Overview: Incremental Review Sync is the primary tool for keeping your review data current. It processes up to 100 locations per run, fetching ALL reviews from each location (paginated up to 500 reviews per location) within a 30-day lookback window. After each run, locations are marked with a timestamp so the next sync processes different locations, rotating through your entire portfolio.

🚨 When to Run Incremental Sync:

Daily Operations: Run sync 2-3 times per day if you manage high-volume locations (restaurants, retail stores, service centers). Each run processes 100 locations and advances the cursor, so multiple runs ensure all locations get refreshed regularly.

Weekly Maintenance: If your locations receive fewer reviews, run the sync 2-3 times per week. For example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. This keeps data fresh without excessive API usage.

After Customer Complaints: If a customer mentions they left a review but you don't see it in ProfilePilot, run the sync immediately for that specific account to pull recent reviews.

Missing Reviews Detected: If you spot reviews in Google Business Profile that aren't showing in ProfilePilot, run the incremental sync. The cursor system will eventually reach those locations, but you can target the specific account for faster results.

New Account Setup: After connecting a new Google Business Profile account, run incremental sync 3-4 times to populate initial review data for all locations in that account.

Monthly Audit: Run a batch of 3-4 syncs at the start of each month to ensure complete coverage across all accounts. This catches any locations that may have been skipped during the previous month.

📋 Step-by-Step: How to Run the Sync:

Step 1: Navigate to the Admin panel by clicking Admin in the left sidebar. (Note: Only admins and campaign specialists have access to this section.)

Step 2: Click on the Integrations tab in the Admin panel. This page shows all sync controls for Google Business Profile data.

Step 3: Locate the "Incremental Updates" section. This section displays three buttons: Incremental Reviews, Sync Review Replies, and Incremental Review Replies.

Step 4a - Sync All Accounts: To sync reviews across ALL accounts in your sync scope, ensure NO account is selected in the account dropdown (it should show "All Accounts" or be blank). Then click the "Incremental Reviews (All)" button. This processes up to 100 locations across all accounts, prioritizing those not synced recently.

Step 4b - Sync Specific Account: To target a specific account (faster for troubleshooting or high-priority accounts), select the desired account from the Account dropdown near the top of the page. The button text changes to "Incremental Reviews (Account)". Click it to sync ONLY that account's locations (up to 100).

Step 5: Wait for the sync to complete. A toast notification appears showing results, for example: "Incremental: 6 reviews from 88 locations for accounts/110267340752190808072". The numbers indicate how many NEW reviews were discovered and how many locations were processed.

Step 6: Run the sync 2-3 more times (click the button again after each completion) to rotate through more locations. Each run processes a different batch of 100 locations. For accounts with 300+ locations, you need at least 3 runs to cycle through all locations.

🔍 Understanding the Results:

"Incremental: 6 reviews from 88 locations" means the sync successfully processed 88 locations and found 6 NEW reviews that weren't already in the database. If you see "0 reviews from 95 locations", it means those 95 locations had no new reviews within the 30-day lookback window—this is normal and expected.

Location Count Varies: You'll notice the location count changes with each run (e.g., 88 → 86 → 92). This is GOOD—it means the cursor is properly advancing and processing different batches of locations. If the number stays the same (e.g., always 99), the cursor may be stuck (contact support).

30-Day Lookback Window: The sync only fetches reviews created in the last 30 days. Older reviews are ignored to save API quota. If you need historical reviews beyond 30 days, use the "Backfill Google Reviews" button instead (see Reviews Sync Strategy article).

Zero Results is Normal: Seeing "0 reviews" doesn't indicate a problem—it just means those specific locations had no new reviews in the 30-day window. Keep running to cycle through other locations that may have fresh reviews.

Review Appears After Sync: New reviews typically appear in the Reputation > Reviews page within 1-2 minutes after the sync completes. Refresh the page to see them. The dashboard metrics update automatically.

💡 Best Practices for Campaign Specialists:

Run Multiple Times: Don't stop after one run! The incremental sync only processes 100 locations at a time. If you manage 400 locations, you need at least 4 runs to cycle through all of them. Schedule time to click the button 3-4 times in succession.

Use Per-Account Targeting: If you notice one account has missing reviews or high priority, select that account and run the sync specifically for it. This is faster than waiting for the global rotation to reach that account.

Create a Sync Routine: Set a calendar reminder to run the sync at consistent times—for example, every Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 9 AM. Consistency ensures no locations go too long without a refresh.

Monitor Location Counts: Keep an eye on the location count in the results. If it varies (88 → 86 → 92), the system is working correctly. If you always see the same number or "0 locations", contact your admin.

Don't Over-Sync: Running the sync more than 5-6 times per day may hit Google's API rate limits. Space out your sync runs—2-3 times daily is ideal for most organizations.

Combine with Reply Sync: After running Incremental Reviews, also run "Incremental Review Replies" to capture owner responses that were posted directly in Google Business Profile. This keeps reply data in sync.

Check Sync Scope: Make sure your admin has configured the Account Sync Scope correctly in Admin > Settings. If certain accounts are excluded from the scope, the incremental sync will skip them.

Document Issues: If you consistently see "0 reviews" across many runs despite knowing reviews exist in Google Business Profile, screenshot the results and report to your admin. There may be an API token or permissions issue.

✅ Quick Checklist:

- [ ] Navigate to Admin > Integrations

- [ ] Select account (for targeted sync) or leave blank (for all accounts)

- [ ] Click "Incremental Reviews" button

- [ ] Wait for toast notification with results

- [ ] Run 2-3 more times to cycle through more locations

- [ ] Check Reputation > Reviews to see newly synced reviews

- [ ] Run "Incremental Review Replies" to sync owner responses

- [ ] Repeat daily/weekly based on your review volume

⚠️ Troubleshooting:

Button is Disabled: If the "Incremental Reviews" button is grayed out, ensure you've selected an account OR that your sync scope includes active accounts. Check with your admin.

Always "0 locations": This indicates no locations match your sync scope or account filter. Verify the account selection and check that the account has locations connected.

Same Location Count Every Time: If you always see the same number (e.g., always 99 locations), the cursor may not be advancing. This was a past bug that has been fixed—if you see this, contact support immediately.

API Errors: If you receive an error like "No Google access token available", your Google Business Profile integration needs reconnection. Go to Admin > Integrations and click "Reconnect Google".

Reviews Not Appearing: After a successful sync, wait 1-2 minutes and refresh the Reputation > Reviews page. If reviews still don't appear, check the location's review URL in Google Business Profile—if the URL is broken, Google may not be providing review data via the API.

For more information on sync strategy (when to use Incremental vs Backfill), see the Reviews Sync Strategy article.