Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (2023)

When you’re shopping online, one of the most difficult things to judge is whether you can trust a certain site.

That’s why we fall back on shopping with household names and relying on reviews. Both can give us some benchmark at what it is to do business with a certain store.

In Google Ads you can leverage those store reviews as seller ratings.

They don’t take much time to set up and can help you to stand out from your competitors, or provide that extra nudge that a potential customer might need before she buys.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what they are and how to set them up for your store!

Table of Contents

What Are Google Seller Ratings?

Seller ratings are a Google Ads ad extension you can use to showcase store reviews.

Google seller ratings are an automated ad extension, meaning that once you get reviews to your store, there is no additional configuration needed to have them show up.

Here is what a Seller Ratings looks like on Google Ads:

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (1)

Example of a Search Ad from Amazon with seller ratings

As you can see in the image above, with Search Ads, Google includes a rating out of five stars below the display URL.

Like other non-clickable ad extensions (like callouts or structured snippets, there is no extra cost for showing star ratings with your ads.

Sometimes Google will also show more information about your store, as shown in this example from Away:

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (2)

Search Ad from Away Travel with order accuracy metrics

Seller ratings are also the only ad extension that works with Google Shopping.

Product Ratings vs Seller ratings in Google Ads

To start, let’s clear up the confusion between Product Ratings and Seller Ratings.

First of all, a Seller rating is a rating for the general service of the store, a Product rating applies to a specific product in the store.

Second, there are some differences to where they can show up:

  • Seller ratings: Google Shopping and Search Ads
  • Product ratings: Google Shopping, organic search results and free Shopping listing on the Shopping Tab

Here is an example of Seller ratings with a Shopping Ad:

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (3)

Note: the tools used to collect either rating type can also be different. A service that collects product ratings might not necessarily collect seller ratings and vice versa! So be sure to investigate before you invest in a tool.

What Are the Benefits of Seller Ratings?

If your store gets great reviews, you should also show them as part of your Google Ads.

Let’s say you want to purchase a robot vacuum. Which ad would you click?

This one by Samsung?

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (4)

Or this one from iRobot:

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (5)

Even though Samsung is a prominent brand in consumer electronics, I’d choose iRobot’s ad as the 4.7-star rating gives me the impression of a trusted store that sells quality products.

According to a survey by Dimensional Research, 90% of consumers say that their buying decisions are influenced by the reviews they read online. At the same time, Google’s data shows that 88% of the respondents trust online ratings as much as personal recommendations.

In addition to creating trust between searchers and your store, you can use Google seller ratings to make your ad stand out and improve your CTRs.

Even Google confirms this, stating that using seller ratings can boost your click-through rates by up to 10%.

How to Get Seller Ratings in Google Ads?

I mentioned before that seller ratings are an automated extension, that means there is nothing you need to configure inside of Google Ads before they can show up.

But in order for the star ratings to appear with your ads, you need to comply with a couple of requirements AND use a review service that Google can verify (more on that later).

Requirements for Google Seller Ratings

According to Google, there are three requirements for seller ratings:

  1. > 100 unique reviews within the last 12 months from the same country
  2. Either Google or its partners have successfully completed a research evaluation of your website
  3. Google has evaluated your site via Google Consumer Surveys
  4. An average review of 3.5 stars or higher for Text Ads (There is no minimum for Shopping Ads)
  5. The domain in your Display URL matches the domain Google or its partners have the ratings for.

The first thing to be aware of is that the seller ratings extension is country-specific.

Therefore, in the case you have 70 ratings from Argentina and 31 from Uruguay, the extension won’t show in either of those two countries.

However, if you have 101 ratings from Argentina and 30 from Uruguay (that are over 3.5 stars), the extension will be triggered for relevant searches in Argentina.

Sources for Google Seller Ratings

Besides the requirements mentioned above, you need to use one of two services to gather your reviews:

  1. Third party reviews from Google approved review website
  2. Google Customer Reviews: Google’s free program collecting post-purchase comments on behalf of advertisers

1 – Third Party Review Website

Google has approved with 30 independent review websites that provide user feedback data on advertiser websites.

You can check the full list of service providers here.

If you’ve already collected a ton of reviews in a system that’s not in the list, you might be hesitant to switch.

So be aware that some other services are used for Seller ratings (the linked list above is non-exhaustive). Get in touch with your tool provider to see if they don’t offer the support.

