Google Seller Ratings are the holy grail of all online reviews. Today we're going to start from the ground up, so whether you know a little or a lot, our guide to Google Seller Ratings will be able to teach you a thing or two.
What are Google Seller Ratings?
Google Seller ratings are the stars that appear under a listing for a business in Paid Search/Google Ads.
A business' Seller Rating is aggregated from trusted review sources, including Google Customer Reviews and Google Licensed Review Partners such as Reviews.io.
Only reviews collected from trusted review sources can be aggregated - stars collected from third-party sites such as Facebook will not be counted. The Seller Ratings is there to give searchers an overall picture of your performance and trustworthiness. They give businesses significant advantages in Paid Search Engine Results Pages.
The benefits of Google Seller Ratings
Why are the holy grail of review you ask? Well, they're quite hard to get, for one, but mainly, they have a whole host of benefits for your business.
Google Seller Ratings increase Click-Through Rate
Google Ads can be expensive. So if you're paying for them, we'd advise making the most of that top spot!
See here how Google Seller Ratings will help you to stand out in Google.
Why? Well just imagine. Would you click on a result in the SERPs with gold shiny stars, or without? It's a no brainer.
Not only do they help you stand out and look more clickable, but they 'sing your praises' so to speak. Without having to read anything, Customers can gather an idea of your credibility from the SERPs alone.
The result? Increased Click-Through Rate. In fact, the average is 17%.
Increase your Quality Score
Google gives businesses a 'Quality Score' to work out the Cost Per Click you pay for your ads. A Quality Score is made up of three contributing factors:keywords, landing pages and the Ad itself.
Where do Seller Ratings come into this? Well, Google uses your CTR to help it establish the quality of your Ads.
Higher CTR = Higher Quality Score.
Lower CPC
If you feel like Google Ads is costing you more than it's worth, Google Seller Ratings can really turn that around.
That increased CTR coupled with an increased Quality Score will lower your CPC, getting you more bang for your buck. Google Seller Ratings and Google Ads really do make the perfect team and you'll be amazed at the impact a few little stars have on your budget.
Lower CPC + more conversions = higher profits.
More sales
And when those customers do eventually reach your site, the good news will continue. Unlike Google Ads for businesses without Seller Ratings, your customers will now already have built some trust and confidence in your business, moving them further along the sales funnel. This is great news for on-site conversions too - reviews produce an average of 18% uplift in sales.
Yes. Your potential profits with Google Seller Ratings set up are starting to look real good.
How do you get Google Seller Ratings?
Sounds pretty good, right? There's little not to like about Seller Ratings, but as with all good things, they must be earned. In order to get Google Seller Ratings on your ads, you'll need to:
Collect verified reviews
Google is committed to giving its users the best experience possible. In order to do this, they take trust and transparency really seriously. If you want to bag yourself Google Seller Ratings, you'll need to collect reviews in a way that Google has put its stamp of approval on.
Google only aggregates 'verified' reviews for Seller Ratings. These are reviews that a proof of purchase has been provided for, therefore guaranteeing their authenticity and making them more reliable.
There are two ways to collect verified reviews:
1. Google Customer Reviews
Google Customer Reviews is a free platform that facilitates the collection of feedback from customers that have made a purchase on your site. There are both benefits and drawbacks of using this service, primarily being that it's free and as such, has limited capabilities.
2. Google Licensed Review Partners
Google Licensed Review Partners, such as Reviews.io, on the other hand, give you much more flexibility. Whilst you do have to pay to sign up, the benefits are enormous.
Not only will you get those glorious Google Seller Ratings, but review widgets and extras such as Reputation Management and Competitor Analysis allow you to really take control of your online reputation across the board.
What Are the Google Seller Ratings Requirements?
Collecting alone isn't quite enough, however. In order to be eligible for Seller Rating status, you'll need to:
- Collect at least 100 quality reviews - Often star ratings alone aren't enough. Google wants quality reviews that give valuable insight into your business performance.
- In a 12-month period, per country - the 100 reviews need to be collected for the country the ad campaign is targeted at, and the 12 month period is rolling.
- With an average score of at least 3.5 out of 5.
Google Seller Ratings Update - Aug 2020
You’ll also need to adhere to the latest guidlines around Google Seller Ratings, which prohibit the use of incentives for company reviews and require full transparency from both merchants and review collection providers.
How do you view your Google Seller Ratings?
If your Google Seller Ratings aren't showing, or have stopped showing for a period, don't panic. More than likely, Google is just catching up or optimising the SERPs for its users.
