What do the stars mean on Google?
Search online for any service or commodity and you’ll notice some web pages have reviews featured next to them. But what do the stars mean on Google? How come some businesses show them while others don’t.
These are all good questions and contrary to what some people think it’s not because Google favours them over others. Nor is it the number of reviews that make this happen. In fact, it’s a clever piece of code called a Schema that does all the work.
Ok, so what’s a Schema?
Your website interacts with search engines such as Google in many ways and often, a Schema is used to relay information that is helpful. In this instance, AddStars has developed a Schema that targets reviews and tells Google about them in such a way that they are aggregated and displayed on the search listings.
Or put in more simpler terms…
Firstly, tot up all the reviews you have across various platforms like Google My Business, Facebook and even industry-specific ones like Checkatrade. Now imagine a funnel that collects them all up and tells Google to show them next to your web pages on the organic listings. In addition, and this is the clever bit, your average rating will be displayed as yellow stars too.
This is what aggregating does, display your reviews as a total and your ratings as an average. This means anyone searching the internet for your services will be attracted to your pages thanks to the yellow stars and reassured because of all your reviews. A very powerful tool indeed!
Right, I get it – how do I get them for my website?
Sign up for AddStars and we’ll create a unique snippet of code for you. We suggest getting your website designer to install it for you – this usually takes just a few minutes and once installed, it will continue to work without any further work.
It’s also future proof meaning any new reviews you get will be added to your total. Before you know it you’ll have a wealth of reviews complemented by the golden yellow stars next to your web pages.
Why choose AddStars?
The benefits are many and behind a simple idea is a robust system that’s easy to use. Here’s why they will help your business…
- Quality reviews build customer confidence and will make your business appear more trustworthy online.
- The yellow stars next to your web pages will make them stand out from the crowd
- 90% of people check reviews before visiting a business or making a purchase
- Aggregating, or adding up all your reviews is a great way of growing your portfolio of reviews
- Happy customers can leave reviews on multiple platforms which will all be added up and shown as a total.
- A simple dashboard means you can monitor your reviews and see them grow
- Add new platforms as you want to. Great if you join a new directory or trade platform
So, in asking what do the stars mean on Google the simple answer is aggregated reviews. In other words, all your reviews are gathered and displayed on the Google search listings (often referred to as organic listings).
