Valid Review Structured Data Markup, AggregateRatings, and Critic Reviews
Updated 8.26.2023
Review structured data markup may well be the most powerful type of schema, according to the results we monitor.
However, use critic reviews and AggregateRatings review markup with prudence; it demands a high level of accuracy. Where it fits, add it to every retail landing page you have to help drive revenue. These reviews are even more important since the Reviews tab for your Google Business Profile now displays the percentage of unfavorable versus positive reviews. It pops up for searchers after selecting one of the filtering options.
What is Review Metadata?
Review Metadata or schema helps search engines understand webpage data in a structured format so that they can return relevant result data back to end-users based on search queries. The on-page code is what is behind the gold review stars that showed up in rich snippet results. Spammy structured markup penalties and how to recover from them have become a growing issue. Structured data markup can be highly advantageous for a website to gain better visibility in search engine results pages, star reviews, and voice search – but to accomplish it correctly requires caution and care!
What is a review snippet?
A review snippet is a short excerpt of a consumer’s review or a rating from a review site. Review sites typically show an average of combined reviewer rating scores. When Google finds valid reviews or ratings markup, we may show a rich snippet that includes stars and other summary info from reviews or ratings. In addition to the text of the review, a rating is an evaluation described on a numeric scale (commonly 1 to 5 or 1 to 10). Your business has a nice advantage when review snippets are won in rich results or Google Knowledge Graphs.
In the dynamic world of web improvements, the website owner may want those highly coveted review rich snippets that help users identify trusted websites and products quicker. Visual search trends show that consumers favor valid reviews. If the user sees a ton of vibrant gold stars indicating a number of reviewers, they can receive additional information regarding those reviews and ratings.
Google is investing a lot in machine learning, deep learning, and Artificial Intelligence, which all rely on the proper implementation of schema structured data markup. If you’re making use of this on your web pages, these tips can help you prevent a manual penalty. We urge coders to not shy away from the complexities of Aggregated Review structured data as the consumer voice is key to business growth. Schema continues to evolve and one area to pay close attention to is its transition to Google’s requirements for review markup. For example, now we need to markup both bestRating and worstRating. So we keep an eye out for any Google Updates to structured data guidelines.
Reviews can be one of the most advantageous structured data formats.
Avoid schema markup drift that may impact your product review rich results.
Google updated its schema markup guidelines August 22, 2023 concerning “if you provide offers without review or aggregateRating properties” for Product. Using the term “may” is not absolute; however, I’d take it that way. Gaining valid review schema for a product is definitely a primary advantage of implementing structured data.
Note the change from aggregateOffer to aggregateRating.
Before: Rich Results Test may report a warning if you provide offers without review or aggregateOffer properties.
After: Rich Results Test may report a warning if you provide offers without review or aggregateRating properties.
Set a Proper Goal to Gain Review Rich Snippets: Gold Stars
The goal should be more than to avoid punishment for structured data spam, rather set your goal to gain those stunning visible review rich snippets.
Keeping a watchful eye on your website’s link profile has been more in focus for many an SEO professional, as well as prioritizing unique web content quality on an ongoing basis. However, to avoid Google Penguin and Panda penalties, there is more to pay attention to: audit your structured data markup implementation to either recover from or to avoid a spammy structured markup penalty. Many start with analyzing their product schema, which is key to moving online sales forward, but we have found penalties more often are due to improper client review markup.
The use and uses of Schema Review continue to change. Successfully implementing and maintaining review structured data markup involves the need to keep pace with Google’s ever-changing specificity for data requirements. Using the aggregate review has the propensity to cause issues if not executed correctly, so start with a clear understanding of the different schema types. Plan for the necessary time to test and monitor your semantic vocabulary code to gain – and keep – review rich snippets in Google Search.
Review Schema Applies with AggregateRatings
Focus on reviews and rating first for your local business schema; understand the following terms before additionally implementing schema for AgggregateRatings.
Schema.org Type: Review – A review of an item.
