Why Google Reviews Aren’t Improving Your Rankings | Including Map Pack Rankings

Most business owners know a lot about their Google Business Profile (GBP) rank

So they do what they think will move the needle. They ask every customer for Google Reviews. 

Reviews are left, but… 

Nothing changes.

The map pack still doesn’t show them in the top three. And now they’re wondering why their new Google Reviews aren’t improving their rankings.

Here’s the thing: they’re not wrong to want Google Reviews. They just don’t understand what Google Reviews actually do and what they don’t do.

To rank on Google You might want to look at your Off-page SEO.

For example:

• Links pointing to your site. 
• Your domain authority.
• Your site speed. 
• Mobile responsiveness. 

It all adds up.

Google Reviews? They’re part of the picture. But they’re not the whole picture.

Citations: When Google sees you’re listed consistently across the web, it trusts you more.

Local citations matter more than most people realize.

Your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) need to be consistent everywhere. For example on Yelp, Better Business Bureau, Industry directories, Google Business Profile itself. Google likes to see these.

For example, I have citations from The St. George Chamber of Commerce, The Southern Utah Home Builders Association, and The Washington County Board of Realtors. Good, solid local citations. 

If you want to rank in the top three map pack, here’s what works:

First, your website needs to be solid. It needs to be fast, mobile-friendly, well-organized, and full of actual helpful content.

Second, your local citations need to be consistant. This means the same information everywhere. No typos. No outdated listings.

Third, your GBP needs active management.

• Regular posts.
• Responding to reviews.
• Keeping your info current.
• Uploading photos.
• Etc. 

Why Google Reviews By Themselves Aren’t Improving Your Rankings…

I’ve audited 100+ websites of service businesses in St. George. Almost all the ones I looked at all had the same problem you might be having. Their businesses were stuck below the top three of the map pack. Yes, invisible to potential customers.

When I audit my clients website SEO and GBP I find problems.

• Website issues.
• Citation inconsistencies.
• Missing local content.
• Weak on-page optimization (SEO).

The Google Reviews help. But they’re not the entire story about what moves the needle.

If you really want to be in the top 3 of the map pack, it’s a good idea to hire someone that knows how everything fits together. I spend about 8 to 10 hours everyday immersed in SEO work. That’s the kind of knowledge you need.

If you’re wondering why Google Reviews aren’t improving your rankings, the problem probably isn’t the number of reviews. It’s more likely your SEO and GBP foundation.

Don Glasgow, Out Of The Box SEO – (435) 879-1239

Reddit: r/localseo – hibuofficial

At what point do Google reviews stop making much of a difference?

We always push businesses to get more Google reviews, which obviously makes sense… we know the impact reviews have on ranking, customer trust, etc. But once a business already has a few hundred strong reviews, is there really a noticeable advantage in going from 400 to 4,000?

And same thing with review velocity.

There’s so much advice saying businesses need new reviews every week to stay competitive. Then there are businesses that seem to collect reviews pretty slowly and somehow keep dominating the local pack anyway.

Makes you wonder if review velocity gets talked about more than it actually moves the needle, or if it’s just one piece of a much bigger puzzle that people isolate because it’s easy to measure.

We’re interested to hear from others who’ve watched this across multiple clients or run actual tests.

Has anyone seen a point where adding more reviews just didn’t seem to matter much anymore? Or has review velocity consistently made a measurable difference for you?

My answer:

I believe that review velocity is more important than how many reviews a business has.

Here is a thought. You have two businesses side by side. One business has 4000 reviews. The other business, which is ranking higher on Google, has 40 reviews. The first business hasn’t bothered getting reviews for a couple of years. The business with 40 reviews has gotten all of them in the last 12 months. 

Because of review velocity we know who Google will be recommending. Who would you trust more? Hence Google’s choice. 

There are 17 other replies to this query. Read the rest of the them here. 

Resources & References

Related Articles:

Search Engine Journal – How Google Business Profile Ranking Works – explains the full algorithm beyond just reviews (https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-business-profile-ranking-factors/)

AI generated summary of the article: 

*  Google uses three main local ranking factors: relevance, distance, and prominence.

*  Google Reviews matter, but they are only one ranking signal.

*  More reviews don’t automatically mean higher rankings.

*  Review quality and ratings can contribute to prominence and trust.

*  Google Business Profile categories help Google understand what services a business provides.

*  Complete and accurate GBP information can improve relevance.

*  Distance matters. A business’s location relative to the searcher affects rankings.

*  The business’s website matters to local rankings, not just the Google Business Profile.

*  Local website content helps Google understand services and geographic relevance.

*  Backlinks can strengthen a business’s prominence and authority.

*  Citations and consistent NAP information help establish the business and its location.

*  Photos and ongoing GBP activity contribute to a complete, useful profile.

*  No single ranking factor guarantees Map Pack placement.

* Strong local rankings come from multiple signals working together.

*  Moz – Local SEO Ranking Factors 2024 – details on citations, website quality, and other signals (https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors)

*  BrightLocal – Impact of Google Reviews on Local Search Rankings – research on how reviews fit into the bigger picture (https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-search-ranking-factors/)

*  Google’s Official GBP Help – Ranking in Local Search Results – straight from the source on what matters (https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091)

Google Reviews and Local SEO

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