Owners ask this all the time. Is 20 enough? 50? Do we need 500 like the place down the road?
The honest answer is that the count matters less than people think, and three other things matter more.
What customers actually look at
BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey asked over a thousand US consumers how they read reviews. A few findings shape the answer:
- 97% read reviews for local businesses.
- 74% care most about reviews from the last three months.
- 68% said they would only use a business rated four stars or more, up from 55% a year earlier.
- 89% expect owners to reply.
Put together, that says: recent reviews matter most, the average needs to clear four stars, and replies are expected. Raw volume is a supporting act.
Recency beats volume
A business with 400 reviews, the latest from last spring, looks less alive than one with 60 reviews and five from this month. People read the top few, and the top few are the newest.
So the useful question is not "how many in total" but "how many each month". Aim for a steady flow, not a one-off push.
A simple monthly target
Work back from your customer numbers:
- Count roughly how many customers you serve a month.
- Assume a realistic share will leave a review when asked well. For many local businesses that is somewhere between a few percent and one in ten. Measure your own rate after a month.
- Set your request habit so that, at that rate, you get at least one or two new reviews a week.
For a café serving 2,000 customers a month, even a modest response rate gives plenty. For a kitchen fitter doing eight jobs a month, two reviews a month may be excellent. Compare yourself with similar businesses near you, not with chains.
The four-star line
If your average sits under four, more reviews will help, but only if more customers are happy. Look at what the three-star reviews say. They usually point to one or two fixable things: waiting times, communication, a recurring mistake. Fix those and the average follows.
Never try to lift the average by filtering who you ask. Asking only happy customers is review gating, which Google's policies prohibit and the FTC treats as deceptive. More in review gating is banned.
Replies count as much as reviews
A page full of reviews with no replies tells readers nobody is listening. A page where the owner answers calmly, including the bad ones, tells them a person cares. That is the part you control completely. Our reply templates for every star rating make it quick.
Spread across the places people look
Most customers check Google first. Depending on your trade, they may also check a sector site, such as a healthcare directory or a trades site. Do not chase every platform. Pick the two or three your customers actually use and keep those fresh.
The short answer
- Enough that your newest review is from the last few weeks.
- Enough that your average reflects your real service.
- Every one of them answered.
When you have those, the number takes care of itself.
How Reputfy helps
Reputfy's dashboard shows your monthly review flow, your average over the last 90 days and your reply rate on one screen, across the sites you connect. The forecaster on Professional estimates where your rating is heading. And review requests go to every customer the same way, so the numbers you see are honest.