Schema.org Type: AggregateRating – The average rating based on multiple ratings or reviews. This typically applies to user ratings rather than professional critic ratings.
Schema.org Type: Rating – Note that reviews can themselves be rated. The reviewRating applies to the rating given by the reviewer. The aggregateRating property applies to the review itself.
Example of a manual spam notice:
“Google has detected structured markup on some of your pages that we believe violates our structured data guidelines. Because incorrect information lowers the quality of search results for users, rich snippets will not appear in Google Search results for pages with incorrect structured data markup.”
Google Critic Review Guidelines & Schema.org Properties
AggregateRating reviews in local search provide rich “Aggregate Rating” data that includes the name of the thing the rating is for, the number of reviews, and the value of the review.
Google lays out clear requirements as well as recommendations and examples for local business Schema markup. The “necessary” fields are specified and those that fall in the category of “recommend” are easy to distinguish. Each can be used to build your local business listing, invoke an action, and are used to facilitate local searches (on a desktop, mobile for voice search). Where it applies to your business growth plans, add specific data in your Schema markup that depicts your business and makes it easier for search engines to know what services and products you provide.
Start adding your review schema markup to your most important pages. They offer high impact niche Schema markup. When implemented according to Google’s guidelines, review rich snippets contribute to your chances to be in the 3 pack, to building a Knowledge Graph Panel in Google search results, and other forms of featured rich results. Google SERPs that display schema business review markup stand out to the eye.
With your critic reviews displayed prominently in visible Google Search results, potential well-suited clients can easily find them and click to your web pages to read what others have to say about you.
ReviewTrust is a leading review system for obtaining and displaying client reviews. It takes care of the basic tasks of creating forms to capture reviews (text, video, or audio) while providing 14 options for adding those reviews on your website ranging from e-commerce display formats to blog and Facebook type displays, as well as the option of using pull-out tabs found at the side of a page.
UPDATE: 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. That’s why, with this change, we’re not going to display review rich results anymore for the schema types
LocalBusinessand Organization (and their subtypes) in cases when the entity being reviewed controls the reviews themselves.” – Webmaster Central Blog Sept 16, 2019
Many search marketers are summing this up to mean, no review snippets for reviews of your own local business on your own site. It should be rolled into every local search marketing campaign.
Schema Business Review Markup: JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa Review Formats
Now you can use JSON-LD or another format for your structured data markup to gain review rich snippets in highly engaging SERPs or the Google Knowledge Graph. Prior to February 2016, the generation of review and product rich snippets in Google search result pages was only possible in microdata and RDFa format. Because reviews offer a form of validation to potential buyers or someone considering if they will use a professional service, they merit a careful markup process. Think if you trust someone’s opinion to make a purchase, you wouldn’t want anyone to cheat the integrity of the review system.
Determine which format you prefer; then move forward.
Online reviews and ratings are among the most powerful validation points that a digital marketer can take advantage of. Not only do Google+ reviews have a proven influence on consumer behavior and a business’s digital brand reputation; they also significantly influence search performance. Those coveted gold star views are highly sought after in search results. Whether or not your business is able to convert visitors into customers may depend on if you can show proof of favorable customer reviews available online.
What are Google’s Schema Markup Guidelines for Nesting Reviews?
Nesting review rules apply to just how you can mark up your items with structured data; in some cases, you can include multiple items. For example, a movie review might include a Person as the author of a review. In this case, you can convey the relationship between these types of data by nesting Person information (reviewer details) inside the corresponding statement about how the person like the movie.
What is the Maximum Number of Product Reviews Displayed?
Fortunately, review snippets with Product schema don’t have limitations when it comes to what Google results page they may display on, or the number that can appear at the same time. This lets a potential buyer see all reviews and aggregate ratings that pertain to the purchase they are contemplating.
This is in contrast to the number of FAQ and How-To schema-rich results that currently display on the first page of Google. Only three are visible initially. If the viewer clicks on one, more may appear. They don’t offer the immediate story-telling that review gold stars offer.
