What’s more important, review quantity or quality? The simple answer is – both, and that’s precisely what our latest update is all about. Based on your feedback, we’re changing the way listings are ranked when sorted by Reviews. Here’s how it works.
What’s changed?
When customers used to sort listings in your area by “Review score”, they would get a list of all the 5 star listings, sorted by most reviewed first. All the 4.9- star listings would follow, trailed by those with 4.8 and so on. Why was this an issue?
Sorting by “Review score” meant that a 5.0-star listing would rank higher than a 4.9-star listing, regardless of how many reviews each had. In other words, you could have a 5.0 listing with 2 reviews ahead of a 4.9 listing with 50 reviews.
Our latest update takes the number of reviews into the equation.
Now, captains who have shown continued excellence of service will finally get the recognition they deserve. This also means that one unsatisfied customer can’t hurt you as much if you’ve already proven your worth through tens of positive reviews.
But what about the new guy? The review sorting will continue to look at your review score, even if you’ve just had a couple of reviews. As you earn more and more reviews, your listing’s position will become more and more stable. And before you ask – no, this won’t be done randomly.
How does it work?
The sorting relies on what’s called a Bayesian Approximation, a trusted statistical model that relies on calculated confidence to rate products online. Not to bore you with the technicalities, let’s take a look at a few concrete examples.
Example 1
Listing A:
- 5x 5-star reviews
- Average rating: 5.0
- Total reviews: 5
Listing B:
- 50x 5-star reviews, 1x 1-star reviews
- Average rating: 4.92
- Total reviews: 51
Despite a slightly lower average score, Listing B has more than 10x as many reviews as Listing A. This is why Listing B will rank higher when sorted by Reviews.
Example 2
Listing A:
- 5x 5-star reviews, 2x 4-star reviews
- Average rating = 4.71
- Total reviews: 7
Listing B:
- 15x 5-star reviews, 25x 4-star reviews, 2x 1-star reviews
- Average rating: 4.21
- Total reviews: 42
Here, the difference in the review scores is even higher – 4.71 vs 4.21 in favor of Listing A. However, Listing B’s 42 reviews carry more weight than the 7 reviews on Listing A. Listing B wins.
Example 3
Listing A:
- 11x 5-star reviews
- Average rating: 5.0
- Total reviews: 11
Listing B:
- 10x 5-star reviews, 1x 4-star review
- Average rating: 4.9
- Total reviews: 11
The average review score still plays a factor, especially when listings have similar numbers of reviews. In this case, Listing A wins.
Reviews play a huge role in how customers will see you. Now, getting as many as you can will be more important than ever. Want more reviews? Check out these tips from FishingBooker’s most often reviewed captains.
FAQs
Got any more questions about how sorting by Reviews works? Feel free to post below!
