Google Star Rating
The 1-to-5-star average of your Google reviews, shown next to your business name in Search and Maps.
What it means
Your star rating is the average of every star score customers have given your business in Google reviews, shown to one decimal place (4.7, say) next to your review count. Every review counts toward it, including ones with stars but no written text.
Because it's an average, one new review moves it a lot when you have only a few, and barely at all once you have hundreds.
Why it matters
The rating is one of the first things a customer sees, and many people skip businesses below about four stars without reading further. Google lists rating together with review count as part of prominence, one of the three things its local results weigh.
In a lot of local markets, though, most of the businesses showing up already sit between 4 and 5 stars. When everyone is at 4.6 to 4.9, the rating does less to separate you from competitors than the number of reviews behind it, and does more to help the customer choose once they've found you. Recent, specific reviews and your replies to them usually tell a customer more than the tenth of a star.
ask datanephew
Can datanephew show my rating next to my competitors'?
Yes, as Premium Research. A Maps rank check returns the businesses showing up for a search you name at each spot you choose, with each one's rating and review count. Your own reviews and rating are free to read once your Business Profile is connected.
Why did my rating drop when I didn't get a bad review?
Usually because a good review was removed: Google takes down reviews it decides break its policies, and a customer can delete their own. Ask datanephew to compare your current reviews with an earlier read to see what changed.