Problems with improper review nesting is a technical SEO issue that may seem odd to associate with spammy content, but GoogleBot needs to be able to easily interpret your structured data. The challenge arises when it is confusing, which may produce negative results versus the advantages that are wanted. Google guidelines for review markup for proper structured data nesting and implementation is becoming more comprehensive.
Mark up Product and AggregateRating, Review, and Offer types so that they are connected to one another. Depending on the how the page is set up, markup Product may be the best the top entity and then nest in Offer, AggregateRating, and Review.
Review AggregatedRating and itemReviewed Property
By nesting Review and AggregateRating under the Product type, it eliminates the need for the itemReviewed property as well; it is simply understood that the review is for the product mentioned. In our market-driven design paradigm, we aim to add value to customers with an attractive user experience (UX) that incorporates reviews on a related page. Reviews are a key site attribute preferred by mobile search users.
Technically, I have wrestled first-hand with how to fill in the fields correctly for review markup. Avoid spammy tactics that cripple Rich snippet results and eCommerce SEO needed to be more of a priority. As much as reviews are desirable for their visual appeal, it takes practice, testing, and focused time to gain the ability to be detailed to get it right.
15 Tips on How to Add Review Schema Markup
1. Third-party reviews should be on individual product pages.
A web page that introduces a range of e-Commerce products you want to markup and that fall under one type should not have a structured data review for a specific product. That could be confusing to the reader. It is better to place the review on the page designated for that single product. In March 2015, Google updated its rating and reviews Rich Snippet guidelines, providing information that these types of markup must be placed only on specific product items, not on “category pages” or “a list of items” for sale.
Google prefers the use of reviews on closely themed pages. This is regarded as providing a better user experience than just a testimonials page with a list of reviews. This means markup on web pages that are directly relevant to the reviews. And the ratings you add schema to must be sourced directly from the user or reviewer.
Display information about the product being reviewed on a unique product page containing marked-up product information in addition to the review content. Your SEO Schema Reports will list your pages with successful review schema implementation.
2. Keep your reviews unique per page.
If you place the same markup for the same reviews on multiple pages of your website, it clouds the users’ ability to determine just which product the review was for. Adding to the footer or sidebar places them in mass on your site. This doesn’t help the site visitor distinguish which review is for which product.
Then be patient. It may take up to a week or longer to get your post updated into SERP based on your site’s crawl algorithm. Lock Down Design** says, “Google review stars don’t show until you get five reviews. You need ten 5-star reviews to get a 5.0 average.”
3. Match your Markup Type to the Page
A business review varies from a product or professional service review. If the intent of the page is to offer information about the business, then it is a proper place to markup business reviews. A review that is provided online for the business is different from a web page. Therefore, the markup on this page should fit an Organization type or one of the subtypes that best describes your industry.
Google Trends Analyst John Mueller* stated that “we’ve cleaned up some of our application logic. For example, requirements for an explicitly reviewed item and correct property name values are now enforced”.
Schema on the homepage is totally okay, however, placement of aggregate review schema to the homepage is not. This has gone the way of yesterday; Google does not show gold review stars on a homepage anymore.
Given that the intent of a review is to offer unbiased comments on products or services and in general, they belong on the corresponding underlying page. While technically SEO doesn’t state exactly where to place the JSON review code, Google recommends adding it in the header part of the HTML code and then to test in the Google Search Consolee. Microdata and RDFa review formats should be placed high enough on the page to be immediately seen.
Current content types (and subtypes) that qualify for Google Review Ratings:
- Book
- Course
- Event
- How-to
- Local business
- Movie
- Product
- Recipe
- Software App
Google also supports reviews schema for the types and their subtypes below:
- CreativeWorkSeason
- CreativeWorkSeries
- Episode
- Game
- MediaObject
- MusicPlaylist
- MusicRecording
- Organization
4. Critic Reviews demand clarity
For critic reviews, Google says “It should be immediately obvious to users that the page has review or rating content”. All reviews should be honest and true representations of the customer experience. A critic is someone who is unbiased and therefore their review is different from someone who is an employer or family member.