If you want to check your Google Seller Ratings are working, the best things to do is:
Head to the Google Seller Rating feed for your store using the following link: https://www.google.com/shopping/ratings/account/metrics?q=. All you need to do is add the URL of your site to the end (minus the www.) For example, Sports Direct would write: https://www.google.com/shopping/ratings/account/metrics?q=sportsdirect.com.
Are there Businesses that can't collect Google Seller Ratings?
It's worth noting that some businesses will never be eligible for Seller Ratings due to the nature of their business. Review Platforms, for example, are not permitted to show reviews on Google Ads, likewise with Vapeing or Tobacco companies.
Google Seller Ratings are an automatic ad extension, so when you've met the requirements, all you need to do is sit back and relax - Google will do the rest for you.
Why is Google Seller Ratings not showing on my ads?
If Google Seller Ratings aren't showing on your ads, we'd recommend revisiting the list above and ensuring you've met all the requirements.
Additionally, as with most things Google, even when you've done everything that should be done to qualify, you still may be left Seller Ratings-less. We advise waiting up to 8 weeks after meeting the requirements to give Google time to catch up.
Very rarely, a company may never see Seller Ratings on their ads, and sometimes, they may come and go. Google is always trying to optimise and enhance its user experience, and Seller Ratings play a big part in this.
How do you improve your Google Seller Rating score?
If your Google Seller Rating score is teetering around the 3.8 mark and you want to improve it, or, perhaps you have loads of verified reviews, but your score is too low to qualify, we have a few things to help you out.
1. Actively ask
In general, customers that are asked to leave a review are not only willing but will return with positive comments about your business.
If your Google Seller Ratings is flagging a bit, now might be a good time to send out a Review Booster - a review email request to both past and present customers.
This should be more than enough to get some high-quality, verified reviews rolling in and up your Seller Rating by at least a few points.
2. Listen & improve
If you're consistently getting poor reviews from your customers, it's probably time to change tact.
Don't just see reviews as static, but use them for the greater good of your business. Review analysis can tell you a great deal about your business' current weak points and help you improve those areas to generate more positive customer experiences in the future.
Whilst this isn't a solution that will help you turn your Seller Ratings around overnight, in the long run, it will definitely pay off.
How do you remove Google Seller Ratings?
Google Seller Ratings not working out for you? Don't fret. Although they're an automatic extension, you do have some power over them.
Here's what you can do.
How do you turn off Google Seller Ratings?
To turn off Google Seller Ratings, you'll first need to log in to your Google Ads account. From there:
- Click 'Ads & extensions' from the menu, then 'Automated Extensions'.
- On the right-hand side, you'll see a 3-dot menu. Click this then select 'Advanced Options'.
- Now click 'Turn off specific automated extensions' and click the 'Seller Ratings' extension.
- Tell Google why you want to turn off the extension.
Can you delete Google Seller Rating Reviews?
Don't want to stop your Google Seller Ratings from showing completely? Understandable - as we've seen they have so many benefits. Unfortunately deleting individual reviews on Google is tricky, as they are verified reviews, and as a rule, Google does not delete verified reviews.
Why? Well, they've been proven to be from real customers, usually with a receipt of purchase.
For example, here at Reviews.io, a reviews will be sent to Google providing it is:
- From a verified customer of a business with proof of purchase
- Does not contain profanity or other objectionable content
- Does not contain the names of individuals of a particular business
- Factually correct
We must emphasise that is extremely rare that verified reviews are deleted. If you have any concerns about the validity of any review visible on Reviews.io then email our moderation team at support@reviews.io and we will conduct a full and impartial investigation.
If a review is found to be infactual, or does not comply with any of the above general guidelines, it will be removed from our feed. When the feed is then updated in Google, it will be discounted from your seller rating.
Q&A
Below are some common questions people ask about Google Seller Ratings:
Can you show Google Seller Ratings without selling a product on Google Ads?
Yes! Google Seller Ratings are not individual product reviews - they are aggregated company reviews to give an overall representation of your company. Whilst you do need to use Google Ads, you don't need to use Google Shopping.
When do Seller Ratings show?
Seller Ratings can be temperamental and often won't show every single time in the SERPs. In order to increase the likelihood of your Seller Ratings showing, make sure to keep collecting reviews of high quality and high scoring.
How do you activate Google Seller Ratings?
Google Seller Ratings are an automatic Ad Extension - you only need to meet the requirements then they will begin to show.
Why aren't my Google Seller Ratings accurate?
Google Seller Ratings are aggregated from many different sources. Along with Google Customer Reviews and Google Licensed Review Partners, Google may use other sources - such as its own private surveys - to pull in data about the performance of your company.
Q&A
Got questions about Google Seller Ratings? Head over to our website or jump on live chat with one of our advisors.
