Frequently asked questions on G2 algorithm
How many reviews are needed to be included in a live Grid® Report?
To be eligible for inclusion on a G2 Grid®, a product must have at least 10 verified reviews within that specific category.
- Category Minimums: For a category to generate a full "Index Report" (a deeper dive beyond the Grid), the entire category must have at least 150 reviews across all competing products, with at least six of those products having 10+ reviews.
- Quarterly Snapshots: While the website Grid updates in real-time, G2’s Seasonal Reports (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) are snapshots. To be included in a seasonal PDF report, you must hit the 10-review threshold before the "content cutoff" date for that quarter.
How are the Satisfaction and Market Presence scores calculated?
The algorithm plots products on the Grid based on two axes:
- Satisfaction: This score is derived primarily from user reviews. It isn't just a 1–5 star average; the algorithm looks at "Likely to Recommend" scores, the depth of the review, and specific satisfaction attributes (like Ease of Use and Quality of Support).
- Market Presence: This score represents the "size" and "influence" of the vendor. It combines G2’s internal data (review volume and velocity) with external signals such as employee count (from LinkedIn), social presence, and web traffic (via Similarweb). Large companies with massive reach will naturally have higher Market Presence, even if their Satisfaction score is lower.
What is "Review Decay" and how does it affect rankings?
G2 views a review from three years ago as less relevant than a review from three weeks ago. To reflect this, they apply a decay algorithm:
- The Timeline: Reviews maintain their full "weight" for the first 90 days. After that, they gradually lose influence over time.
- The "Cliff": After 18 months, the rate of decay accelerates significantly. By the three-year mark, a review retains only about 3% of its original scoring power.
- The Strategy: This is why "review velocity" (getting a steady stream of new reviews) is more important than having a large total volume of old reviews. One fresh review can often "outweigh" dozens of outdated ones in the satisfaction calculation.