also restrict how reviews may be requested or used in advertising. Our industry pages note the common ones.

Fake or unfair reviews

If a review breaks Google’s policies, for example it is spam, off-topic or from someone who was never a customer, you can report it from your profile. Removal is Google’s decision and is not guaranteed. A calm reply explaining that you have no record of the customer is often the most useful response.

Reviews beyond Google

Customers in many markets check a second site. Which one depends on your country and trade. Keep your details and your tone consistent wherever you are reviewed.

Setting up a review routine and reply templates is part of our Google Business Profile optimization service. For the wider picture, read the guide to ranking higher on Google Maps.