Don’t place the review on a page that requires the visitor to log-in. That means that the review isn’t instantly present for users to readers. It should be clear that there are no commercial agreements (paid or in-kind) to provide critic reviews between the content issuer and the reviewed business. Also, avoid the inclusion of critic reviews that are duplicated or much the same similar reviews posted by several businesses.
Google is open to individuals who already publish critic reviews, and who adhere to its guidelines: Knowledge Panel Critic Reviews and Review Snippets feature. Applicants are asked to provide two “URL of a production page with critic review markup embedded”. This means involvement is intended for a professional critic reviewer, in my opinion.
Critic review definitions and common properties
Google says the following properties work for all reviews, regardless of the review subject and provides the table below.
| Properties | |
|---|---|
itemReviewed | Local business, Movie, and Book, required Annotation for the subject being reviewed. See below for details of each type of |
author | Person or Organization, The author of the review. The reviewer’s name needs to be a valid name. |
author.name | Text, recommended Name of the author of the review. Provide the full name of the author. The value should be capitalized |
author.sameAs | URL, recommended URL to a page that unambiguously identified the author, e.g. the author’s official website, |
datePublished | Date, required Date of the review’s first publication, in |
inLanguage | Text, recommended The BCP-47 language code of the review description, e.g. “ja” is Japanese. |
description | Text, required Snippet from the body of the actual review that captures the author’s opinion about the review subject. This snippet will be used on the Google Search result page, as shown in the mocks above. All of the following criteria should be met, else the review will be excluded from the feature.
|
publisher | Organization, required Annotation for the publisher of the review. |
publisher.name | Text, required Name of the publisher of the review, e.g. “The New York Times.” |
publisher.sameAs | URL, recommended The URL of the publisher’s official website or Wikipedia page. |
reviewRating | Rating, recommended The rating given in this review. A nested schema.org/Rating or more specific |
reviewRating.bestRating | Text* The highest value allowed in this rating system. * Required if the rating system is not on a 5-point scale. If |
reviewRating.worstRating | Text* The lowest value allowed in this rating system. * Required if the rating system is not on a 5-point scale. If |
reviewRating.ratingValue | Text The rating given to the reviewed item. Letter grades are allowed, e.g. “B+”. |
aggregateRating | Annotation for the average score assigned to the item being reviewed. This typically applies |
aggregateRating.bestRating | Text The highest value allowed in the reviewer’s rating system. If this field is omitted, |
aggregateRating.worstRating | Text The lowest value allowed in the reviewer’s rating system. If this field is omitted, |
aggregateRating.ratingValue | Text The average rating given to the reviewed item. Letter grades are allowed, e.g. “B+”. |
aggregateRating.ratingCount | Number The number of ratings given to the reviewed item. |
URL | URL Canonical URL of the web page that contains the full text of the review.
|
5. Rated reviews need a trusted system
It is ideal when a client has left the review on Google, Yext, Yelp, or a trusted review system with a 5-point scale or a clearly defined scale. By default, Google assumes a 5-point scale, where 5 is the best possible result and 1 is the lowest review rating, but websites can use a different rating scale. “If you do, you can mark up the best and worst ratings, and Google will scale that to the 5-star system used in rich snippets”, says Google. Healthcare businesses are fiercely competitive about reviews.
Few sites, other than large eCommerce sites can support a review system of their own. To make this easier, Google now permits businesses to place third-party reviews on their site’s product pages. So pull in those great reviews someone left on Google, Yelp, Health Grades, Angie’s List, or one of the multiple trusted review sites that exist. Be found trustworthy online by eliminating any reviews that could be assessed as fake information. Overdoing your e-Commerce review markup or adding spammy structured data gets sites in trouble as well.
When is it okay to add AggregateRatings review markup?
Review AggregateRatings is only applicable to schema types such as Service, Brand, CreativeWork, Product, Offer, Organization, Place, and Event. Google doesn’t accept the type “Thing” the same way; an error will be generated on AggregatedReatings, but it works for Single Ratings.
