The Unexpected Impact of Slow Google Review Velocity on Local SEO

Our Unexpected SEO Adventure After a Month Off

Hey everyone! I’ve got a story to share that’s a bit of an eye-opener about something a lot of us might be taking for granted: Google reviews. Yeah, those little notes from customers that can make our day or… well, not. Turns out, they can do a lot more than just boost our egos or give us feedback.

The Oops Moment

So, my wife and I decided to take a well-deserved break and went off on a month-long vacation to Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. It was great—sun, sea, and a complete digital detox. But back at home, one of our nail salons was running without us, and something slipped through the cracks—collecting Google reviews.

Normally, we’re on top of asking our lovely clients to drop a few words on Google about their experience. We even have these nifty signs and software (KudosQuest) to help with that. But without my wife there to remind our team to nudge our customers, no new Google reviews came in. Yep, for almost two whole months.

The Panic

Fast forward to us coming back. I did a quick check on how our salon was doing on Google Maps and, guess what? We had dropped from being in the top 3 down to number 20! In the nail salon world, that’s like going from a rockstar to a garage band overnight. I nearly had a heart attack.

The Detective Work: Local SEO Audit

I turned into a detective real quick, diving into every possible local SEO audit and check-up you could think of. Everything looked just fine. No big issues anywhere. Except, oh right, we hadn’t had a new Google review in ages.

I called my wife right away, and after our quick panic moment, she got right to it. She asked a customer who was right there in the salon to please leave a Google review.

The Surprise

Now, here’s where it gets weird. After we got that new Google review, I did another check on our rankings the very next day. And would you believe it? Our little salon shot almost right back up to where it was before we went on vacation.

So, What’s the Deal with Google Review Velocity?

This whole thing has got me thinking about something called “review velocity”—basically, how often your business gets new reviews. It seems like Google might be taking this into account more than I thought, maybe seeing a pause in reviews as a sign that a place isn’t buzzing anymore. We’ve known that too-fast review velocity could trigger a spam alert, but it’s an interesting lesson to discover that too-slow reviews may also affect your visibility!

Let’s Chat!

So, I’m curious—has anyone else noticed something like this? Ever seen your rankings drop after a review dry spell? How do you keep those reviews coming in consistently?

Drop your stories or tips in the comments. I’d love to swap notes on this. It’s all about keeping our businesses in the spotlight, right?