DEV Community

Yasir Khan
Yasir Khan

Posted on

How Google Reviews Impact Local SEO (and How I Built a Tool Around It)

#webdev #programming #javascript #react

When most people think of Google SEO, they imagine keywords, backlinks, and blog posts. But for local businesses (restaurants, plumbers, salons, clinics, etc.), Google Reviews can be the deciding factor in whether they show up first on Google Maps — or get buried by competitors.

As a developer who’s also into SEO, I wanted to see if I could build a tool that helps local businesses improve their review process. The result is GoogleReviewBoost
— a SaaS that generates review links, automates email requests, and tracks customer engagement.

This post is a mix of:

Why Google Reviews matter for local SEO

How developers can spot marketing problems worth solving

How I built a real-world tool around it with Next.js, Prisma, and Resend

  1. Why Google Reviews Matter for Local SEO

Trust signals: According to BrightLocal, 87% of consumers read reviews before choosing a local business.

Ranking factor: Google’s local ranking algorithm takes into account both the quantity and quality of reviews.

Click-through rates: Businesses with more ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews get more clicks from Google Maps results.

👉** In short:** more good reviews = more local visibility = more customers.

The challenge? Most businesses struggle to consistently ask for reviews. Staff forget, customers forget, and opportunities slip away.

  1. Where Devs Can Step In

This is a classic case where developers can solve a marketing problem with software:

Pain point: Businesses don’t know how to ask for reviews.

Dev solution: Build a tool that generates a direct Google review link.

Pain point: Business owners forget to follow up.

Dev solution: Add automated email reminders.

Pain point: Owners don’t know if customers opened their request.

Dev solution: Add open & click tracking.

These might sound small, but together they solve a real revenue-impacting problem for thousands of businesses.

3. How I Built GoogleReviewBoost

For fun (and as a side project), I decided to build this into a working SaaS. Here’s the tech stack:

Frontend: Next.js 15 + TailwindCSS → responsive, fast, modern UI

Backend: Next.js API routes + Prisma ORM

Database: PostgreSQL (Vercel Postgres)

Authentication: NextAuth (Google OAuth + email/password)

Email Service: Resend API (sending + tracking)

Analytics: Pixel tracking for opens, redirect tracking for clicks

A. Review Link Generation (Google Places API)

I used the Google Places API to let users search their business by name and instantly generate the correct review link.

Pseudo-code:

// /api/search-business
const response = await fetch(
  `https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/findplacefromtext/json?input=${businessName}&inputtype=textquery&fields=place_id,name&key=${process.env.GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEY}`
);

const data = await response.json();
const placeId = data.candidates[0].place_id;
const reviewLink = `https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=${placeId}`;
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

B. Automated Email Campaigns

Using Resend, I built a scheduler that sends 3 follow-up emails:

Day 0: Initial review request

Day 1: Reminder

Day 2: Final follow-up (if no click)

await resend.emails.send({
  from: "reviews@myapp.com",
  to: customerEmail,
  subject: template.subject,
  html: template.content.replace("{reviewLink}", reviewLink),
});
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

C. Tracking Engagement

I generate unique tokens for each email → inserted as tracking pixels and link redirects.

Open → image load

Click → redirect through /api/tracking/:token

This gave businesses a mini dashboard to see:

Who opened the email

Who clicked the review link

Campaign success rates

4. Lessons for Devs

Find boring problems. Asking for reviews isn’t glamorous, but it’s a real pain point for business owners.

Marketing + Dev = SaaS opportunities. You don’t need to invent AI or blockchain. Sometimes automating emails is enough to build something valuable.

Ship early. I launched GoogleReviewBoost
with a free version first (link generator), then layered on paid features (automation, tracking).

  1. Final Thoughts

Google Reviews are more than just stars — they’re a local SEO powerhouse. Businesses that can collect them consistently will outrank competitors.

For developers, this is a reminder: some of the best SaaS ideas come from crossing dev skills with marketing knowledge. If you can bridge that gap, you can build tools that provide real-world impact.

If you’re curious, you can try the live version here: 👉 GoogleReviewBoost

Top comments (0)