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Definition

Review velocity

The rate at which a business accumulates new reviews — typically measured as new reviews per month — and a key signal in Google's local search ranking.

Review velocity is the speed at which fresh reviews land on a business profile. A business with 200 reviews collected over five years ranks worse in local search than a business with 50 reviews collected in the last six months — Google's algorithm weights recency heavily because fresh reviews are a stronger signal of an active, currently-operating business than old ones.

Practical implications: a steady drip of 8-12 new reviews per month outperforms a one-time push of 50 reviews. Any review-collection system should be designed for sustainability over months, not for sprints.

Review velocity also affects how reviews are displayed. Recent reviews appear first; older negative reviews get pushed down the list as new positive ones land. This is why ongoing review collection matters even for businesses that already have a 4.8-star average — without velocity, the business loses local-search position to competitors who keep collecting.

See also

Related terms

Google Business Profile

Google's free business listing product — formerly Google My Business — that controls how your business appears in Google Search and Google Maps.

Online reputation management

The practice of monitoring, influencing, and responding to what's said about a business across review sites, social media, and search results.

Review routing

A review collection method where customers are invited to leave a public review on the platform of their choice (Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.) — and unhappy customers are also offered a private feedback channel as an alternative they can opt into.

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