2 – Google Customer Reviews

Google Customer Reviews is a free program that prompts customers to participate in a survey after purchasing:

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (6)

Based on that information, Google collects reviews and calculates your rating.

The set up is pretty straightforward, all you need to do is to add a code to your order confirmation page.

Seeing my seller ratings in Google Ads

If you comply with all the steps mentioned above, your seller rating should start showing up.

You can search for your own ads in Google to see if the star ratings show up.

But here is a more accurate way to check their performance.

Go to the “Extensions” report in your Google Ads account and scroll to the bottom of the page.

There you’ll find a link to the “Automated extensions” section:

If you click that, you’ll see all of the Automated extensions in your campaign or account:

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (8)

You can see the number of clicks and impressions on Text Ads that had Seller ratings.

If you don’t see “Seller ratings” in that table, keep reading!

How To Check Your Seller Ratings

To see the data that Google has on your seller ratings, replace DOMAINHERE in the link below with your own domain:

https://www.google.com/shopping/ratings/account/lookup?q=DOMAINHERE

Here is the data Google has on Walmart.com:

Why Aren’t My Seller Ratings Show Up?

What if you comply with all the requirements, but still don’t see them appearing?

Let me first say that it’s 100% up to Google whether it shows the star ratings or not.

Sometimes some ads show star ratings, while others don’t. That doesn’t mean that there is something wrong.

If you aren’t sure that everything is set up 100%, go through the list below.

Possible reasons why your seller ratings might not be showing up:

1. Your Destination URL of your ads does not match the domain name that Google or its partners have collected user feedback for.

2. Your reviews are irrelevant to what you advertise in your ads. In such a case, Google may refuse to show seller ratings for your ads.

3. Your store lacks recent user reviews. Make sure to collect at least 100 reviews from the past 12 months.

4. You don’t have enough user feedback for a country. Confirm that you have at least 100 for each country you are targeting with your ads.

5. You selected the wrong campaign type. For seller ratings to show for search ads, choose one of the following options for your campaigns: “Search Network Only”, “Search Network with Display Select”, or Search & Display Networks”.

6. Your average composite user review is under 3.5 for Search Network ads. In this case, I recommend assessing your service quality to get better ratings from your customers. It also makes sense to respond to negative user feedback. However, when you address negative reviews, it’s crucial to avoid generic responses. Instead, treat your dissatisfied users’ problems individually while focusing on solving their issues.

7. Your ad rank is too low. While Google takes a variety of factors into account to determine ad rank, the search engine may only show seller ratings for the highest-ranking ads. You learn more about how ad rank works in Google Ads via this link.

How to Disable Seller Ratings in Google Ads?

If for some reason you want the seller rating to stop showing up, you can always disable them.

Now that you know how to get them, let’s see how to turn off seller ratings in Google Ads.

Go to the “Automated extensions” menu inside “Ads & extensions”, which you can find on the left-hand side.

Near the top right corner of the page, click “More” and then “Advanced options”.

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (10)

On the next page, click “Turn off specific automated extensions”, and choose seller ratings from the list along with a reason for disabling the ad extension.

When you are ready, click the “Turn Off” button at the bottom of the page.

Quick Guide on Seller Ratings in Google Ads (11)

How To Use Seller Ratings Effectively

Google seller ratings are an excellent ad extension that allows advertisers to showcase user reviews for their stores in Search Network and Google Shopping ads.

By featuring great reviews with your ads, you can stand out from your competitors and increase your store’s pre-click credibility while boosting your CTRs.

As the ad extension is automated, you don’t have to set it up manually. If you fulfil Google’s requirements, the search engine’s algorithms will show seller ratings for your ads that are pulled from the sources of the company or its partners.

If your seller ratings are not showing, be sure to use one of the methods I listed in this article to identify and solve the problem!

FAQs

How do Google seller ratings work? ›

How they work. Google gathers seller ratings from reputable sources that aggregate business reviews. These ratings primarily reflect customers' overall post-fulfillment consumer experience with your business on a country basis. You're not charged for seller ratings.

How can I improve my seller rating? ›

Top 6 Reasons that will Improve your Seller Ratings
  1. Process orders instantly as you receive them. ...
  2. Comply with every marketplace SLA. ...
  3. Respond to all customer concerns immediately. ...
  4. Take swift action on any negative feedback or review. ...
  5. Keep product catalogs updated at all times. ...
  6. Reward loyal customers.