6. Gradually add Rated Reviews to your website.
Genuine product reviews come at a realistic pace and typically, a lot of hard work. Likewise, don’t stockpile review stars to many web pages simultaneously, but add them gradually over time as you legitimately gain them. Google holds sole discretion as to when and where review stars are displayed. Domain trust and page authority need to be established before you should anticipate your new review stars to appear. It can take several days (or longer) for a review to be judged valid and worthy of being shown in snippet search results.
7. Double-check your review markup with more than one tool.
It is possible that neither your Search Console Markup Reports nor the Google Structured Data Testing Tool will catch spammy review markup. Cross-reference and examine review schema markup examples and errors with Google guidelines, Schema.org, and other trusted sources. Have your developer fix review errors as quickly as possible. Test your review markup before publishing on your website, and then watch it. The current preference is the JSON-LD review format, which can be tested in the JSON-LD Playground tool (http://json-ld.org/playground) to ensure that your code is in top shape.
NOTE: Google has no obligation to incorporate your review content in any Knowledge Panel feature or review rich result. It is at the company’s sole discretion. However, it is logical that by double-checking your review markup, the more likely it is to implement it correctly the first time. Domain trust is a factor. And if you which to become a critic reviewer, it is reasonable to assume that Google values personal accuracy in following Google reviewer guidelines.
With correct implementation, you can gain review stars in the search results for your local business’ products and/or services. This can be a way to increase conversion rates since it helps assure potential buyers of the product’s quality. This is especially important for product pages that sell items effectively.
8. Adhere to Google’s guidelines for the author name field
Google updated its review snippet structured data guidelines on 2021-10-15 with additional instructions that the author name of the reviewer has a character limit. “This field must be shorter than 100 characters. If it’s longer than 100 characters, your page won’t be eligible for an author-based review snippet.”, Google said.
For further clarification, it states, “The reviewer’s name must be a valid name. For example, “50% off until Saturday” is not a valid name for a reviewer.” All reviews should be legitimate, as some were using spammy long names in the schema author name input field. This may be Google’s effort to protect the review system from being manipulated to trigger a higher click-through rate from its search results.
9. Make sure your review is visible to the reader.
Google wants all reviews easy to see. So if you rely on JSON review markup, it must correlate with text that is visible on the page. This shouldn’t be in small font in the footer. The detailed information that is provided in your markup must match the page’s content that visitors see.
Good-quality structured data will be a markup that is an accurate reflection of the web content already available to the reader of that page.
10. Provide proof of your review.
These coveted reviews and ratings not only need to be marked up correctly but there are also additional Google stipulations if you want to do this and not risk a penalty.
A. Foremost, provide “proof” that your third-party reviews truly exist. The review should be visually displayed somewhere on the page. Some web designers love widgets that provide a carousel of reviews. But be careful, it is better to have one review that is relevant to the page than many general reviews.
B. Next, be sure to include a link to the third-party site that the original review was posted on. Collecting reviews and placing them where they are easy to see on the marked-up page creates the best user experience. This way the reader doesn’t have to click-through to another page to see the reviews but can choose to follow the verifying link if they choose to. Google is all about creating a good user experience by giving them the information they need. While normally marketers want to eliminate exit points where they may lose the buyer, this review URL is a requirement.
11. Look for continual updates in Google Quality Guidelines
Digital marketing is a fast-paced world that incorporates continual change. Be sure to stay on top of your current review markup by watching for errors and warnings in your Google Search Console.
Go to “Search Appearance”, “Structured Data”, “Review (markup: schema.org)” and then click on each line item to gain the “Test live data” button. (NOTE: When you first reach the “Structured Data” page, Google offers a timestamp for the report on the top far left; “Status: 5/2/21”.) The button opens up the Structured Data Testing Tool now hosted by schema.org.
While we didn’t have any errors or warning found here, it is not a conclusive analysis of valid view markup. Early in 2019, it seems fine, but with Google’s tighter quality controls, the original markup now lacks the URL where the review was posted. Additionally, a spammy markup penalty may not be a technical application of the correct markup language as much as it is an inappropriate use of where the code is placed according to the guidelines. Your markup should support the content on the page so it is more useful meet a searcher’s intent throughout their purchase journey.
