How to Qualify Local Leads Using Google Ratings and Reviews

Not every business on a map is worth contacting. The fastest way to improve reply rates is to spend your time on the prospects most likely to need what you sell. Google Maps listings contain a surprising amount of information that helps you do exactly that, if you know how to read it.

Review count: a rough measure of size and activity

The number of reviews is one of the best public proxies for how busy a local business is. A restaurant with 2,000 reviews serves far more customers than one with 40. For many B2B offers, a mid-range review count is the sweet spot: big enough to have a budget, small enough that the owner still reads their own email.

Compare review counts within a category, not across categories. Plumbers naturally get fewer reviews than coffee shops.

Rating: a signal of need

The star rating tells you how customers feel, and it can point to specific needs:

• Below 4.0 in a competitive category often means reputation problems. Great prospects for review management, customer service training or operations software.
• 4.5 and above usually means a healthy business that may be ready to grow. Good prospects for marketing, expansion or booking tools.

Review content: their problems in customers' words

Read a few recent reviews. Repeated complaints about long waits, unanswered phones or confusing booking point straight to problems you might solve. Repeated praise tells you what the business is proud of, which is a good way to open a friendly email.

Owner replies: how engaged is the owner?

Businesses whose owners reply to reviews, especially negative ones, care about their online presence. They are often more receptive to marketing and technology offers. No replies at all may indicate a busy owner who would value having someone handle it for them.

Category and attributes

The primary category tells you what the business considers its core service, which is not always what the name suggests. Attributes like "online appointments," "women-owned" or "wheelchair accessible" can also help you personalize your message or filter your list.

Website and hours

A listing with no website, missing hours or very few photos suggests a business that has not invested in its online presence. That is a strong signal for web design and local SEO agencies. See how agencies find clients on Google Maps.

Turn signals into a simple score

Give each prospect a few points for each signal that matches your ideal customer, then work the list from the top. Even a rough score focuses your effort on the businesses most likely to reply. For the full process, read how to build a targeted B2B lead list.