Yes for local results, and Google says so itself. Its Business Profile help says your local ranking depends on relevance, distance and prominence, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. For your website's normal blue-link rankings, Google hasn't said reviews are a factor.
So the honest answer has two parts. Reviews help you show up in the map results when someone near you searches "plumber" or "electrician". Whether they move your website up the list is unproven.
What Google actually says
On its page about improving local ranking, Google lists three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the searcher) and prominence (how well known you are). Prominence includes information from across the web, and Google says review count and score are part of it.
Google doesn't publish how many reviews it takes. Studies you'll see quoted online describe what the top three results tend to have. That tells you what winners look like. It doesn't tell you what put them there.
What this means for a tradie
Say Dale's Plumbing and a rival in the same suburb both cover the same area, and both profiles are filled out properly. Distance and relevance are close to equal, so prominence is where you can move the needle. More reviews and a better rating are things you control.
Some other things to keep in mind:
- Distance still wins a lot of searches. A tidy profile with 200 reviews in Newcastle won't beat a closer one for someone standing in Cessnock.
- Reviews also work on people, not just on Google. Someone choosing between three businesses on a map reads the stars and the last few comments. That effect is real whatever the algorithm does.
- Recent reviews look more alive than a pile from 2021. Whether Google weights recency is something practitioners argue about; Google hasn't spelled it out. As a reader, you'd trust fresh ones more anyway.
What doesn't have proof
Be a bit sceptical of three claims you'll hear from agencies:
- "Reviews with your keywords in them rank you higher." Google hasn't confirmed this, and scripting what customers say can tip into the territory Google bans.
- "You need exactly X reviews to hit the top three." There is no published threshold.
- "Reviews lift your website to page one." No official source says so.
If someone quotes a percentage, ask where it came from.
What to do about it
Keep it boring and steady.
- Ask every customer, not just the happy ones. Google bans selectively asking only for good reviews.
- Ask soon after the job. Our guide to asking has the scripts.
- Make the link easy. Use the free review link generator and put the QR code on invoices and the ute. Details in Google review QR codes.
- Reply to what comes in. Google's help page on reviews says replying shows customers you value their feedback. A short reply that mentions the job ("Thanks for having us out for the hot water system") reads like a real business.
- Don't buy reviews. It's against Google's rules, and the ACCC's guidance says businesses should not write or commission misleading reviews. See why buying Google reviews backfires.
Tip: Fix the profile first
Reviews won't rescue a profile with the wrong category, a missing service area or the wrong phone number. Check those before you chase more stars.
For the full system, start with how to get more Google reviews. Your Business Profile is the other half of local ranking, and the Google Business Profile page covers what Mitch does there.
Plan: Keep the reviews coming
Local sends the review request 24 to 72 hours after each job and drafts replies for you to edit. See [pricing](/au/pricing).
Browse the rest of the Google reviews cluster.
Get a steady trickle of real reviews
Mitch texts customers who've agreed to hear from you after each job. Try it free for 14 days, no card.