How to check a business's Google reviews before you buy it

A seller's numbers tell you what the business earned. Its Google reviews tell you what customers think of it right now, and whether that's getting better or worse. Here's a due-diligence check you can run in under an hour, before you sign anything.

Why the star rating isn't enough

A 4.5 average can hide a business in decline: years of glowing reviews followed by six months of complaints after a key employee left. It can also hide a burst of suspicious 5 star reviews posted just before the sale. You only see these patterns when every review is in a spreadsheet with its date.

1. Export every review

Get Maps Reviews Exporter. It's free and needs no account.
Open the business on Google Maps, click the extension, set the sort to Newest and click Collect reviews.
Click Export CSV and open it in Google Sheets or Excel. In the file, rating is column I, date_estimated is K, text is M and owner_response is Q.

Do the same for two or three direct competitors nearby, so you have something to compare against.

2. The five checks

Is the rating trending down?

Compare the last 6 months with everything before:

=AVERAGEIF(K2:K,">="&(TODAY()-182),I2:I) versus =AVERAGEIF(K2:K,"<"&(TODAY()-182),I2:I)

A drop of 0.3 stars or more is worth asking the seller about.

Are reviews slowing down?

Count reviews per month with a pivot table (month of date_estimated as rows, count of rating as values). Fewer reviews each month often means fewer customers.

What do recent complaints say?

Filter to 1 and 2 star reviews from the last 12 months and read them all. Note anything that would come with you: the location, parking, the building, a key staff member, a supplier.

Does the owner reply?

=COUNTA(Q2:Q)/COUNT(I2:I) gives the reply rate. A low rate isn't a deal-breaker, but it's an easy win for a new owner.

Any suspicious bursts?

Look for a cluster of 5 star reviews in a short window, especially from reviewers with only one or two reviews (column F, reviewer_review_count). Google removes fake reviews over time, so a business that relies on them may see its rating fall after you buy it.

3. Turn it into questions for the seller

"The rating fell from 4.6 to 4.1 this year. What changed?"
"Several reviews mention long waits since spring. Is that a staffing issue?"
"There were 30 five star reviews in two weeks in March. Was there a promotion?"

Free vs Pro

Free exports 50 reviews per place, which covers the most recent ones. To see the full history, Pro ($24.99 once, no subscription) exports every review and adds star and keyword filters plus a summary with the average rating by month, which is the trend check above done for you.

Updated 2026-10-15.