Google Business Profile reviews appear directly in Google Search and Maps results — often the very first thing a prospective customer sees before ever visiting your website, giving them outsized influence on local search visibility and first impressions.
Why they matter for local SEO specifically
- Review count and average rating are a factored signal in Google’s local search ranking (the "local pack")
- Recent review activity signals an active, legitimate business
- Owner responses to reviews are visible and factor into perceived trustworthiness
Building them up
Ask satisfied customers directly and make it easy (a direct review link), rather than hoping people leave reviews spontaneously — spontaneous reviews skew disproportionately negative, since dissatisfied customers are statistically more motivated to leave one unprompted.
FAQ
Can I incentivize customers to leave reviews?
Google’s policy prohibits incentivizing reviews in exchange for a positive rating specifically; asking for honest feedback generally, without conditioning any reward on sentiment, is acceptable.