Understanding how customer reviews influence the ranking of Airbnb listings can significantly affect your success as a host. Ever wondered about the magic number of reviews that can give your property the best chance of landing on Airbnb’s first page? Well, we’ve crunched the numbers and have some fascinating insights to share.
Pssst! If you are more of a video person, check out the short video breakdown of this study on YouTube HERE
IntelliHost’s Analysis
Deciphering Airbnb’s search ranking algorithm can seem daunting. A commonly asked question is: how many reviews does a property need to rank high in search results? We’ve delved deep into this question by analyzing 4,000 properties and over 150,000 data points.
The purpose? To understand the relationship between the number of reviews a property has and its rank, also known as the first page impression rate.
Breaking It Down
In this study, we scrutinized the average first page impression rate for properties based on their review count. We expected some correlation, but the outcome provided intriguing insights that property owners will find valuable.
One might assume that a property with only one review would struggle to rank, but our findings suggest otherwise. Remarkably, properties with just one review have an average first page impression rate of approximately 36%.
This figure is higher than anticipated, signifying that even a single review can positively influence a property’s rank.
As the number of reviews increase, so does the average first page impression rate – but only to a certain point. We noticed a rapid increase initially, but this increment slowed down and eventually plateaued at around 46%.
The Magic Number
Here comes the revelation. It only takes about 27 reviews for a property to reach this 46% first page impression rate. This means that 90% of the benefit derived from garnering additional reviews occurs by the time you’ve collected 27.
While additional reviews are always beneficial, their incremental value diminishes after this magic number.
Conclusion
So, what’s the magic number of reviews you need to optimize your Airbnb listing’s first page impression rate? Based on our extensive data analysis, the answer is 27.
This is a fascinating insight for property owners aiming to improve their Airbnb listing’s rank. It underscores the importance of garnering reviews and highlights that even a modest number can significantly impact visibility.
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If you’re a host or property manager who wants to optimize your listings on Airbnb, then you might want to know about IntelliHost’s 30-day free trial (no credit card required). With IntelliHost you get all the needed metrics and data for improving your listings, and making educated changes that actually improve your revenue.