Google Review Benchmarks in the UK in October 2025
This article outlines key benchmarks and best practices for managing Google reviews in the UK home improvement and construction industry.
Drawing from Trustmary’s Customer Review Maturity Model, and a dataset of over 3 million reviews from 147,000 companies across 138 sectors, it establishes data-backed performance standards for review quality, volume, and responsiveness.
The article provides practical, measurable review benchmarks, such as maintaining at least 4.5 stars, 30–50 new reviews per year, and 100% response to negative feedback, and offers actionable strategies for collecting, showcasing, and analysing reviews to improve service quality and keep your calendar full.
If you're keen on knowing how you stack up against your local competitors in the UK, benchmark your Google reviews against others with Trustmary's UK review analyser.
Why Reviews Matter for Home Improvement Firms
For companies that offer home renovation, roofing, insulation, or other property-improvement services, collecting and showcasing customer reviews is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic asset.
Drawing on the review-maturity framework from Trustmary’s Customer Review Maturity Model, there are three linked capabilities:
- Collect & monitor customer feedback and review ratings.
- Showcase those reviews (e.g., on the website, Google Business Profile, local directories) to build trust and conversion.
- Analyse and act on feedback to improve the service, reduce negative reviews and boost satisfaction.
In the UK home-improvement sector, where cost pressures, materials inflation, and skilled-labour shortages have put strain on projects, reviews are also a differentiator of reliability and reputation. For example:
- According to the Checkatrade Index, the average building job cost in Q3 2024 was around £12,634, reflecting a 19% jump vs the previous quarter
- Demand for home improvement is under pressure: planning applications fell 27% from the post-pandemic peak.
In that environment, positive reviews help build credibility, command higher pricing, and reduce friction during the sales/quote stage.
Current Google Review Benchmarks in the UK
Although there is no single dataset that captures “average review scores” for every home-improvement firm, we can derive a set of useful business benchmarks to help firms evaluate how well their review strategy is performing.
Market overview
- According to iMarc, the UK home improvement market size reached about USD 14.4 billion in 2024 (≈ £11bn) and is expected to grow to USD 21.6 billion by 2033 at ~4.3% CAGR.
- The “improve-not-move” mindset is growing: homeowners are focused on upgrades and energy-efficient improvements rather than relocating.
- Median homeowner renovation spend in 2024 was approx £21,440, up 26% year-on-year, says Houzz' survey on home owners.
Implications for review benchmarks
From the above market context, home-improvement firms should set targets on reviews that reflect higher trust, given customers’ larger spend and risk (cost, disruption). Some suggested benchmarks:
| Metric | Suggested benchmark for a home-improvement / renovation business in the UK |
|---|---|
| Average star rating (Google Business Profile / equivalent) | 4.5 stars or higher, below this, prospective customers may hesitate, given the project size and cost. |
| Number of recent reviews (past 12 months) | At least 30-50 reviews per location/trader annually (for a business-sized firm) to build volume and recency. |
| Response rate to reviews | Respond to 100% of negative reviews (1-3 stars) within 48 hours; respond to at least 90% of positive reviews within 5 working days. |
| Proportion of reviews with text testimonials + images | Target > 60% of reviews containing a short comment (not just a star) and ideally 20-30% with project photos. |
| Review-collection conversion rate | If you ask 100 closed-projects to review you should aim for >20% completion, with automated follow-up. Refer to the Trustmary “review-strategy” maturity model. |
This about it this way: If you have even five customers per week, and you get a 20% review response rate, you get one review per week.
A year consists of 52 weeks.
Getting one review per week makes you get 52 reviews per year.
Home-improvement-specific Nuance
- Because the home-improvement project cost can run tens of thousands of pounds, people are wary and hesitate to buy from companies they have no experience with. Firms should therefore aim for exceptional review performance.
- The market pressures (labour, materials, energy efficiency) lead to increased service risk and complexity. So even though cost is rising, trust becomes more important.
- Time-recency matters: A 5-star review from 3 years ago carries less weight than one from last month, especially if the business has scaled or changed teams.
