A review response policy worth the time it takes

A specific negative review: always, within 24 to 48 hours, because the audience is the next reader rather than the reviewer. A vague or suspect negative: always, briefly, in the same window, because silence reads as agreement. A positive review with detail: yes, within a week, because it is the one you can quote later. Five stars with no text: optional — a template reply adds nothing.

The audience is the next reader. A buyer comparing three contractors reads the negative review and then reads your reply, and what they are judging is whether you are the kind of business that answers. That is why specificity matters more than warmth: we rescheduled twice because of the storm and should have called you both times is credible in a way we value your feedback is not.

Do not offer anything in exchange for a review or a changed review. Google's prohibited and restricted content policy bars fake and incentivized reviews, and a discount offered in a public reply is visible evidence.

Do not argue — you are writing to the audience, not the reviewer. Do not paste the same sentence under forty reviews, which converts a credibility asset into obvious automation. And do not chase a removal that is not removable: a review is removable when it violates the policy, not when it is unfair.

On the ranking question, precisely. Google's local ranking documentation states that review count and score are factored into local search ranking. It does not publish a figure for responses, and we are not going to supply one. Respond because the next reader is reading, which needs no study.