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Why Maps can't sort a search by number of reviews
Maps decides the order of a search itself, and you can't switch it to most reviewed first or highest rated first. Its own help for searching on a computer lists filters for price, opening hours and hotel details, and no way to sort.
So one search mixes a business with thousands of reviews and one that opened last month, in an order you didn't choose. To compare them, you need the search as a list, where each business is a row with its rating and review count as numbers.
Maps Scraper Pro collects that list for you. It saves every business a search lists with its Rating and Review Count, and sorts the list as it saves it.
Collect a search, best rated first
Every list Maps Scraper Pro saves comes out in the order set in Settings → Results, and Best rated first is the default. There's nothing to change before your first search.
Step 1: Check how lists are sorted
Open the side panel, then Settings → Results. In the Finding businesses card, Sort businesses offers Best rated first, Most reviewed first and As the site lists them.
- The choice applies to the lists you collect after you change it. Lists already in History keep the order they were saved in.
Step 2: Collect the search
Choose the Chat tab and type the businesses and the place, such as "Find 100 dentists in Dallas". Or search Maps yourself, open the Maps tab and click Collect list, which collects the search to the end of its list.
Step 3: Open the list from History
In the History tab, click View results. The list opens on the results page, where it works like a small spreadsheet.
Step 4: Check the order
A note above the table names the order the list was saved in, such as Best rated first. Click Show the site's order to see it as Maps listed it, and click Show best rated first to go back.
- Over 500 rows, the page shows only the saved order, and your files keep that order too.
How Best rated first weighs a 5.0 from two reviews
Best rated first counts each rating as if it also had 20 reviews of four stars. A few reviews barely move a rating that way, and hundreds of reviews decide it.
So a 5.0 from two reviews scores about 4.09, below a 4.6 from 300 reviews, which scores about 4.56. The sample shows the order this gives six businesses.
| Business Name | Rating | Review Count | Score | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Star Dental Care | 4.8 | 1,204 | 4.79 | 1 |
| Bright Arbor Smiles | 4.6 | 300 | 4.56 | 2 |
| Cedar Loop Dental | 4.9 | 15 | 4.39 | 3 |
| Prairie Light Dental | 4.2 | 2,000 | 4.20 | 4 |
| Maple Row Dentistry | 5.0 | 2 | 4.09 | 5 |
| Riverbend Family Dental | 3.9 | 40 | 3.93 | 6 |
The score is (review count × rating + 80) ÷ (review count + 20). It's fixed, so adding more businesses to a list never changes another business's score.
A business with no rating goes after the rated ones, in the order Maps listed it. When a list has no review counts at all, the stars alone decide, and a 5.0 from a few reviews can come first.
Sort by number of reviews, or lowest rating first
To put the best-known businesses first in every new list, choose Most reviewed first in Settings → Results before you collect. For a list you already have, open it on the results page and click the Review Count header.
The first click on a header sorts lowest first, and a second click sorts highest first. Empty cells go to the bottom either way, so businesses with no reviews never crowd the top.
To see the worst-rated businesses first, click the Rating header once. The SNo header, Toggle row order, clears the column sort and turns the saved order round.
- "Most reviewed first" in chat sorts by Review Count, highest first.
- "Sort by rating, lowest first" puts the worst-rated businesses at the top.
- "Highest rated first" sorts by the plain stars, so a 5.0 from two reviews comes first.
Note: A sort on the results page is a view: reload the page and the list is back in its saved order. A download from the results page, or from chat, keeps the order the page shows.
Keep only the businesses above a rating or review count
With the list open on the results page, tell chat which rows to keep. The other rows are hidden, not deleted, and each filter shows as a chip above the table, with Clear filters to undo them.
| You want | Type this in chat |
|---|---|
| The best-rated businesses | only rating 4.5 or more |
| Established businesses | only review count 50 or more |
| Both at once | only rating 4.5 or more and review count 50 or more |
| Low-rated businesses | only rating under 4 |
| Businesses with few reviews | only review count under 10 |
| Businesses with no reviews yet | only rows where Review Count is empty |
Two filters must both match, because there's no "or". For either of two groups, filter for one and download it, then filter for the other.
