How reviews and listings affect where you show

Reviews affect both ranking and clicks

Reviews do two jobs. Google says that more high-quality, positive reviews can improve a business's local visibility, and a steady flow of recent reviews shows the business is active. Reviews that mention specific services, such as 'prenatal Pilates' or 'same-day delivery', also help Google connect you to those searches.

Reviews also decide clicks. In a map pack of three, searchers compare star ratings, review counts and the most recent comments before they choose. A business ranked second with 200 recent reviews can win more customers than the one ranked first with 12.

Recency matters to people as much as count. A rating built from reviews that are two years old says little about the business today. That is why a steady habit of a few reviews every week beats a single push that brings in 50 at once and then stops.

Ask in a way that follows the rules

Ask every customer, at the right moment, and make it easy. The best time is just after a good experience: after a class, at pickup, or a day after delivery. Use the direct review link from your Business Profile in an email, text or QR code at the counter.

Follow the rules, because breaking them can get reviews removed or the profile suspended.

• Do not offer discounts, gifts or entries into a draw in exchange for reviews; Google's policy forbids incentives.
• Do not ask only happy customers and steer unhappy ones elsewhere, a practice called review gating, which Google also forbids.
• Never write, buy or swap fake reviews. In the US, the FTC's 2024 rule on fake reviews allows civil penalties for buying or selling them.
• Do not have staff review their own employer.

Reply to every review, especially the bad ones

Google recommends replying to reviews, and future customers read the replies. Thank people for positive reviews by name and mention what they enjoyed. Keep it short and human, not a pasted template.

For a negative review, reply calmly within a day or two. Acknowledge the problem, avoid arguing in public, and offer a way to talk directly. Never share private details, which matters most for clinics and med spas bound by patient privacy rules. If a review breaks Google's policies, for example it is spam or from someone who was never a customer, report it through your profile.

Listings confirm you are real and where you are

A citation is any listing of your business name, address and phone on another site. Consistent citations help Google trust your details, and many AI assistants draw on the same listings and review sites when they recommend local businesses.

Start with the listings that matter most: Apple Business Connect for Apple Maps, Bing Places, Yelp, Facebook, and the directories in your own industry, such as ClassPass or Mindbody for fitness studios, or Tripadvisor and OpenTable for restaurants. Make the details identical everywhere, and find and merge duplicate listings, which often appear after a move or a phone number change. A few accurate listings are worth more than hundreds of low-quality directory entries.