The review response rate measures how consistently a business replies to its customers online. It is a simple indicator to track yourself, month after month.
How to calculate it
Response rate = reviews with a reply ÷ reviews received × 100, over a chosen period (month, quarter).
Example: in September, a hair salon receives 24 reviews and replies to 18. Its response rate is 18 ÷ 24 × 100 = 75%. People often track response time alongside it: the average time between the review going live and the reply.
Why track it
- a future customer scrolling the profile sees straight away whether reviews go unanswered;
- customers who took time to write feel listened to;
- an unanswered negative review leaves only the customer’s version visible.
Common mistakes
- counting only negative reviews: the rate covers all reviews;
- chasing 100% with copy-pasted replies: personal replies are better, even if slightly fewer;
- letting reviews pile up for weeks and then answering them all at once.
To save time without sounding generic, start from the review reply templates and adapt them.
Go further
Related terms
Review response
A review response is the public message a business owner posts under a customer’s review, on their Google profile or another platform, to thank, explain or offer a solution.
Google review
A Google review is the rating a customer leaves on a business’s profile: 1 to 5 stars, often a comment and sometimes photos, visible to everyone in Google Search and Google Maps.
Average rating (Google stars)
The average rating is the mean of the stars (1 to 5) customers leave on a business’s Google profile, shown with one decimal next to the total number of reviews.