Reviews and Google - whats their relationship?
-
Hi there,
I am trying to do some research in the field of reviews, I have set up successful review systems for local stores, but once I get to businesses that want to get reviews for their products or not a local business I cant get it straight.
What should I do, What should I avoid at all costs etc., What are the basic guidelines and advice from Google to get reviews? Please give me advice and resources to anything that would be helpful with this topic and the topics listed below
What are Google restrictions and requirements for reviews in a local business and a national business?
Schema markup for reviews.
Product reviews vs company/store reviews
Thanks I really appreciate your time and help
-
Thanks for taking your time to answer my questions.
I will read that article now, I hope it will give more clarity on this topic.
I greatly appreciate your help.
-
Hi Ruchy,
It's totally fine to have testimonials on your website, provided they are authentic. I wrote a pretty exhaustive article on just this topic last year. It includes guidance from some of the best in the review business, including sample markup for your reviews:
https://moz.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-creating-onsite-reviews-testimonials-pages
I believe that should get you going!
-
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your response,
I have a question for you, what reviews do you have on your site that you could use schema markup?
How do you get your reviews onto your site? and why does google trust them? Maybe you are manipulating them to show only positive reviews? (I don't think you'll do that, but why should Google trust you?)
also, do you have any experience with reviews for products (ex. books)?
Thanks again,
-
Hi Miriam,
I appreciate your response. I have one more question,
In order to mark up something, it has to be on your site (not in google my business etc.) My question is, how do I get reviews on my site that Google will trust? If I just write reviews or get my customers reviews on my site - who will trust them?
How do I get reviews on my site that Google will trust? are there specific platforms to use?
Thanks again.
-
Hi Ruchy,
I believe the resource you're looking for regarding Schema would be this one: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/data-types/reviews
On your further questions, to earn local business reviews on Google, you have to have a local business (not a digital/virtual business). You'll need to be eligible for a GMB listing (read these guidelines: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en). If the business in question doesn't meet Google's eligibility guidelines, it can't have a listing and receive these types of reviews.
-
Hi Ruchy,
Google is one of the few that encourages reviews, so we actively seek them with nearly 100 in the past 8 months!
I do use Schema markup for reviews, I believe it helps because I lean toward reviews when I search.
Look for businesses with physical addresses, avoid complexes with multiple competing offices and home based businesses.
KJr
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Reviews for Plastic Surgeons and Other Businesses where Anonymity is preferred
Howdy, fellow mozzers. I would like to hear some thoughts on how to go about review generation for industries, where anonymity is preferred - like plastic surgery, DUI/DWI law, even intimate-related stores etc. Far not everyone would want to have their profile attached to a plastic surgery procedure, especially in private areas; or have their face by a review about them getting out of jail for drunk driving etc. We have clients in those industries and many clients of theirs would love to leave reviews, as long as they don't have to login with Google or other accounts. We sure use those testimonials on the website, but, again, faceless testimonials can look fake. Any advice?
Reviews and Ratings | | DmitriiK1 -
Review Schema Dropped Off A Cliff!?
Hello everyone, I recently implemented some review schema for my website which looked to be successful as my review stars were appearing in organic rankings with no problem! Yay! However... I've just checked in on where we are with these and they have literally dropped off a cliff and I have no idea why. See image attached with the graph that shows our reviews looking great in July/August then dropping off w/c 26th August. I literally have no idea why this has happened. The Schema Markup Tool shows no errors or issues with the markup either. Can anyone advise? 81Rv88Y
Reviews and Ratings | | Virginia-Girtz0 -
Review stars dropped off in Google from Rich Snippets (started in October '17 - Jan '18 timeframe)
Our review stars from Rich Snippets are not showing up in Google for Novus products. I believe these are structured correctly or at least there are no errors. We have tried to troubleshoot on our own and asked multiple SEO'er's and partners, but have not had success. Turning to MOZ! They were there in September/October timeframe but dropped off in October to January timeframe. example URL: https://www.google.com/search?q=hif+1+alpha+antibody&oq=hif+1+alpha+antibod (It seems to be off all products); This started in October to January time frame so was before the latest algo update.
Reviews and Ratings | | revelkayla0 -
It's been over a year of going back and forth with Google My Business team
It's been over a year of going back and forth with Google My Business team regarding my GMB page. It was active for 2+ years prior with over 20+ reviews. I email GMB weekly to find out the status of the page and they keep saying it is a technical glitch and they are waiting for an update. Would love to get any advice on how to resolve my business page so it appears again on the Google maps or who I can contact to resolve this issue. This is our third time creating a new G+ business page https://plus.google.com/+LocalSEOSearchToronto
Reviews and Ratings | | LocalSEOSearch_john0 -
Rich snippets not showing up in Google
Would anyone know why after adding schema.org markup to a websites products, reviews and ratings why it still isn't showing up in Google SERPs? Does Google pick and choose who's rich snippets get displayed on a random basis or some other criteria?
Reviews and Ratings | | znotes0 -
Want to use Google Business Pages but Spam Reviews are putting me off
Not sure if I am missing something here...I have phoned and asked Google business how they deal with reviews which are potentially fake and damaging to a business reputation, it seems there is very little a small local business can do about them other than report the review with no guarantee of anyone helping ...Has anyone else had this issue as I would really like to use this service to assist with rankings on google? It is hard to convince (and to be honest I don't want to have to convince!) a local business that this is a good service at the same time as informing them they will more than likely have to spend extra time fending off fake reviews...Not seen any good answers anywhere else, ignoring the reviews, adding more positive reviews or replying/managing reviews are not an option. Hope someone can help with this, thanks
Reviews and Ratings | | imoprojects0 -
How can a business turn off the Google+ review feature?
Is there a way to disable the review feature on our Google+ page whilst still retaining the rest of the Google+ features?
Reviews and Ratings | | CostumeD0 -
Fixing Google Review (it's technical, not about an unhappy client)
We have six 5 star reviews for our Tampa office...but for some reason, our rating is a 4.8. Why is that? And, more importantly, how do I get it fixed? https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=kemp+ruge+green+tampa+twiggs&lrd=0x88c2c48aec26ee65:0xaa2e3a3569ca3602,1 Thanks, Ruben
Reviews and Ratings | | KempRugeLawGroup0