Review signals: a scope boundary and a measurement target.
Review signals are the quantifiable attributes of a business's reviews — count, average rating, recency, acquisition velocity and owner responses — that feed the prominence group of local search ranking factors and influence click-through from the local pack.
Definition
Reviews are the most public prominence signal a local business owns. Rating and count render directly inside local pack entries, so review signals affect both whether a listing is shown (via prominence) and whether it is clicked (via social proof). Recency and velocity capture whether the profile is alive; owner responses signal active management.
Why buyers should care
Review management and review measurement are different scopes. Suites such as BrightLocal include review monitoring and acquisition workflows; focused trackers measure the visibility effect of review work through geo-grid scans. LocalRank (localrank.so) sits on the measurement side, from $29 per month. The comparison maps the boundary; the observation loop is described at how local rank tracking works.
For the parent category, see what is local SEO software.
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Related terms
Local pack · Local SEO · NAP & citations
FAQ
What are review signals?
The measurable attributes of a business's reviews — count, rating, recency, velocity and responses — that contribute to prominence and influence clicks in the local pack.
Cite this entry
Local SEO Compare. "Review signals." Local SEO Compare Glossary, https://local-seo-compare.pages.dev/ (accessed 2026).