What are the star ratings on Google? ›

What is a Google Star rating? A Google Star rating is a five star rating scale that ranks businesses based on customer reviews. Customers are given the opportunity to leave a business review after interacting with the business, which involves choosing from one star (poor) to five stars (excellent).

What is the difference between Google seller rating and product rating? ›

Seller ratings apply to your business overall, while product ratings are specific to products. Google seller ratings give a score to a brand. They are based on customer reviews from Google and a range of other review platforms, like Trustpilot or PowerReviews.

How many Google reviews do I need to increase my rating? ›

For text ads and shopping ads to show star ratings, sellers are typically required to have at least 100 reviews in the last twelve months. Google treats reviews on a per-country basis, and so the minimum review threshold of 100 also applies only to one region at a time.

Why aren t my Google seller ratings showing? ›

My seller ratings aren't appearing

For ratings to appear in a particular country, your business needs enough unique reviews for the country within the last 12 months to allow us to confidently calculate a seller rating score.

Can you see seller ratings on Marketplace? ›

Seller reviews can be seen in a seller's commerce profile and in the individual listing to which they relate.

Why can't I rate a seller on Marketplace? ›

You'll only see the Rate seller option once you've bought something from a seller or had a conversation with them.

What is a good seller rating? ›

Amazon has previously advised that the best sellers average 0% negative feedback. However, anything between 0% and 2% is considered "great." Anything greater than 5% is a cause for concern. Feedback Rating: The feedback rating is what most sellers think of when discussing customer ratings.

How do you convince customers for ratings? ›

10 ways to increase and improve your customer reviews
  1. Put your reviews front and center. ...
  2. Get on the same sites as your customers. ...
  3. Follow up with buyers. ...
  4. Ask the right questions. ...
  5. Contact those who leave you glowing reviews. ...
  6. Contact those who leave you negative reviews. ...
  7. Run a contest. ...
  8. Reward those who review.

What is a best seller report? ›

The Best Sellers report generates a list of your business's top-selling products and services and calculates the profit margins (a percentage) associated with these sales.

What are the 5 star ratings? ›

The Five-Star Quality Rating System is a tool to help consumers select and compare skilled nursing care centers. Created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2008, the rating system uses information from Health Care Surveys (both standard and complaint), Quality Measures, and Staffing.

What do different star ratings mean? ›

Three-Star: Three-star hotels ordinarily have some unique amenities and provide quality service. Four-Star: Four-star hotels are often noted for their upscale quality and extraordinary comfort. Five-Star: A five-star property provides flawless guest services in a state-of-the-art facility.

What does 1 to 5 star rating mean? ›

5 stars: Very friendly. 4 stars: Friendly. 3 stars: Neither friendly nor unfriendly. 2 stars: Unfriendly. 1 star: Very unfriendly.

Is seller feedback the same as product review? ›

Here's the first thing you need to know about Amazon seller feedback vs. product reviews: feedback is like a “report card” from customers regarding the buying experience. A product review is just what the name implies--a review of the item purchased, not the seller or the purchasing experience.

What is seller rating system? ›

Your Seller Rating consists of a numerical score between 0-100, with 0 being the absolute worst you can score and 100 marking perfection. Each order you fulfil (or Amazon fulfils) grades your performance on the following metrics: Shipping Time: The shipping time you advertise for an item should reflect that in reality.

How many reviews is good for a product? ›

Products are 270% more likely to sell with as few as five reviews—however, one study found that shoppers want to see at least 40 reviews to justify an average star rating. So, while you don't need a review from every single customer, the more you can secure, the better. Struggling to grow sales?

What is the magic number of Google reviews? ›

We find that 5 is the magic number when it comes to Google reviews providing an impact on your organic search and 3-pack listing. But the answer to the question “How many Google Reviews do I need?” is quite simple… “it's more than your competitors”!

How many 5 star reviews does it take to offset a 1 star review? ›

Your company or product rating (typically out of five stars) reflects an overall average of good and bad reviews. So if your goal is to maintain an overall rating of four stars, you'll need four five-star reviews to make up for every one-star review.

How many 5 star reviews do I need for Google reviews? ›

Your goal should be to get to a 5 star overall score as fast as possible. To do that, you'll need 25 more 5-star reviews. And when google updates your review score you will have 5 stars.

How do I increase my Google rating? ›

How to improve your local ranking on Google
  1. Enter complete data. Local results favor the most relevant results for each search. ...
  2. Verify your locations. ...
  3. Keep your hours accurate. ...
  4. Manage & respond to reviews. ...
  5. Add photos. ...
  6. Add in-store products. ...
  7. Relevance. ...
  8. Distance.