Google Review Benchmarks for Home Improvement Services in 2025
Dataset Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total industries (categories) | 138 |
| Total companies represented | 147,283 |
| Total reviews analysed | 3,011,298 |
| Average reviews per company (approx.) | 20.4 |
Each row represents a business type or sector within the wider home-improvement and construction ecosystem, ranging from plumbers and electricians to flooring suppliers and cleaning services.
The dataset contains averages and totals for different star ratings (1–5) as well as maximum values within each category.
The data represents the situation in October 2025.
Distribution of Ratings in the Dataset
| Rating | Average Reviews per Company | Estimated Total Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| 1-star | 1.04 | 152,641 |
| 2-star | 0.15 | 21,463 |
| 3-star | 0.22 | 32,231 |
| 4-star | 0.68 | 100,067 |
| 5-star | 17.00 | 2,504,227 |
Insights
- 5-star reviews dominate, accounting for over 83% of all reviews in the dataset (approx. 2.5 million out of 3 million total).
- 4-star reviews form the next largest group, but are still far behind, just about 3% of total reviews.
- 1-star reviews make up roughly 5%, suggesting that while negative experiences occur, they are relatively rare.
- 2- and 3-star reviews together make up less than 2%, meaning most customers either rate very highly or very poorly, a polarized review landscape.
This pattern reflects strong satisfaction and loyalty in the UK home improvement sector overall, but also shows that customers tend to leave feedback only when experiences are either excellent or notably disappointing.
Sectors with the Most 5-Star Reviews
| Business Type | Avg. 5-Star Reviews | Avg. Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Door shop | 74.19 | 4.62 |
| Window tinting service | 62.65 | 4.84 |
| Carpet cleaning service | 50.21 | 4.87 |
| Lawn mower store | 49.91 | 4.50 |
| Wood & laminate flooring supplier | 49.44 | 4.58 |
These categories show exceptionally high customer satisfaction and loyalty. Carpet cleaning services and window tinting companies top the list with both a large number of 5-star reviews and overall high ratings, suggesting consistent service quality and strong local reputation.
Door shops lead in total 5-star counts, though their slightly lower average rating indicates some variability in customer experience.
Sectors with the Most Reviews Overall
| Business Type | Total Reviews | Average Review Count per Company | Avg. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber | 272,340 | 30 | 4.73 |
| Electrician | 249,639 | 20 | 4.81 |
| Roofing contractor | 185,323 | 18 | 4.65 |
| Heating contractor | 174,344 | 36 | 4.67 |
| Carpet cleaning service | 157,435 | 52 | 4.87 |
The most-reviewed trades are those that serve broad household needs: plumbing, electrical work, roofing, and heating.
These high-volume sectors attract large review counts because of frequent demand and regional coverage.
Despite the volume, their ratings remain above 4.6, showing strong customer satisfaction across essential home-improvement services.
Sectors with the Most 1-Star Reviews
| Business Type | Avg. 1-Star Reviews | Avg. Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Wood & laminate flooring supplier | 6.63 | 4.58 |
| Heating oil supplier | 5.91 | 4.31 |
| Shed builder | 5.41 | 4.52 |
| Lawn mower store | 5.35 | 4.50 |
| Telecommunications contractor | 3.84 | 4.33 |
The categories with the highest share of 1-star reviews tend to involve logistics-heavy or material-dependent services, such as flooring and heating oil supply.
These often reflect delivery delays, installation issues, or after-sales service problems.
Yet, the overall ratings remain reasonably high, indicating that while a small portion of customers had negative experiences, most rated their service positively.
Key Insights of UK Google Review Benchmarks
- Satisfaction remains high: Across all 138 sectors, the average rating consistently stays above 4.3 stars.
- Essential trades dominate volume: Plumbers and electricians generate the bulk of total reviews, providing a strong foundation for industry benchmarking.
- Service quality variation: Sectors handling tangible goods (flooring, oil supply) see more polarity, more 5-star and more 1-star reviews, suggesting high expectations.