Next, use the rich snippets preview tool. Whether you have hand-coded, used a schema review plugin, the Aggregate Rating Schema Generator, the Schema creator for ‘Review’, or the, schema.org microdata rich snippet review generator, you should gain an image of how your review rich snippet might look.
Not all Google-quality markup updates are easy to catch. Create a Google Alert and stay alert by reading continually about any structured data review requirement updates.
12. Don’t place your reviews in an iframe
It is too common to find “review” features on e-Commerce websites that are embedded into iFrames in order to integrate with third-party solution providers or some fancy web design. However, if this ends up defeating the purpose of this content for high SEO value and validating buyers’ pending decisions, why not switch it up? Iframes tend to make it challenging for search engine crawlers to understand this critical content. Buyer reviews are best when incorporated into product pages as crawlable HTML content and marked up with a schema for better click-through rates.
13. Keep your Review Content fresh
A common question in Google Search that comes from prospective buyers is “how many reviews does this product have?” or “what do people say about this product?” Substitute in the name of your product and try it yourself. Google answers can come in the form of consumer reviews. Some businesses claim that their Google Reviews are dropping off.
Do older Google reviews drop from Featured Snippets?
Yes. It definitely appears that Google drops review snippets from page-1 when they are not fresh. Consumers want relevancy. This impacts why Google seeks to display an overall balance of usefulness for the feature. Google wants to see fresh and current content. Some sites report reviews dropping out-of-sight over time; we can see the day on other trusted sites that display a review left 7 years ago.
Google seems okay with processing multiple page entities when it comes to reviews. For example, it combines without error in our tests with Breadcrumb and Website markup. This contrasts with Product markup, which should only be for one specific item per page. However, all reviews on an individual page should relate to that page’s theme and type. Multiple individuals may purchase the same item and post a favorable review to help inform subsequent buyers.
The naming of the author, the date the review was posted, and the URL where the review can be found works to disambiguate who left which review.
14. Keep your review content visible
Keep in mind, if you are using JSON-LD, the individual reviews must be accessible from the marked up page. Review schema markup should not be used to hide what the reviewer stated. JSON-LD review code that validates correctly but is not visible to users in any form would be a violation of Google’s guidelines. For example, if the JSON-LD markup describes a famous football player, the HTML body should describe that same athlete.
15. Add your review content and markup to AMP HTML pages
Mark up all relevant pages on your primary business website, not just your standard HTLP web pages. Not only should your canonical pages, such as your desktop URLs, have this schema implemented, you should also markup AMP HTML page equivalents for the same customer reviews. Currently, use the same structured data markup across both the canonical and AMP pages for reviews.
Advantages of Review Rich Snippets in SERPs
* Improved CTR (equals revenue): Since revenue belongs to those who hold the treasured top positions in Google, it is clear why so much effort goes into trying to reach #1. If you gain clicks because you stand out online, now someone navigates to your site who may never have otherwise known about you. The majesty of structured data is that your business doesn’t have to occupy the #1 spot to be the user’s choice. If you have gained a review-rich result, for example, your listing will jump out to the eye, which increases click-through-rates. If your competitors are not leveraging structured data yet, you will likely be gaining more clicks – even if they are ranked above you.
* Getting in the Local 3 Pack: Given how Google is testing new ways to display the local 3 pack, reviews that are attributed to a business jump out visually. A Heat Map study led by Casey Meraz and published in Moz**** indicates that reviews search results seem to be the deciding factor when it comes to a user clicking on a local business in organic search result pages.
“In the 3 heat map tests, when a local pack result was chosen by the user, the overall majority chose a local business that had reviews. Where the local 3 pack contained no reviews, users were less likely to to use the local 3 pack,” Tim Capper posted on August 19, 2015.
