Google reviews on your profile

Where the numbers come from

Every imported listing started from public business information: the name, address, phone, category, hours and rating that Google shows for the business. Our sweep records the rating (for example 4.8) and, when Google's card included it, the number of reviews.

On your listing those appear in two places: a small "4.8" with stars near the top, with "(123 reviews on Google)" as a link, and a larger panel further down with the stars, the count and Read the reviews on Google. Search result cards show the stars and rating, with the count when we have one. The rating also goes into your listing's structured data, which is how a search engine can show stars next to your GroomLocator page.

Listings created through Add New Business are not connected to a Google listing, so they show no rating at all.

We never edit them

There is no way for you, or for us, to type a rating in. The dashboard has no field for it, the correction form cannot change it, and a claimed listing keeps receiving Google's numbers on each sweep just like an unclaimed one. That is deliberate: a rating that the business could adjust would be worth nothing to a pet parent, and worth nothing to you.

If a rating on your listing does not match Google, the cause is timing (next section), not editing.

How often they refresh

The numbers change only when our sweep runs. Sweeps happen periodically; they are not a live feed, and the listing does not show when it was last refreshed. If you had a run of new reviews this month, expect your GroomLocator listing to catch up after the next sweep rather than the next day.

A sweep updates the rating and count on your listing without touching anything you have written. Your description, photos, hours, services and service area are yours; the sweep only refreshes the Google-sourced facts.

Why a count can be missing

Many listings show a rating with no review count. Google's search card usually shows the score but not always the number behind it, and the sweep only records a count when the card had one. A missing count is stored as unknown, never as zero, so your listing shows the rating on its own rather than "(0 reviews)". The count appears once a sweep captures it.

If the rating itself is missing, the business had no rating on Google at the time of the sweep, or the listing was created by hand rather than imported.

Where the link goes

"Read the reviews on Google" and the "(123 reviews on Google)" link both open in a new tab, so the reader does not lose your listing. Where they land depends on what we hold for the business:

• With a full Google place ID, the link opens Google's dedicated reviews page for the business.
• Otherwise it opens the business's card on Google Maps, which shows the reviews there.
• If we have neither, the count is shown as plain text with no link.

Either way the reader ends up on Google, where they can read and write reviews. You reply to reviews from your Google Business Profile as usual.

Getting more reviews

The rating is the one thing on your listing you cannot edit, which is why it carries weight. There is a full guide for building a review routine, How to Get More 5-Star Reviews as a Mobile Groomer. The short version: set expectations before the appointment, make the handover as good as the groom, and send one neutral invitation afterwards.