How To Get Organic Stars in Google With Review Rich Snippets

Alla Avgustinov

September 22, 2017

3 min read

We talk about stars in Google a lot here at Reviews.io, and for good reason - they can save you money on ads, increase your CTR, help you rise above your competitors and much more besides. The question, though, is how do you get them? Today we're going to show you exactly how to get organic stars in Google using clever Review Rich Snippets.

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What are organic stars?

Simply put, organic stars are an easy way to display review ratings in Google’s organic search results. Unlike paid stars in Google Ads – which require at least 100 verified reviews within a 12-month period from a Licensed Review Partner – organic stars have fewer restrictions.

Organic stars appear as the star rating you see beneath a website's listing in Google’s organic search results.

These ratings are pulled from structured review data on a website, often from platforms like REVIEWS.io, and can enhance a brand’s visibility and credibility.

But how do you get them to show?

What are Review Rich Snippets?

'Rich snippets' is a term used to describe the structured data which can be added to your web page's HTML.

Rich snippets allow a search engine - in this case, Google - to "read" your webpage and understand the type of information you're presenting. This can be done with all sorts of things, including authors, recipes and events - you've probably seen these types of listings in the SERPs yourself.

Review Rich Snippets are used on your website to tell Google that the content featured there is review-based. They're a specific type of snippet and contain review-specific information such as product SKU, star rating and a review comment. Google reads this content from your HTML and uses it to generate organic stars. Google will then take this information and display it underneath your product URL in the form of star-ratings.

Google will generally crawl your site every 7-14 days, so if you implement Product Review Rich Snippets, they will soon be detected by Google, making this a pretty quick and easy win.

Benefits of Review Rich Snippets

Implementing Review Rich Snippets offers several key advantages for your website's visibility and performance:

Higher Click-Through Rate (CTR): Users are more likely to click on search results that display star ratings, making your listing more attractive.
Improved Trust & Credibility: Seeing star ratings increases consumer confidence in your business or website, making them more likely to engage.
Better Search Visibility: Rich Snippets help your website stand out in competitive search engine results pages (SERPs).
Potential Indirect SEO Benefits: Increased engagement and click-through rates can lead to improved rankings over time.

By leveraging Review Rich Snippets, you can enhance your search presence, build credibility, and ultimately drive more traffic to your site.

Setting up Product Review Rich Snippets

There are two ways to implement Product Review Rich Snippets:

1. Manually Editing Your HTML

If you have development experience, you can manually add structured data to your website’s HTML using Schema.org markup. Here’s how:

Step 1: Choose the Right Schema Markup

Use the Product schema for product reviews.
Ensure the markup includes required fields like name, review, rating, and author.

Step 2: Add Code to Your Product Pages

Insert the necessary review details within your page’s HTML.
Make sure each product page has unique and correctly formatted structured data.

Step 3: Validate Your Code

Use Google’s Rich Results Test to check for errors.
Ensure all required fields are included.

Step 4: Monitor Google's Crawling

Google typically indexes changes within 7-14 days.
Use Google Search Console to track rich snippet performance.

2. Using a Review Platform

For an easier, no-code approach, you can use a review platform like REVIEWS.io that provides pre-built widgets to automate the process.

Step 1: Choose a Rich Snippet-Compatible Widget

Ensure your review widget supports structured data markup.
REVIEWS.io provides widgets designed for Google-friendly review snippets.

Step 2: Install the Widget on Your Product Pages

Embed the widget code directly into your product template.
Most platforms offer simple copy-paste installation.

Step 3: Check for Proper Implementation

Use Google’s Rich Results Test to verify your snippet is working.

By following these steps, you can successfully display product review stars in Google’s organic search results.

If you have a team of developers on hand, it may be relatively easy for you to implement Review Rich Snippets yourself. However, what's often easy, less time-consuming and provides a cleaner, more polished result is using widgets provided by Review Platforms. The widgets will do all the work for you and often be stylised to make your reviews look pretty too.

It's worth noting that you'll need a Product Review Rich Snippet compatible widget.

Review Rich Snippets rules

Since September 2019, Google's criteria for Rich Snippets on your site are listed in their Webmasters blog post.