* Keeps your site performing well in Google results: How to avoid violating Google’s Spammy Structured Markup guidelines may seem like an arduous task. It’s essential to regularly audit your existing schema markup and stay up-to-date. As the Google Knowledge Graph evolves, reviews are becoming a larger part of it.
* Wins favor with prospective buyers :
By enhancing your rich snippets with review markup, you can find more favor with prospective buyers. Buyers value the ability to find and read reviews before making a purchase decision. Any form of online or brick-and-mortar products or professional services for sale qualifies for this feature. National, international or local products – all are the same and can benefit from proof of quality products and happy customers with rated reviews in SERPs. Add review markup using schema.org on own your own, hire an SEO expert, or attempt to use automated tools.
* Statistics prove that cultivating reviews equals improved sales:
BrightLocal sums up several ‘Key Takeaways’ from an online review survey research:
• 58% of buyers report that the star rating of a business is most important
• 54% of people will visit the website after reading positive reviews
• 84% of consumers trust online reviews just as they do a personal recommendation
• 58% of consumers indicate that a business review star rating is most important
• 90% of purchasers read fewer than 10 reviews prior to making a decision about a business
• 3% of potential clients believe that reviews older than 3 months have lost relevacy
The Observer feels it is significant enough to restate that “82 percent of U.S. adults read online ratings or reviews before making a purchase”. In the September 21, 2017 Yelp Might Be on Death’s Doorstep, but Some Reviews Still Matter ***** article, he also says that “For companies with stiff competition for consumers, a low rating or lack of reviews could do a lot of harm”.
“With your critic reviews displayed prominently in Google Search results, your readers will be able to easily find them and navigate to your website to read the complete reviews. Critic reviews appear in Search results with a snippet from the critic, the critic’s name and the publisher icon.” – Google for Developers
Example of Correct JSON LD Product Review
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Product",
"name": "Insert Product Name Here",
"image": "https://www.example.com/anvil_executive.jpg",
"description": "Insert a description of the product reviewed in this space.",
"brand": {
"@type": "Thing",
"name": "shoes"
},
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "4.8",
"reviewCount": "24"
},
"review": {
"@type": "Review",
"reviewBody": "Review goes word for word here",
"reviewRating": {
"@type": "Rating",
"ratingValue": "5"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Author Name"
}
},
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"priceCurrency": "USD",
"price": "90.00",
"itemCondition": "https://schema.org/UsedCondition",
"availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
"seller": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Name"
}
}
}
</script>
“If you or your company are selling anything or reviewing anything online and you are not using JSON-LD, you will more than likely have a lower organic search ranking than other websites who have equally relevant search, but who use JSON-LD. More than that, not using JSON-LD can decrease your searchability and decrease your click-through rate.” – NoBul Media
Reviews also add a powerful impact within visual Product Carousels in SERPs.
Which Review Attributes Really Power Up in Google Search?
Google has always looked for the attributes that consumers search for about a business. like which coffee shop offers Wi-fi. Reviews that have been naturally stated have become entities left by reviewers that Google can use. Today this data can be positive or negatively attributed to a business in the Local Finder from new attributes that someone can fill in.
It is hard work but worth it to try to prompt the reviewer to use words that include the specific service they used. Include smart variables in your review request that lead to this. Avoid asking “yes” and “no” questions; approach a review request with open-ended questions.
Search fulfillment can then add these values. Beyond search retrieval, a business can also gain insights as to (1) what specific new content you should publish and (2) inform your competitive analysis.
What is stated in an Aggregate Rating Review and in your review request must all be true and not exaggerated. Power-packed reviews are seen as “truthful” versus having “relative truth”. They become peoples’ perception of your brand story. Numerous review sites are coming up higher because of the craze for an independent congregation of consumer-driven content. Facebook and Yelp, and general review sites are declining whereas other review sites are gaining authoritative visibility. Hill Web Marketing can help you identify which vertical review platforms matter the most to your business niche.
Very, very granular bits of information are now better gleaned and surfaced in review SERP data – if the review is scored as trusted and valuable. The attributes are semantic triples: which business, opinion, It can now unambiguously querying, sorting, and attributing more entities per business. They are populating business knowledge graphs and driving new business.
