Google changes display Rich Snippet Stars

Google has made a major change in the way Review Rich Snippets, or stars, are handled in unpaid search results. Google will no longer display stars when the stars are about the owner of the website. This has consequences for the rich snippets placed via WebwinkelKeur and other review providers.

What exactly is changing?

Google announces the following :

"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. "

In summary, Google says they will no longer display stars when Company A posts a review rich snippet with reviews that are also about Company A.

What does this mean for me?

In practice, this means that Google will no longer display your WebwinkelKeur review score as stars with your own website. This update affects not only WebwinkelKeur, but any party offering review software.

Does it still make sense to put rich snippet code on my web store?

Yes. Although it won't get you any more stars in Google, it still has some use. For example, other search engines, such as Bing, can still index the stars and you help Google understand where to find reviews about your business. This allows you to still get stars in places other than the Google Business results that often show up when you search for your business name. Reviews in Google Business (bottom right under the heading "Reviews from the Internet")

When will stars still appear in search results?

There are still ways to get stars in search results, but the stars should really be about the topic of the page. For example, if you have collected reviews for a certain product and display them on your website, then this product still has a chance of getting stars. The member page at WebwinkelKeur will continue to display stars in the search results, because we display reviews about you on one of our sites.

Google Stars on the Members Page

Is this also affected by the stars in the Google Ads?

No. If you purchase the Google Seller Rating through us, or stars in the paid search results, they will continue to be available as usual.

Is there anything else I need to do?

No. You do not need to take any action. This change is made purely on Google's side.