How to Use These Benchmarks to Improve Your Review Strategy
Here are practical steps for home-improvement firms to use these benchmarks to elevate their review-game and grow.
1. Audit your current state
- What is your current average star rating on Google, Trustpilot, Checkatrade, etc?
- How many reviews did you collect in the last 12 months? What proportion are from the last 3-6 months?
- What percentage includes detailed comments or project photos?
- Do you respond to every review, positive and negative? Use a process.
- Map where you lie on the Trustmary Review Maturity Model (collect → showcase → analyse) to identify gaps.
2. Set short- to mid-term targets
Based on your audit and the benchmarks above, set realistic goals:
- If you currently have an average rating of 4.2, aim to raise to 4.5 within 9-12 months.
- If you collected only 10 reviews in the past year, plan to increase to 40 per year (increase by 300%).
- Ensure at least 20% of reviews in next 12 months include project pictures (e.g., “before/after”).
- Ensure review requests have a response rate >20%.
3. Optimise your collection process
- At project completion (or shortly after), send a feedback survey with a review request via email/SMS with a direct link to Google Business Profile, Checkatrade, or other relevant platform.
- Make it friction-free: one-click, mobile-friendly, optional photo upload.
- Train your project-managers/foremen to mention reviews during hand-over (live-ask).
- Automate follow-ups: after 3 days, 7 days and if no response after 14 days send a gentle reminder.
- Monitor review-submission metrics weekly and flag low-response projects.
4. Showcase reviews strategically
- Add a review widget on your website’s homepage or project-gallery page
- Use high-impact project quotes in your landing pages, especially “cost-saving”, “on-time”, “professional team” comments.
- Share snapshots of positive reviews (with client permission) on social media and in local business feeds.
- Leverage positive reviews in quote-documents: e.g., “100+ 5-star reviews from UK homeowners”.
5. Analyse feedback & close the loop
- Track key review-metrics monthly: average rating, new review count, % with photo, response-rate, negative-review topics.
- For negative reviews analyse root causes: delays, materials, finish-quality, communication. Use feedback to adjust processes.
- Elevate internal review of feedback into your management system: as per ISO-9001 or quality-management frameworks, reviews should inform improvement plans.
- Use review-data in strategic meetings to inform resource/training/investment decisions.
Trustmary offers an insights tools
6. Use reviews as local-marketing fuel
- Good reviews boost local SEO: Search engine algorithms favour businesses with high review volume, recency, and engagement.
- For multilocation or regional home-improvement firms, segment reviews by area and highlight local projects to build geographic trust.
- Embed Google review stars in paid ads or remarketing campaigns—it builds credibility and often lowers click-costs.
Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them
Here are mistakes I often see home-improvement firms make when implementing review strategies, and how to avoid them:
| Pitfall | How to avoid |
|---|---|
| “We’ll get reviews naturally” | Without a process, many projects finish and the client never thinks of posting a review. Automate review-requests. |
| Responding only to negative reviews | Positive reviews also need responses, it closes the loop and encourages repeat reviews. |
| Leaving older reviews dominating the profile | A stream of recent reviews shows currency. Still highlight older ones in case studies, but keep profile fresh. |
| Ignoring review feedback | Reviews often contain project-insight: delays, communication issues, quality complaints. Use them to improve. |
| Focusing only on star-rating, not written content or photos | A 5-star without comment is less powerful than a detailed photo-review. Ask for imagery. |
Summary & Action Plan
For UK-based home improvement firms, setting a strong review strategy is essential to succeed in a competitive, high-cost sector.
Based on market context and review-maturity best practice, firms should aim for:
- Average rating around 4.5+ stars
- At least 30-50 new reviews per year per location/trader
- 60% of reviews containing comments, and ~20-30% with project-photos
- 100% prompt response to negative reviews, and high response rate to positives
- Clear review collection process built into project-completion workflows
By benchmarking your current state, setting measurable targets, automating feedback and review collection flows, showcasing the feedback, and analysing insights to improve your service, you’ll strengthen your competitive position and convert more leads into customers.
