Answers

How does Google work out your star rating, and do old reviews ever expire?

Ascent Vision · Published October 24, 2026

Google says the review score is the average of all ratings published on Google for the business, on a scale of one to five stars, and that a new review can take up to 2 weeks to show in it. On old reviews, Google's Maps help tells reviewers that a review shows up until they take it down, and names no expiry. The score moves when ratings are added, edited, deleted or removed, and a profile with few ratings moves the most.

What Google's page says

Google's page on review scores says scores run from one to five stars, with five the highest, and that the score is the average of all ratings published on Google for that place or business. The related answers on Google or Yelp reviews and on why Yelp hides some reviews set that beside Yelp, whose own page says reviews it does not recommend "don't factor into the business's overall star rating".

Google's Maps help has a person score a place by clicking the stars and says they can also write a review, which suggests a rating with no text counts toward the average. The score page does not say how the average is rounded for display; as general advice, read little into a small move in the number.

Why one review moves a small profile more

Because the score is an average, each new rating weighs more on a profile with few of them. This is plain arithmetic, not a Google figure:

What changes the score without a new review

• A reviewer edits or deletes: Google's Maps help says a reviewer can edit a review or change its rating after it is published, or delete it.
• Google removes a review: Google says reviews are usually removed for policy violations such as spam, and that those are not restored; the related answer on why Google reviews are missing covers the other reasons.
• A restriction: if Google finds an owner broke its fake engagement policy, it says it may remove those reviews and unpublish existing reviews or ratings for a set period.
• A merge or a big change: Google says merged profiles combine their reviews, and that after significant business changes it might remove reviews that no longer apply.
• Not reviews from other sites: Google says a profile may show them, but its score averages ratings published on Google; for a problem with one, it says to contact that site.

Do old reviews expire?

Google's Maps help sets no timer. It tells reviewers that a review shows up in Google Maps until they take it down, and that the date on a review is the date it was published; if the reviewer edits it, the edit date shows as the post date.

As general advice, the answer to an old bad review is a calm reply and newer reviews from every customer, never a reward: Google strictly prohibits incentives to post or change reviews or to remove negative ones. The related answers on getting a fake Google review removed and on getting more reviews the right way cover reporting and asking.

Sources

1. Google Business Profile Help, "Understand review scores for local places & businesses"
2. Google Maps Help, "Add, edit, or delete Google Maps reviews & ratings"
3. Google Business Profile Help, "About missing or delayed reviews"
4. Google Business Profile Help, "Business Profile restrictions for policy violations"
5. Google Business Profile Help, "Resolve duplicate profiles & ownership issues"
6. Google Business Profile Help, "Move your reviews across Business Profiles"
7. Google Business Profile Help, "About third-party reviews"
8. Google Business Profile Help, "Tips to get more reviews"
9. Yelp, "Recommendation software" (read 2026-10-24)

Related answers

• Which matter more for a service business: Google reviews or Yelp reviews?
• Why does Yelp hide some of my reviews, and can I ask customers to review me there?
• Why are some of my Google reviews missing or not showing up?
• Can you get a fake or unfair Google review taken down?
• How do you get more reviews the right way?