What does Google say decides local ranking?
Google's Business Profile help says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how well a profile matches what someone searched for, which depends on complete and detailed business information. Distance is how far the business is from the searcher, or from the location Google estimates if the searcher has not shared one. Prominence is how well known the business is. Google keeps the details of its algorithm confidential and states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
Where do reviews fit in?
Reviews sit inside prominence. Google says prominence is based on information such as how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. Your review score is the average of all ratings published on Google for the business, and Google says it can take up to two weeks for the score to update after a new review. A steady flow of genuine reviews also gives people comparing businesses recent experiences to read.
Do replies to reviews help ranking?
Google's tips for improving local ranking include responding to reviews, and the reason it gives is about customers: replying shows that you value their feedback, and positive reviews and helpful replies can help your business stand out. Google does not say that replies are weighed in the ranking itself, and anyone claiming a precise effect is guessing. The practical value of a reply lies with the people reading it. A specific, calm reply under a complaint can affect whether someone choosing between two nearby businesses calls you.
What else on your profile counts?
Several profile tasks sit beside reviews in Google's ranking tips, and some take less time than a month of review requests. Google says verifying your business tells it you are authorised to represent the business, and that businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show in local results. Check the items below before spending money on review campaigns, because a gap here limits what any number of reviews can do for relevance.
- Verification: Google says it makes the profile more likely to show up in search results.
- Your full address, if customers can visit your premises.
- Opening hours, including special hours for public holidays.
- The business category that matches what you do.
- Attributes such as parking or Wi-Fi, plus current photos and videos.
Can bought reviews or review swaps push you up?
Bought reviews, review swaps and reviews from staff break Google's rules on fake engagement and conflicts of interest, and Google removes them. If it decides a business owner has broken the Fake Engagement policy, it can also stop the profile receiving new reviews for a set period, unpublish existing reviews for a set period or show consumers a warning that fake reviews were removed. Each of those works against prominence and against the people reading your profile. In Australia, the ACCC also says it is against the law for a business to create fake reviews or arrange for others to create them.
How do you tell whether review work is helping?
Track a few numbers each month in a simple spreadsheet: new reviews, average rating, the share of reviews with a reply, and the enquiries that came from Google, which you can capture by asking new customers how they found you. Compare months rather than days, because Google says a new review can take up to two weeks to show in the score, and because distance means each searcher sees a different set of results. If enquiries rise while the rating holds, the work is paying off. If reviews rise and enquiries do not, look at the profile basics.