How to stand out in search results with Google stars

We are magically drawn to the stars

Everyone has seen them: The yellow rating stars that are displayed under the most conspicuous search results. Whether in organic search, Google Ads or Google My Business, it is impossible to imagine life without the stars these days. But what are the benefits of the stars, how do you get them and how can companies and service providers use them to draw the attention of new customers? hold tight, as we explain it all in this article.  

What is a Google star rating?

The Google star rating is a five-star rating scale that ranks businesses based on customer reviews. Customers have the option to leave a review after using a service or product. They can rate the company on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (excellent). 

Why is it important?

Although not every business receives a business rating in Google Search, a positive rating (3 stars and above), along with positive reviews, has a number of important benefits: 

• Visibility and click-through rates - posts with positive reviews can get up to 35% more clicks, which means more visitors to your website.
• Building brand trust - Online reviews are one of the most important metrics for consumers when evaluating a business. Over 77% of consumers say they read online reviews and 85% that the average overall rating of the business is 'important' or 'very important'.
• Social Proof - More than 49% of consumers now trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.    

If you don't have any ratings or stars, it won't hurt your brand, but you'll miss out on the chance to be discovered by potential new customers because you're not as visible. Furthermore, negative stars and ratings will obviously cost you a lot of potential customers! 

How do I get a Google star rating?

Using the power of stars to your advantage is basically quite simple: If you collect customer reviews and include them on your website in a form that is readable for Google as small code snippets (so-called rich snippets), the reviews will be displayed as clearly visible stars in the search results for your website, as can be seen in the example below: 

With ProvenExpert, it's easy to integrate the collected reviews into your own website and present them to Google and other search engines in the form of stars. By the way, the ProvenExpert review profiles are by default equipped with this snippet and therefore shine with stars in the search results.

Test the attention and confidence booster for your business and convince yourself of the power of the stars! 

COLLECT STARS NOW

 

The most important requirements to get Google ratings and stars are the following: 

1. Get reviews from trusted review portals
2. Adding the correct rich snippet: Previewing content from websites in search results with additional elements such as pricing or reviews  
3. Website authority in form of other websites linking to your website 

The number of ratings you need to show stars seems to be something Google changes relatively often. Currently, Google requires at least five ratings before they show up in searches. More info on how to include Google stars can be found here. 

If you want to get more reviews on Google My Business in general, simply ask your customers to share feedback with you. This may feel nerve-wracking, but the results are worth the small effort. The Google My Business dashboard has a "share your profile" option that allows you to share a link that your customers can use to find you.  

Improve your existing Google stars rating

To get more stars in Google search, it is ostensibly simply a matter of getting more positive (4 and 5 star) reviews overall than negative ones. This is primarily achieved by offering your customers the best possible service and product. However, there are a few other ways you can use to improve existing Google star ratings:

1. Deal with both positive and negative reviews - no one likes to see a large number of negative reviews about a company. Especially if the company does not respond to them. This gives the appearance that the company doesn't care what customers have to say (and it can look even worse if negative reviews are ignored and only the positive ones are addressed!). Try to respond constructively to as many reviews (good or bad) as possible. This gives a much more positive image and increases the likelihood that you will receive better reviews in the future.

But what if the negative review makes you feel insecure? With these 5 tips, you can turn every critic into your biggest fan!  

GET TO KNOW MORE

2. Integrate "email marketing": If you don't already have a solid email marketing campaign to drive your brand forward, consider creating one. These campaigns are a great way to connect with customers. They also provide the perfect framework for a request for a review and a link to simplify the process. 

3. Offer incentives for reviews: One creative way to ask customers for reviews is to offer something in return. In return for an honest review, you can offer your customers discounts on future purchases or entry into prize draws. In this way, you engage your customers and offer them an incentive to express their opinion. Thus, your customers become the best advertising engine for your company. 

4. Actively look for brand ambassadors - among those who buy your products or follow your social media channels, there are bound to be some people who would like to leave you a positive review. This could be part of an influencer marketing campaign, for example. Another option is also in the form of product reviews or building relationships with bloggers and social media users. 

To sum up: Use Google stars to your own advantage 

Google star ratings are a great help for businesses, self-employed people and service providers.  In addition to a promising external presentation, positive reviews also ensure increased user confidence and ultimately influence the purchase decision. 

Simply put: Google stars are a must to be seen, found and chosen in the digital age. Don't get left behind and tap into your full potential. Decorate your website with reviews and Google stars and you will see, new customers will quickly follow.