How Google Ratings work: How to get five stars for my business
Google Ratings is a Google service consisting of displaying 0 to 5-star ratings next to ads or places on Google Maps and Google My Business.
These classifications are intended to reflect the overall customer experience with companies and are based on customer's ratings, which may only rank services up to 5 stars and leave a comment on the company as well.
However, to many users surprise, Google does not calculate a simple average of all ratings left by users, which explains why businesses with nine 5-star ratings can have scores of 4.8, for example.
According to the Google My Business page, an overall rating based on user ratings and other factors is calculated to ensure the overall score reflects the quality of the establishment. Google does not explain what these "other factors" are, but there is an explanation.
Google uses its own unique algorithm, which many believe is based on the Bayesian method.
Bayesian Inference is a method of statistical inference in which the Bayes' theorem is used to update the probability of a hypothesis as more evidence or information becomes available. That is, in situations where the sample ratings are reduced, say 6 or 7 ratings, Google estimates the overall rating it would have if it had had more ratings.
That is explained by the fact that the traditional average may not correspond to the reality of the quality of a service. Take the following example:
Company X has six perfect ratings of 5 stars, while Company Y has 98 ratings of 5 stars and some reviews of 3 stars. Is it fair to classify company X as the best service provider? Thus, Google's algorithm calculates an estimated rating until this business receives more criticism.
More and better reviews not only help you improve your ranking in search results, but also allow your rating to be more accurate to existing ratings, rather than relying on Google's estimates and forecasts. Ratings are an indication that your business operates transparently and is reliable, which greatly enhances your image for the public.
You can and should encourage your customers to rate your business. However, please remember that it is not possible to delete reviews already submitted. The only way to undo a rating already made is to contact the person who rated you directly and ask them to delete or modify your review.
