Do review responses help your Google ranking?

Short answer

Yes, in Google's own words — Google states that responding to reviews can improve your local visibility. Replies also add fresh, relevant text to your profile and boost the engagement signals that support ranking.

Why responding helps

• Google explicitly encourages replies as good for visibility.
• Responses keep your profile active and add relevant content.
• Engaged profiles tend to earn more reviews, compounding the benefit.

It's one of the few ranking factors that's entirely in your control and free. Responding to every review — consistently and promptly — is low-effort, high-return local SEO, which is exactly what makes automating it worthwhile.