App Ratings and Reviews

The stars and written comments on your app listing, and what really decides the number people see first.

Also known as app store reviews star rating user reviews

Definition

App ratings and reviews are the stars and short comments people leave on your app in Apple's App Store or on Google Play. Most people look at them for about three seconds before they decide to install. That short glance is worth more than any advert you buy.

The star number on your listing is not a plain average of everything ever left. Both stores give recent ratings more weight, and Google Play now shows a score that leans on the last few months and on the kind of phone the visitor is holding. An old flood of five stars does not protect you. A bad month shows up fast.

The second mistake is asking at the wrong moment. A window that begs for stars on the first screen collects the opinion of a stranger. Ask after a small win instead. The order arrived. The booking was confirmed. The class finished. That is when a happy customer will give you twenty seconds. Both stores have a proper way to ask from inside the app, and it limits how often the box appears, so use it rather than a home-made one.

Reply to reviews, including the angry ones. The writer gets a notification, and on Google Play they can change their stars after reading your answer. Plenty do. Everyone else reads the reply and judges how you treat customers. A short, human answer that names the fix beats a template every time. Linkysoft treats this as customer service, not marketing, and puts it in the hands of the people who answer the phone.

Here is the part that surprises owners. One bad release can hold your score down for months. A crash that lasts a weekend can pull in hundreds of one-star ratings, and you cannot delete them. You have to out-vote them slowly with newer, better ones. That is why Linkysoft gives every new mobile app to a small group of real users first, and watches the crash list through the first week the way you would watch a new till. The score does not stay inside the store either. Search results, map listings and ads all repeat the same number, so this work belongs with the rest of your digital marketing and not in a corner on its own.

Questions about App Ratings and Reviews

Can I delete a bad review?
No. You can report one that breaks the store rules, such as insults or spam, and the store may remove it. Otherwise the only path is to reply and earn newer, better ratings.
How many ratings do I need before the stars mean anything?
A few hundred settle the number down. Below about fifty, one upset customer can move you half a star overnight, so early ratings say more about luck than quality.
When is the best moment to ask for a rating?
Right after something goes well. A delivered order, a confirmed booking, a finished session. Never on the first screen, and never while the person is trying to finish a task.
Does replying to reviews really change the score?
It can. On Google Play the person may raise their stars after reading your answer, and many do when the fix is real. Everyone else reads the reply and forms an opinion of the business.
My score dropped after an update. What do I do?
Fix the cause and release quickly, then say so in the release notes and in your replies. The old one-star ratings stay, but recent ones count for more, so the number climbs back over some weeks.

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