The different types of review stars in Google
Five hundred billion stars in the galaxy, but sometimes Google seems to display even more stars. Although those stars in Google are very similar in design, the different stars all work differently. In this blog post, I want to give you an overview of all the possible review stars in Google. Of course, you can collect these stars with WebwinkelKeur!
Stars in the organic (unpaid) search results
The most popular stars are the stars in the unpaid Google search results. Previously you could earn these for your entire website with site reviews, nowadays you get these mainly for your product pages with your own product reviews . The operation is actually simple. You show (product) reviews on your website and format them with the right structured Schema.org code so that Google understands that they are (product) reviews. Most webshop softwares, including WooCommerce, do this automatically. So what you still need to do is collect product reviews for your products. Do you do this and does Google index this information? Then you will see information about your products directly in Google. This includes things like price and stock, but the most striking are of course the coveted yellow stars next to your search result. This will make your shop stand out and attract more visitors. [caption id="attachment_93256" align="aligncenter" width="619"] 
Example stars in Google organic search results[/caption]
Where do I see them?
- Within the (unpaid) search results for your product page.
How do I get them?
- Collect product reviews.
- Display them with rich-snippet code on your product page.
They don't work?
- Test with the rich snippet test tool whether the product reviews are visible to Google.
Stars in Google Ads with text ads
Stars in Google Ads look almost the same, but are quite different from stars in unpaid search results. For stars in Google Ads, you need to collect reviews through a Google Review partner. That review partner sends your reviews to Google giving you a chance to win the stars in the Google Ads. These Google stars are called the " Google Seller Rating ". At WebwinkelKeur you can optionally activate this service. The main condition is that you must collect at least 100 unique reviews with description per year in the country where you want to display the review stars. Do you meet all conditions and is everything working technically? Unfortunately, this does not mean that Google will display these stars on every ad! Google does not want the search results to become a carnival of stars and therefore only displays the stars to a limited extent . You can enable the stars yourself, but Google then largely determines if and when the stars are used. In addition to displaying these stars with the text ads, Google also shows the review information from this source with the detail information in Google shopping. This involves comparing prices when multiple online stores offer the same product.
[caption id="attachment_113888" align="aligncenter" width="664"] 
Sample stars in Google's paid search results[/caption]
Where do I see them?
- With your text ads in Google.
- By the seller information in Google Shopping.
[caption id="attachment_93004" align="aligncenter" width="765"] 
Sample seller information in Google Shopping[/caption]
How do I get them?
- Work with a Google partner and activate the Google Seller Rating .
- Comply with all requirements (minimum 100 reviews with description per year).
They don't work?
- Test via this url (NB: replace webwinkelkeur.nl with your own domain) or login within your dashboard and go to Promotion > Google Seller Rating.
- Results with the above url, but not visible in the search results? Google does not (by far) always show the stars, your stars work (technically) without problems!
Stars in Google Shopping (Advertisements)
More and more often, products are displayed in Google search results instead of text ads. These products are usually displayed prominently at the top of the search results. If you advertise your products in Google Shopping and want to show stars with your products, you first need to collect product reviews . Product reviews are specifically about the product shown, not about you as a service provider. Then you need to export your reviews to Google through a feed . The product review system of WebwinkelKeur offers a ready-made solution for this! [caption id="attachment_93002" align="aligncenter" width="611"] 
Example product stars in Google Shopping[/caption]
Where do I see them?
- As stars by your product in Google Shopping and Google Shopping Ads.
[caption id="attachment_93257" align="aligncenter" width="764"] 
Sample product review in Google Shopping on a product detail page[/caption]
How do I get them?
They don't work?
- Is a unique identification number (GTIN / EAN) set up for your products?
Stars in the Google Business search results
Last but not least, you can show your review score in the Google Business search results. This is the result that appears in Google Maps or Google Search, among others, when you search for your company name. For this you need a business listing with Google. Next, your site needs to collect reviews through a party like WebwinkelKeur. We then ensure with a Schema.org (rich snippet) code on your member profile that Google indexes your webshop reviews. As an independent review site, we then appear in the Google Business results under the heading "Reviews from the Internet". Make sure that the data known to Google as address and domain name match the data in your WebwinkelKeur account. It is also useful to mention that the yellow stars in the business results are the reviews you collect through Google itself. The reviews from other review sources are therefore only displayed as scores under the heading "Reviews from the Internet". [caption id="attachment_93003" align="aligncenter" width="443"] 
Sample Google Business reviews from the internet[/caption]
Where do I see them?
- In Google when you search for your business name under the heading "Reviews from the Internet."
How do I get them?
- Collect site reviews from a party like WebwinkelKeur.
They don't work?
- Did you enter the same business information and URL with Google Business as you did with WebwinkelKeur? Check your domain name and address information, among other things.
WebwinkelKeur can forward part of your review invitations directly to Google. This feature is automatically active if you are a PRO member. You can read how that works here .
Many different Google review stars
As you can read, there are all kinds of Google review stars possible. Although they are very similar in design, how each type of star works is completely different. We hope this blog post has given you some overview of how the different types of stars work!