How do I get Google ratings? ›

Use best practices to get reviews

Verify your Business Profile: This makes your business information show up on Maps, Search, and other Google services. To respond to a review, you must have a verified business. Remind customers to leave reviews: Let them know it's quick and easy to leave reviews.

How do I see my own Marketplace ratings? ›

You can view your own buyer ratings from your Commerce profile.

Where can I see my Marketplace rating? ›

It's easy to check your Facebook Marketplace rating. You must log into your Facebook account and go to your “Activity” page. You'll see your ratings from other buyers and sellers on this page. You can also see the ratings other buyers and sellers give you.

Why is Facebook taking so long to review my Marketplace listing? ›

All listings go through a standard review. It may take up to a day to complete the review. If you see There are issues with your product next to your listing, it wasn't approved because it goes against our Commerce Policies.

How do I leave a seller rating on the Marketplace? ›

To rate or review a product you purchased on Facebook Marketplace:
  1. In the top right of Facebook, tap. .
  2. Tap Shop. If you don't see Shop, tap See more.
  3. Tap at the top.
  4. Tap Your reviews.
  5. Find the product you want to rate or review.
  6. Tap to choose a rating from 1–5 and follow the on-screen instructions.

How do I avoid fake buyers on the Marketplace? ›

Double-check deals that seem too good to be true. Scammers may try to use underpriced items to lure buyers into a scam. Do not send deposits for high value items (apartments, cars, etc.) without confirming that they're real first.

When should you lower price on Marketplace? ›

Be patient, and consider lowering the price of the listing after a week or two if there's a lack of interest or if the offers you receive are at a significantly lower price. You can also renew your listing periodically so it reaches a new crop of potential buyers. Renew every 2 weeks for the best results.

Can you lose Top Rated seller status? ›

If you lose your Top Rated Seller status one month, you're able to qualify for it the next month if you meet all the requirements again.

How can I give ratings? ›

​8 tips for writing great customer reviews
  1. Provide useful, constructive feedback. ...
  2. Talk about a range of elements, including customer service. ...
  3. Be detailed, specific, and honest. ...
  4. Leave out links and personal information. ...
  5. Keep it civil and friendly. ...
  6. Feel free to update your review if needed.

How do I encourage customers to write a Google review? ›

Encourage your customers to leave reviews
  1. Ask customers for reviews after positive interactions or in your marketing materials.
  2. Try Marketing kit to generate custom posters and social posts requesting reviews.
  3. Create a short URL to give to customers so they have a one-click path to leave a review.

What does it mean to be a #1 best seller? ›

The Amazon #1 Best Seller badge icon means a product has the highest number of sales in that specific category. Amazon's A9 algorithm determines how products are ranked in search results. Amazon's algorithm updates best seller status hourly.

How do you analyze sales performance? ›

How to analyze sales data
  1. Identify the key sales metrics you need, such as win rate and average deal size.
  2. Use a tool (such as Pipedrive's CRM) to track this data as leads travel through your pipeline.
  3. Record this data in visual dashboards.

What does a good sales report look like? ›

This report typically includes information on sales volume, leads, new accounts, revenue and costs for a given period. It may also analyze this information along each step of the sales funnel and indicate your sales team's performance (or any gaps therein).

What are the ratings in order? ›

Common movie/film ratings are listed below:
  • G: General Audiences. This program is designed to be appropriate for all ages. ...
  • PG: Parental Guidance Suggested. Parents are urged to give parental guidance. ...
  • PG-13: Parents Strongly Cautioned. ...
  • R: Restricted. ...
  • NC-17: Clearly Adult.

What is the best star rating? ›

What do the stars mean? The labels on televisions, computer monitors, refrigerators, air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers, can show a maximum of ten stars. That is, the least efficient models have one star while the most efficient models can have up to ten stars.

How long do star ratings last? ›

STARS reports and ratings are valid for three years.

What are the types of ratings? ›

Popular Types of Rating Scales

Graphic rating scale. Numerical rating scale. Descriptive rating scale. Comparative rating scale.

What do ratings numbers mean? ›

In regards to a national television show, such as something on NBC, if a program receives a Nielsen rating of 15, it means that 15 percent of the public participating in the ratings service watched the television show. This means the other 85 percent either watched something else or didn't watch television at all.

What is the 4 star rating system? ›

Generally speaking, four stars means that the movie is sublime, three connotes good and two indicates fair.

