"Friendly" Appears in 11% of Five-Star Google Reviews vs 30.2% for "Recommend"

    Happy customers praise trust more than warmth: 30.2% of five-star Google reviews use the word "recommend" and 20.6% say "professional", while 11% say "friendly". In five-star reviews of roofers, 44.1% say "recommend".

    Five-star reviews by word or topic
    Recommend
    30.2%
    Great
    30.1%
    Professional
    20.6%
    Thank
    13.5%
    Price or cost
    13.1%
    Friendly
    11%
    Amazing
    10.9%
    Fast or quick
    10.8%
    Staff
    10.7%
    Knowledgeable
    7.4%
    Clean
    5.7%
    Helpful
    5.6%
    Honest
    4.7%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 87,332 five-star Google reviews of 9,091 US local businesses · Google reviews, September 2026

    "Friendly" by category
    Dentists
    21.1%
    Veterinarians
    15.4%
    Gyms
    14%
    Pest control companies
    13.6%
    Movers
    13.5%
    Restaurants
    13.4%
    Plumbers
    10%
    Hair salons
    10%
    Daycares
    8.2%
    Roofers
    5.9%
    Real estate agents
    4.5%
    Lawyers
    3.5%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 87,332 five-star Google reviews of 9,091 US local businesses · Google reviews, September 2026

    Source: "Friendly" Appears in 11% of Five-Star Google Reviews vs 30.2% for "Recommend" - Suff Digital