One of the questions owners ask us most is how many Google reviews their centre needs. It’s especially frustrating when a newer centre nearby seems to show up first on the map, so it’s a fair question to ask.
The honest answer is that there isn’t a set number. Google reviews for childcare centres do play a part in who appears in local results. Google publishes the main factors it uses to decide, and reviews are only one piece of it.
How Google decides who shows in local results
Google explains this on its own Business Profile help page on improving local ranking (checked 30 October 2026). Local results are based mainly on three things:
- Relevance is how well your Business Profile matches what someone searched for. Complete, detailed information helps Google understand what you offer.
- Distance is how far your centre is from the person searching, or from the location they searched for.
- Prominence is how well known your centre is. Google says this is based partly on information from across the web, such as links to your website, and on how many reviews you have and how positive they are.
Google also says plainly that there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Nobody can buy you a spot on the map.
That gives you a useful way to think about reviews. They feed into prominence alongside other signals, while relevance and distance also play a part.
For example, a centre two suburbs away with hundreds of reviews may still not show for a parent searching near you, because it’s too far away. A centre with fewer reviews and a complete, accurate profile can show ahead of one with a half-finished listing. The review count is only part of what you’re seeing.
So, is there a magic number?
There isn’t a magic number. Google doesn’t publish one, and anyone who gives you a number to hit is guessing.
What matters is how your profile compares with the other centres a parent sees when they search in your area. It also matters whether your reviews tell a family what they need to know.
That gives you a better question to ask. When a parent near you searches for childcare, which centres appear, and how does your profile look next to theirs?
Check it yourself
- On your phone, search for “childcare near me” and “childcare [your suburb]” from near your centre. Do the same in Google Maps.
- Note which centres appear in the map results and where you sit.
- For each one, look at their rating, how many reviews they have and how recent the latest reviews are. Then check how complete their profile is and whether they reply to reviews.
- Compare your own profile honestly against theirs.
You’ll learn more from ten minutes doing this than from any benchmark. The centres families actually see are the ones you’re being compared with.
Why Google reviews for childcare centres matter beyond the map
Even if reviews didn’t affect where you appear, they’d still matter. Once a family finds you, your reviews are likely to be one of the first things they read. They want to hear from other parents about the educators, how settling in went, and how the centre communicates.
This matters particularly when families don’t know you yet. Owners we work with tell us that being new or unknown against established brands is one of their hardest problems, and real reviews from real families are one of the most useful things you can build to answer it.
The number of reviews helps, and so does what they say. A review that mentions how a child settled in or how the team kept a parent informed gives the next family something real to go on.
How to build reviews the right way
Google’s tips for getting more reviews (checked 30 October 2026) suggest sharing a review link or QR code with customers.
There are also clear rules about what you can’t do, set out in Google’s prohibited and restricted content policy. Here’s what those rules mean for your centre.
Do
- Ask every family, including those you’re unsure are happy. Google doesn’t allow businesses to selectively ask for positive reviews.
- Send your review link at natural moments, such as after the first few weeks of settling in, at the end of a kindy year or when a family moves on.
- Include the link in your newsletter or parent app, so families can leave a review in their own time.
- Reply to reviews, both positive and negative, politely and without sharing private information. Google suggests this shows families you value their feedback.
Don’t
- Don’t offer a gift, discount or anything else in return for a review.
- Don’t ask staff, their families or anyone connected to your centre to leave reviews. Google treats current or former employment as a conflict of interest.
- Don’t pressure families to leave a review while they’re at the centre.
- Don’t ask families to mention particular things or particular staff members in their review.
Breaking these rules can get reviews removed and can put your profile at risk. The Australian Consumer Law also applies. The ACCC’s guidance on online reviews explains how reviews can mislead families and the action it has taken against businesses.
The rest of your profile matters too
Because relevance and prominence both count, reviews work best alongside a well-kept Business Profile. Google’s own tips include:
- Verify your business.
- Keep your address, phone number, hours and holiday hours accurate.
- Choose the right primary category and fill in the details that apply to you.
- Add real photos of your rooms, outdoor areas and team.
Our childcare local SEO guide goes through each step in detail, including how to check your profile from a parent’s phone.
Links to your website from local organisations also feed into prominence, which is one reason community involvement and sponsorships can help. A good childcare referral program gives your happiest families another way to help, through word of mouth.
Your next steps this week
- Search for childcare in your suburb on your phone and note where you appear in the map results.
- Compare your rating, review count and profile against the centres that show above you.
- Get your review link or QR code from your Business Profile and put it in your next newsletter.
- Agree on one natural moment during each family’s time with your centre when you’ll ask, and ask every family at that point.
- Reply to any reviews from the past few months that haven’t had a response.
If you’d like help working out why another centre is showing ahead of you, our SEO team can take a look. Get in touch with us for a no-pressure chat.