Chat can also answer a question about the list without changing it, such as "what's the average rating" or "which has the most reviews". The answer appears in chat, with the business's name for the highest or lowest.
Who to call first, and who could use more reviews
The order you want depends on what you sell. If you sell to busy places, such as cleaning or supplies, sort by Review Count: a business with hundreds of reviews sees a lot of customers.
If you sell reviews, reputation or local SEO help, the other end of the list is yours. Businesses with fewer than 10 reviews, or a rating under 4, have a reason to listen, and getting local SEO clients from Maps covers what to say to them.
For a call list in your own area, finding local business leads goes from the search to the first call. For a client who wants established businesses first, lead lists for clients shows how to shape the file, and for a study rather than a call list, counting your competitors in a city turns the same ratings and counts into numbers.
Sort and filter by rating in Excel
Ratings and review counts are saved as numbers in Excel and CSV files, so a spreadsheet sorts them as numbers, not as text. That's the Save prices, ratings and counts as numbers setting in Settings → Results, which is on by default.
Step 1: Download the list as Excel
On the results page, click Export as and choose Microsoft Excel. The file is named after the list, then the date.
Step 2: Sort by two columns
In Excel, select the table and use Sort on the Data tab. Sort by Review Count from largest to smallest, then add a level for Rating, so businesses with the same count come out best rated first.
Step 3: Add the score Best rated first uses
To sort by the weighted score yourself, add a column with this formula, where column B is Rating and column C is Review Count: =IF(B2="","",(B2*C2+80)/(C2+20)). Copy it down, then sort by that column from largest to smallest.
- An empty Review Count counts as zero reviews, so that row scores 4.0, as it does in the extension.
Step 4: Filter by rating
Use Filter on the Data tab, then a number filter on Rating such as Greater Than Or Equal To 4.5. Excel hides the other rows until you clear the filter.
Exporting a Maps search to Excel covers the rest of the file, from formats to importing it elsewhere.
When the order looks wrong
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A 5.0 from three reviews is at the top | The list was sorted by the Rating column, with a header click or a chat request, which uses the plain stars | Ask chat to reset the view, or click Show the site's order and then Show best rated first |
| Changing Sort businesses didn't reorder a list | The setting applies when a list is saved, so lists already in History keep their order | Sort the open list by a header, or collect the search again |
| A list you asked chat to sort isn't best rated first | A sort named in the request is kept instead of the setting | Collect it again without naming a sort |
| A combined table isn't best rated first | Combining searches keeps the order of the lists it joins | Click the Rating or Review Count header to sort it |
| Show the site's order is greyed out | Over 500 rows, the page shows the list one saved page at a time | Download it and sort it in Excel, or collect a smaller search |
| Every Review Count is empty | Maps showed a limited view without review counts when the list was collected, as it has for browsers not signed in | Open one business's Map URL: if Maps shows its review count there, collect the search again |
Questions people ask
Can you sort Maps by rating?
Not in Maps itself: its search has filters, such as price and opening hours, but no sort. Collect the search with Maps Scraper Pro and the list is saved best rated first, or sort it by the Rating column on the results page.
How do you sort Maps by number of reviews?
Collect the search, then click the Review Count header twice on the results page, so the most reviewed come first. To have every new list come out that way, choose Most reviewed first in Settings → Results.
How do you find businesses with low reviews on Maps?
Collect a search, then ask chat for "only review count under 10" or "only rating under 4". These are often the businesses that could use help with their reviews.
Why does a 5.0 with two reviews come after a 4.6?
Best rated first counts each rating as if it also had 20 four-star reviews. Two reviews barely move that, so the 5.0 scores about 4.09, while a 4.6 from 300 reviews scores about 4.56.
Can it collect the review text?
No. Each business comes with its star rating and its number of reviews, not the text of the reviews. For the reviews themselves you need a different tool; what the extension can and can't do lists every limit like this one.
Why is the Review Count column empty?
Maps didn't show review counts when the list was collected, which has happened in a limited view for browsers not signed in. Open a business's Map URL to check, and collect the search again if its count shows there.