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What do the metrics in Local Falcon's AI-Powered Reviews Analysis Reports mean?

Last updated on 7/24/2024, 4:13 PM

Local Falcon's Overall Review Score (ORS) provides businesses with a comprehensive evaluation of their Google review profile. The ORS was developed based on extensive research into consumer psychology and behavior, aiming to mirror the thought process of potential customers when evaluating a business based on its reviews. By combining the qualitative and quantitative aspects of a business's review profile, the ORS offers a holistic view of how consumers perceive a business's online presence. 

Overall Review Score (ORS): Quality and Volume of Reviews

The ORS is calculated by multiplying the Review Quality Score (RQS) and the Review Volume Score (RVS), resulting in a single percentage value that represents the overall strength of a business's online reputation.  Below, we'll examine each of these in detail.

Review Quality Score (RQS): Star Rating, Response Rate, and Freshness

The Review Quality Score focuses on the qualitative aspects of a business's Google reviews, taking into account three key sub-metrics:

Rating Percentage

The Rating Percentage is based on the business's average star rating, ranging from 1 to 5. We apply an exponential decay function to emphasize the importance of maintaining a high rating. For example, a 5-star rating receives a Rating Percentage of 100%, a 4.5-star rating receives 95%, a 4-star rating receives 80%, a 3.5-star rating receives 50%, and a 3-star rating or below receives 0%.

Responded to Percentage

Engaging with customers by responding to their reviews demonstrates a business's commitment to customer satisfaction and can help mitigate the impact of negative reviews. Responding to every review, whether positive or negative, shows that a business values its customers' feedback and is willing to address any concerns or issues they may have. The Responded to Percentage (of reviews analyzed in the report) rewards businesses that actively respond to a high percentage of their reviews, with a 100% response rate receiving the maximum score.

Review Freshness

The Review Freshness sub-metric ensures that the RQS reflects a business's current performance by giving more weight to recent reviews. Fresh reviews are more relevant to potential customers as they provide an up-to-date perspective on the business's quality and service. We use an exponential decay function with a steep drop-off to calculate the Review Freshness score, with reviews left within the last day receiving a weight of 100%, reviews within the last week closer to 80%, and reviews older than 30 days receiving a very small percentage.

Review Volume Score (RVS): Velocity and Total Reviews

The Review Volume Score evaluates the quantitative aspects of a business's Google reviews, focusing on the frequency and total number of reviews. The RVS is composed of two equally weighted sub-metrics: Review Velocity and Total Reviews.

Review Velocity

Review Velocity measures the average number of reviews a business receives per month, with a maximum score achieved by maintaining an average of 10 reviews per month.

Total Reviews

Total Reviews considers the cumulative number of reviews a business has received, with a minimum of 50 total reviews required to earn the maximum score.

The equal weighting of these sub-metrics reflects the importance of both consistency and overall volume in shaping consumer perceptions. A business with a steady flow of reviews demonstrates ongoing customer engagement, while a high total number of reviews provides social proof and credibility.

The Significance of the Overall Review Score

The Overall Review Score provides businesses with a clear, data-driven understanding of how their Google review profile is perceived by potential customers. 

A high ORS indicates that a business has a strong and trustworthy online presence, with high ratings, active engagement, fresh reviews, and a consistent volume of reviews. This can help attract more customers, benchmark performance against competitors, and identify areas for improvement in customer satisfaction and engagement.

By providing businesses with a comprehensive metric that accurately reflects consumer perceptions, it empowers them to make data-driven decisions.