Review velocity.In plain English.

Google doesn't name review velocity as a ranking factor. What it does say is that more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, so velocity is best used as a habit to track: are new, genuine reviews arriving every month?

Bursts are a risk. Google's content policy treats unusual volumes or patterns of reviews that look like rating manipulation as fake engagement. For violations it may stop a profile receiving new reviews for a set period, unpublish existing reviews, or show customers a warning that fake reviews were removed.

Expect some lag. Google says a new review can take up to 2 weeks to change the review score, and that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy to customers.

Yelp's recommendation software may not recommend reviews from less active users, so a Yelp page fills more slowly whatever you do.

Asking every customer at the right moment produces a natural, steady pace without incentives or fake reviews.

Example: a roofer who asks every customer on the day the job is finished gets four or five reviews a month all year, instead of 30 in one week after a review push.