Practitioner · Lesson 4 of 4
Online reputation: reviews and search results
About 10 minutes · Yogender Kumar, Managing Partner
By the end of this lesson you'll be able to
- Explain how reviews and brand search results affect conversion
- Calculate how many new reviews it takes to reach a target rating
- Plan a review process that stays within UK rules
Why this matters
Before people buy from a brand they don't know, many search its name and look at the reviews. What they find there affects every channel you pay for, because it decides how many clicks become customers.
The core idea
Reputation shows up in two places.
Reviews on sites like Google, Trustpilot and your own product pages. People read the rating, the number of reviews, and how you reply to bad ones. Google Ads can also show seller ratings next to your ads, once you have enough recent reviews.
Your brand's search results. When someone searches your name, page one should show your site, your review profiles and pages you'd be happy for them to read.
The rules matter here. Since April 2025, UK consumer law bans fake reviews and reviews that hide an incentive, and the CMA can fine firms directly. Google's own policy goes further and bans rewarding reviews at all, and asking only happy customers. You also can't publish only the good ones, or hide the bad.
What you can do is simple: ask every customer, at a consistent point, and reply to every negative review.
Worked example
Brook & Hart is an imaginary UK bed shop, so the figures are illustrative. It has 120 Google reviews with an average of 3.6. Most come from customers who had a delivery problem. Happy customers were never asked.
Brook & Hart starts asking every customer for a review a week after delivery. It emails customers under the soft opt-in, with an unsubscribe link in every message. Say customers who are asked rate it 4.6 on average.
How many new reviews does it take to reach 4.2?
- Current total: 120 × 3.6 = 432 stars.
- After n new reviews at 4.6: (432 + 4.6n) ÷ (120 + n) = 4.2.
- 432 + 4.6n = 504 + 4.2n, so 0.4n = 72 and n = 180.
At 60 new reviews a month, that takes three months.
Brook & Hart also replies to every one-star review within two days, says what went wrong, and explains how it was fixed. Those replies are read by future customers, not just the person who complained.
My view: a steady flow of honest reviews from every customer beats any short campaign. It's also the only approach that keeps you within the law.
Brook & Hart's Google rating
In practice
- Ask every customer for a review at the same point, such as a week after delivery.
- Never pay or reward people for reviews, and never filter out bad ones.
- Reply to negative reviews quickly, calmly and with what you've fixed.
- Search your brand name each month, on a phone, and note what page one shows.
- Fix the problems the reviews keep mentioning. That's where the rating really moves.
Common mistakes
- Only hearing from unhappy customers. If you don't ask, the rating shows your worst days. Ask everyone.
- Buying or gating reviews. Fake reviews break UK law, and rewarding or gating reviews breaks Google's rules. Ask everyone and publish what comes back.
- Arguing in replies. Future customers read them. Stay calm, and say what you've fixed.
Try it yourself
You have 200 reviews averaging 3.8. New reviews average 4.5. How many new reviews do you need to reach 4.1?
Show answer
Current stars: 200 × 3.8 = 760. (760 + 4.5n) ÷ (200 + n) = 4.1, so 760 + 4.5n = 820 + 4.1n. 0.4n = 60, so n = 150 new reviews.
Quick check
Not scored. Pick an answer to see the explanation.
Which of these is allowed under UK rules?
You have 50 reviews averaging 4.0. You add 50 more averaging 5.0. What's the new average?
Key takeaways
- Reviews and brand search results change how many clicks become customers.
- UK law bans fake reviews and hidden incentives for reviews.
- Ask every customer, and reply to every negative review.
- Moving a rating takes a steady flow of new reviews.