Shops near you are rated higher on Google? What it means and what to do

On Google Maps, a customer often sees your stars next to the stars of shops near you. If theirs are higher, many will tap them first. Read your low reviews, fix the real cause, reply to every review, and ask every customer for a review.

Suresh runs a sweet shop in a market lane. His rating was 3.9. He thought that was fine.

Then Pulse showed him the shops near him. Of the 7 sweet shops it compared, 5 were rated higher. Many of his low reviews said one thing: "Stale namkeen."

He had never read them together before.

This is an example, with a made up name and business.

Pulse puts your rating next to similar businesses near you, from their Google listings. It shows a short list by rating, for example: "Of the 7 places we compared, 5 are rated higher."

Pulse is careful here. It compares a rating only when it rests on enough reviews. A rating from a few reviews can mislead, so Pulse shows it but does not compare it.

1. Read your low reviews together. Open your Business Profile and tap Reviews. Read the ones with 1 to 3 stars. Look for the same problem again and again.
2. Fix the real cause in your shop. A rating moves when the experience changes. Words alone do not move it.
3. Reply to every review, in public. Calm and short. No customer's private details. See how to reply to Google reviews.
4. Ask every customer for a review. The same way for everyone. A QR card at the counter makes it easy. See how to get more Google reviews.
5. Look again after a month or two. Run your next check and compare.

Our full guide on how to raise your Google rating goes deeper into each step.

• Do not ask only the customers who look pleased.
• Do not offer a gift or a discount for a review.
• Do not write reviews yourself or pay anyone for them.

Google can remove such reviews. Viabe never writes, buys or rewards reviews.

My rating is 4.2. Why does Pulse say I am behind?

Pulse does not judge your rating alone. It compares it with similar shops near you. If many of them are at 4.5, a customer sees that.

Can I delete my bad reviews?

No. Only Google can remove a review, and only if it breaks Google's rules.

How fast will my rating go up?

Nobody can promise that. A rating changes slowly, as new reviews come in.