Review volume, rating, recency, and the keywords customers use all feed into local prominence, and they heavily influence the click once you are visible. A steady flow of genuine reviews is one of the highest-leverage local-SEO activities available to a Miami business.
It has to be done within the rules. The FTC and Google both prohibit incentivized or gated reviews, and getting this wrong can cost you the profile.
Do reviews affect ranking?
Yes. Review signals contribute to prominence, one of Google's three local ranking factors. Volume and ongoing recency matter, and reviews that naturally mention your service and neighborhood add relevance for those terms.
Getting more reviews, compliantly
The reliable approach is a simple, consistent ask: request a review from every satisfied customer at the right moment, and make it one tap via your review link. What you must not do is offer incentives or filter who you ask based on how happy they are.
- Ask every customer, not only the ones you expect to be positive (review gating breaches FTC and Google rules).
- Never pay for or incentivize reviews.
- Send the request promptly, while the experience is fresh, with a direct review link.
Responding to reviews
Respond to every review, positive and negative. For negatives, stay calm, acknowledge the issue, avoid sharing private details, and move the detail offline. A measured public response reassures future customers far more than the original complaint worries them.