The Review Gap · How many reviews you needYour path to a better rating.

It solves for the number of new reviews that lifts your average from today's rating to your target. You enter your current rating, how many reviews you have and the rating you want. It assumes new reviews average 4.9 and that 34% of requests turn into a review, our typical rate, then shows the count and how long it takes at your number of jobs per month.

Because customers asked at the right moment, who already chose you, mostly leave five stars and a few leave four. That mix averages near 4.9. Assuming every new review is a perfect five would make the gap look smaller than it is, so the calculator uses the number we actually see.

The replies and the listing, before you ask for more reviews. Answer every review, since future customers read your replies as proof of how you handle problems, and correct wrong hours and details everywhere, because wrong hours generate one-stars. The Review Gap calculator still shows the count you need, so you know the size of the job once requests start.

Only reviews that break the platform rules can be removed. We flag those for removal and answer the rest with a calm public reply. Everything else has to be diluted with new reviews. Gating unhappy customers or offering incentives for good reviews also breaks the rules, and it gets caught.

Not exactly, because each platform counts reviews its own way. Google averages all reviews equally, Yelp filters and weights reviews by reviewer credibility, BBB factors in how complaints were resolved, and Trustpilot uses a Bayesian average. The same lift in rating can take a different number of new reviews on each site, depending on how many you already have there.

It depends on the trade. As a guide, home services earn 8 to 15 reviews per month per location, legal 3 to 6, restaurants 20 to 40, healthcare 5 to 10, and multi-location retail 12 to 20 per location. Recent reviews count for more on the map than old ones, so ten this month beats forty last year.

About forty minutes after the job, by text, with one tap to the review page. Asked then, about a third of customers leave a review, which is why 34% is a good month. Asked a week later by email, under one in ten do. Ask once only: a second ask reads as pressure and costs you the customer.

Usually, with a steady request system. Left alone, most well-run service businesses earn 1 to 3 reviews a month per platform, so a gap of 80 reviews at 2 a month takes 40 months. Asking every customer by text right after the job, and tracking which technician earns them, is what usually shortens that to 6 to 12 months.