Boost Your CTR With Star Ratings in Google Search Results
This article will tell you exactly what you need to do to get star ratings to Google search results in only a few hours. I’ve tested the methods described in this post on hundreds of pages and what I can say is, they work really well. You can just copy and paste the code to your own website header without any coding skills.Â
In September 2019 Google announced that reviews in search results that may be perceived as “self-serving” are not in the best interests of users.
Google refers to reviews as “self-serving” when a review on entity A is placed on entity A’s website – either directly in its markup or through an embedded third-party widget.
Therefore, with this change, review-rich-results are no longer displayed for the LocalBusiness and Organization Schema types if the entity under review controls the reviews itself.
That makes so much sense from a user perspective. But what about all the poor SEO’s whose click-through rates are suddenly go up in smoke?
Here’s the good news: It´s still possible to get star ratings to Google search results and leverage Schema Markup and create review-rich-results on Google’s SERP.
Attention: This whole blog post is for learning purposes only. I want to emphasize this: You have to stick to Google's structured data guidelines to avoid penalties. I think using product Schema including accurate information (accurate star ratings from GBP, correct descriptions etc) is not a misleading action and doesn't interfere with the rules. However, it's important to understand that Google will penalize you if you abuse this feature. Also, I'm not responsible for any penalties you could face or any troubles the implementation may cause you. It's totally up to your own discretion.
2 Ways To Add Star Ratings To Search Results
Right now, there are two ways to add star ratings to Google search results. The first one is via Product Schema and the second one is via Book Schema. While the first one has its right to exist within the local search environment, the second one doesn’t really. However, both Schema types add star ratings to the search results and can be used very effectively.Â
#1 How To Add Star Ratings Via Product Schema
Product Schema enables you to show pricing, availability, and review ratings on search results. Google would normally encourage its users to use Product Schema on pages that describe a single product or a product along with the information about its different sellers.Â
We, however, can use it to spice up our search results and increase click-through rates for all kinds of products and services.Â
There are probably a few more ways to add product schema to your website – I only want to show you the 3 easiest ways. I even give you something you can copy, modify, and paste straight to your page header.Â
1. Schema Markup Generator (J-SON)
This is a really nice tool that enables you to create all sorts of Schema types. You can easily use it to create your own product Schema.Â
2. SEO-Plugins for WordPress like "RankMath" or "SEOPress"
SEO-plugins for WordPress like Rankmath, Yoast, and SEOPress are all great allround solutions for all kinds of Schema markups including the great Product Schema.Â
3. Copy & Paste Product Schema Manually
This is a Product Schema code snippet I created myself. It was showing up in search results just 4 hours after I implemented it. Feel free to copy this code and paste it into the head of your html code on the respective page.Â
I’ve added an “add” to all the sections that you need to modify. Leave the others as they are. Also, the “” are added to separate the text you need to insert – it should be clear that you shouldn’t use them. If you’re not sure what to do, ask your developer or post your problem to my private Facebook Group
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Product",
"name": "Add service or product name",
"image": "Add https:/FeaturedImageURL.jpg",
"description": "Add meta description",
"sku": "Add service/product name",
"mpn": "Add random number",
"brand": {
"@type": "Brand",
"name": "Add brand name"
},
"offers": {
"@type": "AggregateOffer",
"url": "Add product/Service URL",
"priceCurrency": "Add currency like "USD" or "EUR" ",
"lowPrice": "Add low price number like "100" ",
"highPrice": "Add high price number like "500" ",
"offerCount": "1"
},
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "4.9",
"bestRating": "5",
"worstRating": "1",
"ratingCount": "Add number of ratings",
"reviewCount": "Add number of reviews"
},
"review": {
"@type": "Review",
"name": "Add a name for the review like "Google review" ",
"reviewBody": "Add a review example",
"reviewRating": {
"@type": "Rating",
"ratingValue": "4.9",
"bestRating": "5",
"worstRating": "1"
},
"datePublished": "Add a date like "2021-01-31" ",
"author": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Add reviewer's name"},
"publisher": {"@type": "Organization", "name": "Google"}
}
}
</script>
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Here’s an additional image that explains in detail what you need to change/add in order for the code to work.
#2 How To Add Star Ratings Via book Schema
1. RankMath makes it super Easy
If you want to test the book Schema, nothing’s easier than using RankMath’s Schema generator. I wasn’t able to get the same results with other tools, other than coding it manually.Â
2. Copy & Paste Book Schema Manually
The code below can be used to fill in your own business page details. I’ve added an “Add…” to some lines to explain the parts that can be edited. Leave the rest as is and the script will work just fine.Â
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@graph": {
"@type": "Book",
"name": "Add article/post name",
"url": "Add business URL",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Add your name or brand name"
},
"review": {
"@type": "Review",
"datePublished": "Add date like 2022-03-28",
"dateModified": "Add modified date like 2022-03-28",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Add name of the reviewer (this will be publicly visible)"
},
"reviewRating": {
"@type": "Rating",
"ratingValue": "Add rating like 4.9",
"worstRating": "1",
"bestRating": "5",
"ratingCount": "Add rating count like 2777",
"reviewCount": "Add review count like 2777"
}
},
"image": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"url": "Add featured image URL"
}
}
}
</script>
Leave A Comment Below
Now you know how to add star ratings to Google search results. I hope this little guide will help you skyrocket your click-through rates. Please leave a comment if you liked the article or if you have any questions regarding the implementation of this code.
Thank you and happy testing 🙂Â
Disclaimer: I've tested the codes myself on several web pages. It works really well and I didn't face problems. However, the results may vary and the author of this post is not responsible for any troubles this may cause you or penalties you may get through the implementation of the code provided in this blog post.
which image should be used in the first section? is it rating or any image
Hey Jake! You can use the URL of the featured image of the respective post. I think that’s probably not super important though I always care for the details.
nice ! but this in not new !
gretting from Chile
Thank you!
What about website that offer services and dont have any products?
You can use the services instead. But don’t tell anyone 😉