Is 3 out of 5 stars a good rating? ›

Common Sense Media uses a scale of one to five, where 3 stars are "Just fine; solid" and anything lower is "Disappointing" at best.

How are star ratings measured? ›

The 2022 Overall Star Rating selects 47 of the more than 100 measures CMS publicly reports on Care Compare and divides them into 5 measure groups: Mortality, Safety of Care, Readmission, Patient Experience, and Timely & Effective Care.

What is a good star rating on Google? ›

The perfect Google review star rating is between 4.2 and 4.5. Research by Northwestern University found that purchase likelihood increases when the average rating exceeds three. It peaks between 4.2 and 4.5 stars.

Can you see if someone looks at your Google reviews? ›

To see your overall review stats, go to Your contributions on Google Maps for Android or iOS. Then, tap REVIEWS. At the top of the screen, you'll see how many people have liked and viewed all of your reviews. You can also see likes and views on each individual review.

How does Google get 5 star ratings? ›

To recap, here's how to more Google reviews in seven easy steps:
  1. Ask for Google reviews.
  2. Create a shareable review link.
  3. Provide excellent customer service.
  4. Respond to existing reviews.
  5. Share positive reviews.
  6. Invest in review generation tools.
  7. Frequently update your Google Business Profile listing.

How does Google play into ratings and reviews? ›

Play Store ratings for apps, and the corresponding bar graphs showing the proportional number of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 star reviews, are calculated based on the app's current quality ratings from user reviews, rather than the lifetime average value of user reviews, unless the app has very few ratings.

Are Google Ratings reliable? ›

Yes, Google reviews are credible. Google reviews with higher ratings will bring in new customers and boost your search ranking even higher.

Do Google reviews get deleted? ›

There are several reasons why reviews may be removed from the page. In most cases, missing reviews were removed for policy violations like spam or inappropriate content. We do not reinstate reviews that were removed for policy violations.

Can I see who searched my business on Google? ›

In the business performance report, you can monitor specific profile interactions such as: Searches: The queries people used to find your business. The Searches metric is updated at the beginning of each month. Updates may take 5 days to show up.

What happens when someone leaves a fake review on Google? ›

If you flag a fake review and it isn't taken down, you can reach out to Google Business Support directly. To contact support: Click on “reviews,” then “support,” then “need more help” Click “Customer Reviews and photos”

How do you increase your 5 star rating? ›

How Important Are Google 5 Star Reviews?
  1. Grows Your Customer Base. ...
  2. Helps You Rank On Local Searches. ...
  3. Ask When They're Happiest. ...
  4. Express Your Intention. ...
  5. Showcase Your 5 Star Reviews. ...
  6. Respond To Customer Feedback. ...
  7. Engage in Online Conversations. ...
  8. Increase Your Average Review Rating.
Sep 3, 2020

How can I improve my 5 star rating? ›

The secret to improving, and maintaining, high Medicare Star Ratings requires a year-round effort to drive better member experiences, higher engagement in preventive care and chronic condition management, more responsiveness to customer complaints, and better transparency around prescription drug costs.

How do you ask a customer for a 5 star rating? ›

First, ask your customer to rate your business privately. If they give you a 5-star rating, then encourage them to write a review. But if they give you a bad rating, ask what you could do better, fix any problems they might have, and go the extra mile to make your customers happy. Then encourage a review.

How do you give a rating? ›

​8 tips for writing great customer reviews
  1. Provide useful, constructive feedback. ...
  2. Talk about a range of elements, including customer service. ...
  3. Be detailed, specific, and honest. ...
  4. Leave out links and personal information. ...
  5. Keep it civil and friendly. ...
  6. Feel free to update your review if needed.

Can businesses fake Google reviews? ›

Fake reviews are a violation of the terms of service of all business review sites. This means that any attempt to manipulate your brand reputation — or harm that of your competitors — through fake reviews can result in legal action against you.

Is it illegal to ask for Google reviews? ›

Can I ask customers for reviews? Yes, you can ask customers to submit reviews, but Google review guidelines forbid “soliciting reviews from customers in bulk.” Can I stop customers from writing bad reviews? No, Google review policies expressly forbid “selectively solicit(ing) positive reviews from customers.”

Can positive Google reviews be fake? ›

Here are the common sources of fake reviews: Business owners who buy fake reviews from service providers and vendors. These providers sell positive and negative reviews to make a product shine or tank the rival offerings.

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