You search Google Maps for "dentist in Leeds" and get a long scroll of results. Some have 4.9 stars from hundreds of reviews, some have 3.1 from a handful, and some have no rating at all. When you are prospecting, that spread matters. A business with weak reviews needs different help than one with a strong reputation and a dated website.
This guide covers one job: narrowing Google Maps results by star rating, then using that filter to build a lead list you can actually work through.
Filter by rating on desktop
Google changes its interface from time to time, so button names may shift slightly, but the flow has been stable for a while.
- Open Google Maps in your browser and search a keyword plus a place, such as "florist Manchester".
- Look at the row of filter chips under the search box. You should see options like Rating, Hours and sometimes Price.
- Click Rating and pick a minimum, such as 3.5+, 4.0+ or 4.5+.
- The results list and map refresh to show only places at or above that rating.
- Move or zoom the map and click Search this area if the results do not update for the new area.
If you do not see the Rating chip, try a more general category keyword. Filters appear for place types Google treats as businesses with reviews, and very specific or unusual searches sometimes show fewer chips.
Filter by rating on your phone
- Open the Google Maps app and run your search.
- Swipe through the chips under the search bar and tap Rating (on some versions it sits inside a Filters or More filters panel).
- Choose the minimum star level and apply.
The phone is fine for a quick look. For prospecting, desktop is easier because you can open listings in new tabs and copy details.
The limits of the built-in filter
The Maps filter only sets a minimum. There is no built-in way to show only businesses rated 3.0 to 3.9, and no filter for review count. That creates two problems for lead generation:
- You cannot target low ratings. If you sell reputation management or review generation, the businesses you want are the ones the filter hides.
- Ratings without volume mislead. A 5.0 from three reviews tells you little. A 4.3 from 400 reviews tells you the business is busy and established.
- The list is capped. Maps shows a limited set of results per search, so large cities get cut off. Searching smaller areas or neighbourhoods one at a time helps.
So treat the filter as a quick sort, not the whole method.
Match the rating band to your offer
Decide which ratings you want before you search. A rough guide, to adjust for your market:
| Rating band | What it often suggests | Offers that may fit |
|---|---|---|
| No rating or very few reviews | New or barely online | Google profile setup, local SEO, review requests |
| Below 4.0 | Visible reputation problems | Review management, customer experience, reply services |
| 4.0 to 4.5 with many reviews | Steady, busy business | Websites, ads, booking systems, copywriting |
| 4.6+ with many reviews | Strong brand, likely growing | Expansion, hiring, premium services |
These are starting assumptions, not facts about any single business. Always look at the listing before you write. If you run an agency, the guide on getting clients for an SEO agency goes further into which signals point to a real need.
A manual workflow you can do today
You can build a small, targeted list with nothing but Maps and a spreadsheet.
- Pick one niche and one area. "Hotels in York" beats "hotels in the UK".
- Apply the rating filter at the floor that fits your offer, or leave it off if you want low-rated businesses.
- Open each listing and note business name, rating, review count, website, phone and category.
- Read the three most recent reviews. They show current problems, which give you a real opening line.
- Check the website. Slow, broken or missing sites are useful signals.
- Add a short note column with the one specific thing you noticed.
- Sort your sheet by rating, then by review count, and start with the best fits.
Aim for a list you can personalise properly. Twenty businesses you actually researched usually beat two hundred you did not.
Scaling it without copying by hand
Copying listings one by one gets slow past a few dozen. A scraper lets you pull the same results with ratings and review counts included, so you can filter in either direction and by volume.
In GetClient, the Google Maps scraper searches live by keyword and location, and you can run several keywords and cities at once. Leads can include name, category, address, phone, website, emails found and, where public, the owner's name with a confidence score. You save them to folders in My Leads, verify emails, and send a campaign from your own Gmail or SMTP account in the same place, without exporting between tools. New accounts get 100 free credits; see plans and credits.
Whatever tool you use, keep the rating band as a segment. Then write to each segment differently. A message to a 3.6-star restaurant about review replies should not read like one to a 4.8-star spot about opening a second site. For the bigger picture of working a local area, see local lead generation.
Use the rating in your outreach carefully
Mentioning a rating can work, but tone matters.
- Do not open with criticism. "Your 3.4 rating is hurting you" reads as an attack. Mention a specific recent review theme and how you would help.
- Compliment real strengths. For highly rated businesses, reference what customers praise.
- Keep it short and specific. One observation, one offer, one simple question.
If you are new to writing these, start with the basics of cold email, and check your sending volume against how many cold emails per day you should send. Rules on emailing businesses differ by country, so check the ones that apply to you and always offer a clear way to opt out.