This is why the addition of new Google Review Attributes means your business may need to ramp up its methods of requesting reviews. How you request and increase consumer reviews should be in every business’s annual planning sessions.
Embrace Customer Reviews and Foster Them
Some companies are hesitant to include customer brand reviews on their websites for fear of negative people who say demeaning things. Or developers are fearful of risking a spam penalty. They are an important part of boosting your Google My Business profile. However, often if prospective buyers fail to find reinforcing reviews on your website, they are likely to read them elsewhere; we all know the shopping giant, Amazon.com. The positive aspect of customer reviews from a searcher’s view is that they are a constant source of new, user-generated opinions. They are favored as one way that consumers get answers to frequently asked questions.
Many consider them to be more genuine than what a business site may say about its products and services.
Mike Blumenthal (http://localu.org/blog/google-show-4-8-rating-5-star-reviews) covers some of the reasons why Google opts not to show reviews;
* If they are posted from the same IP block as the business
* If Google has established a known relationship with the business
* If the reviewer add URLs in their review
* Apparent duplicate review text.
Google Movie Reviews now Experimenting with Audience Reviews
Favorable critic reviews and AggregateRatings add a special boost to a product.
Threading on how Google sees the importance of reviews, the search giant seems to be testing a new way to help the public voice their opinion about a movie that they have seen.
In the summer of 2017, Google began showing top-voted tags for popular movie knowledge panels. Google Movie Reviews used to provide “like and dislike buttons”; however, now in some cases, users see audience reviews, over their former tendency to display reviews from established critic websites. It seems Google is showing their own movie reviews and lets searchers add their own reviews as well. Either way, when review stars show up, they help businesses win Google SERP engagement.
Relying on Review Plugins
Plugins that generate a visual representation of your review structured data markup often present this info in HTML that lacks being clean.
Additionally, it is known to add header tags that break the page hierarchy. Implementing aggregated schema rating markup should be done with extreme discretion and accuracy. Where possible to use, it is a essential type of schema implementation to have on your site. The Search Giant is quick to discern if it may lead to a deceptive user experience in their SERPs. Resist any craving to manipulate the review stars. It must be truthful to improve your business’s conversion rates.
For the individuals who are willing to manually implement aggregate rating markup to communicate user-submitted reviews with 100% accuracy, a significant upturn in CTR may be just ahead and well-worth the painstaking effort. Remember that every plugin you install, no matter how well-developed and lightweight they are, does add some percentage of bloat to your site. And not just that, you’re also adding a compatibility risk.
Knowledge Graph optimization for product reviews is a great opportunity to provide your ideal audience the compelling and visual affirmation that reviews provide. Without even navigating to your web page, they can tell immediately within the Google search interface that your business stands out. Winning visibility in the Google Local Pack is highly effective. Note, that there is no guarantee your Knowledge Graph Panel will display reviews to searchers. But the more you work at it, the higher your chances are.
Summary
Users may love to sort by the number of reviews posted per product. Make it super easy for users to find your products and professional service reviews. Focus on the buyer who already knows what they want to buy, they are just deciding which business to make their purchase from. Grace Massa Langlois stated on the Webmaster forum that it is best to “keep in mind, even if Google discovers technically correct markup there are no guarantees that they will display rich snippets for your site in search. The algorithm determines whether or not to display them based on a variety of quality guidelines.”
Call us to schedule your consultation for opportunities to gain more favorable review-rich snippets. Begin with a Technical SEO Audit Including Reviews
* https://plus.google.com/+JohnMueller/posts/5ivUfWzdHX4
** https://www.lockedowndesign.com/google-review-stars/
*** https://twitter.com/JogeshKSharma/status/911494969063489541
**** https://moz.com/blog/the-new-snack-pack-where-users-clicking-how-you-can-win
***** https://observer.com/2017/09/yelp-might-be-on-deaths-doorstep-but-some-reviews-still-matter-third-party-reviews/