Local SEO Series · Issue 5
Reviews as Currency
Author: Thomas McLoughlin · 22 Aug 2026
Reviews are no longer just social proof. They are ranking signals, AI training data, and the language that appears in answers.
In both the UK and the US, the quality and specificity of reviews influence whether a business is selected. Volume still matters. Specificity and recency matter more.
How reviews are used
Google and answer engines extract themes, locations, service details, and sentiment from review text. Generic five-star reviews that say only “great service” give the systems almost nothing useful. Reviews that mention the specific service, the area, the outcome, or a named team member supply usable information.
Building better reviews
- Ask at the right moment — after a successful job, not months later.
- Make the request specific: “Would you mind mentioning the [service] and how we handled [detail]?”
- Respond to every review, positive or negative, with useful language.
- Monitor for fake or malicious reviews and use the proper reporting channels.
What to Avoid
- Buying reviews or using review-gating tactics that violate platform rules.
- Ignoring negative reviews or responding defensively.
- Focusing only on star rating while neglecting the text content.
- Asking for reviews so frequently that customers feel pressured.
- Leaving old, low-quality reviews as the dominant recent signal.
Actions this week
- Read your last ten Google reviews. Note how many contain specific detail versus generic praise.
- Create a simple, natural request script that asks for specific information.
- Respond to any unanswered reviews.
- Identify the best recent review and note what made it useful.
- Set a weekly reminder to request reviews from completed jobs.
Do this today
Open your Google reviews. Find the most recent five. Count how many contain a specific service, location, or outcome. That number is your current baseline for review quality.