Here's what Google have to say about it:

While, technically, you can attach review markup to any schema type, for many types displaying star reviews does not add much value for the user. With this change, we’re limiting the pool of schema types that can potentially trigger review rich results in search. Specifically, we’ll only display reviews with those types (and their respective subtypes):

schema.org/Book
schema.org/Course
schema.org/CreativeWorkSeason
schema.org/CreativeWorkSeries
schema.org/Episode
schema.org/Event
schema.org/Game
schema.org/HowTo
schema.org/LocalBusiness
schema.org/MediaObject
schema.org/Movie
schema.org/MusicPlaylist
schema.org/MusicRecording
schema.org/Organization
schema.org/Product
schema.org/Recipe
schema.org/SoftwareApplication

Self-serving reviews aren't allowed for LocalBusiness and Organization
Reviews that can be perceived as “self-serving” aren't in the best interest of users. We call reviews “self-serving” when a review about entity A is placed on the website of entity A - either directly in their markup or via an embedded 3rd party widget. That’s why, with this change, we’re not going to display review rich results anymore for the schema types LocalBusiness and Organization (and their subtypes) in cases when the entity being reviewed controls the reviews themselves. Add the name of the item that's being reviewedWith this update, the name property is now required, so you'll want to make sure that you specify the name of the item that's being reviewed.

What this essentially means is that, at least organically, Google have moved away from company review snippets and given more weight and value to product review rich snippets.

You can of course still get company review stars against your paid (Google Ads and Google Shopping) search results, but you'll need to used a licensed and closed review platform, like Reviews.io.

Best Practices for Getting Google to Show Review Stars

Implementing Review Rich Snippets doesn’t guarantee that Google will display review stars in search results.

To improve your chances:

Ensure review data is authentic and not manipulated – Google prioritizes trustworthy content. Fake or incentivized reviews can lead to penalties.
Collect and display genuine customer reviews – Reviews should reflect real customer experiences and include an average rating.
Use correct schema markup – Whether for businesses, products, or services, ensure you're using the appropriate structured data format.
Ensure structured data is implemented correctly across your site – Inconsistent or incorrect markup can prevent Google from recognizing your review data.
Regularly test and validate your schema markup – Use Google Search Console and the Rich Results Test to identify errors and confirm that review snippets are eligible to appear in search results.

By following these best practices, you increase the likelihood of Google displaying review stars for your pages.

How to test your Review Rich Snippets

Reviews Rich Snippets are only going to work if Google can read them. We always recommend testing your Rich Snippets to ensure you reap their benefits. Testing is relatively easy to carry out in two ways.

Check Your Code - One reason rich snippets won't work is if there are errors on your page. Go into your code, and check it's all correct and in order. One little oversight is not closing your code tags, which is so easily resolved.

You can do so by putting your URL into WC3 Validator and it'll list any bugs which need fixing.

‍Google Testing Tool - Lastly, one great way to check your rich snippets are working correctly (after following the steps above) is to check it using Google's Structured Data Testing Tool.

All you need to do is insert your webpage URL you have the rich snippet on and check it.

FAQ: Review Rich Snippets

How long does it take for Google to display rich snippet stars?

Google typically crawls websites every 7-14 days, but there’s no guarantee that stars will appear. Ensuring correct structured data and following best practices can help speed up the process.

Does adding review rich snippets improve SEO rankings?

While review stars don’t directly impact rankings, they can significantly increase click-through rates (CTR). Higher CTRs signal to Google that your page is relevant and engaging, which can indirectly improve your SEO performance over time.

Essentially, even if reviews themselves don’t boost rankings, the increased visibility and engagement they drive can contribute to better rankings.

What types of content can have review rich snippets?

Google allows review snippets for specific schema types, including products, courses, books, and recipes. Check the full list in Google’s structured data guidelines.

Are review snippets only for local businesses?

No, review snippets are available for various types of content beyond just LocalBusiness schema. Google supports review rich snippets for a wide range of entities, including products, books, courses, recipes, and more.

However, there are restrictions on self-serving reviews for organizations; for example, businesses cannot use reviews they control for their own local business or organization schema.

Why Are My Review Stars Not Showing on Google?

Several factors can prevent review stars from appearing, including incorrect schema markup, Google’s algorithm changes, or policy violations. Validate your structured data using Google’s Rich Results Test.